Classical Movement on Steelpan

Last evening I spent an enjoyable four hours doing what makes me most happy; listening to the best steelbands in the world play some of the best music in the world. It was the 11th Pan Is Beautiful --Steelband classical music competition. Held in Trinidad in an outdoor venue, it was refreshing for body, soul and spirit.

I sent a band by band commentary of Tweets (http://twitter.com/lizmannette) to the online community at Twitter and I did see some new folks following as no doubt they became intrigued with the references to steelpan or steel drums and classics.

This event was one of those that makes me so glad that I can be in Trinidad. The lineup of 8 bands was just about the right number for me. Any more and it would have became a bit wearisome. But as it was, the combination of strong, and emerging bands, arrangers and conductors was a true reflection of the steelpan community in Trinidad. Most players were young. Majority of the audience was over 40.

As I sat in the audience, I remarked to a friend via email that this is one group that is near and dear to my heart and for whom I created my line of steelpan jewelry: People who support the steelbands continuously in rain or shine or, as on Sunday evening, balmy island evenings.

The performances of Exodus and Solo Pan Knights Steel Orchestras were definitely the highlight of the evening for me. And not surprising, Exodus took home the crown. They certainly were well rehearsed and smooth under the baton of Pat Bishop with a Pelham Goddard local composition. So next to Wagner, Suppe, Rogers and others, local composer Pehlham Goddard brought home the win. We are so talented and creative. Amazingly so. I'm proud to be of the family that invented several developments in the steelband world and who continues to set the tone for future developments. My uncle Ellie, the legendary Ellie Mannette, continues to work to this day, in his 80s, making the best steel drums. And so, my task is to add some beauty and fashion to this.

Listening to Classical music inspires me to create graceful, elegant, timeless pieces of jewelry. Already, I see it in my head. Pan is Beautiful--the classics by Liz Mannette. sounds good to me.

Christmas 08 Collection on its way

New designs, new collection. The lifeblood of a fashion design company. Well, the new Collection for Liz Mannette that will be unveiled for Christmas 08 is coming together -finally. Some of the ideas in this Collection have been in my head for over a year, and now finally, the samples are almost perfect. This is the exciting part.

Next is creating the full Collection that provides some breadth and depth within the design theme. Now I haven't been to any fashion design school and so I know little about the formal approach to creating a Collection. All I know is there should be pieces in a range of price point so that almost everyone will find something on their level. Some may be looking for a gift for a spouse in the US$1000 range; others may be looking for something in the US$200 range. And then there may be several who are celebrating and want a piece in the US$5000. Also, from a design point of view, I seek to provide things that are trendy and fashionable at the moment as well as pieces that are classic and will last a lifetime.

Most of my first steelpan/steeldrum designs were pure metal with a smooth finish - sterling silver or 14K gold. Now I have added a stainless steel collection. This season I am venturing into some new pieces with different textures; one has a hammered finish. And also I am adding some color, with diamonds and gemstones. A few pieces will be designed in collaboration with a New York based colleague. This is an exciting new dynamic as she brings a totally different perspective. Others pieces will be ideas that have been churning around in my mind for quite some time.

So this is what's ahead from the Collection. Folks can read a bit more of the ins and outs of the design theme on my Ning page where I write a bit more openly to support a steelpan fashion design community.

Toronto was a hit

Well, all I can say is that Toronto was a smashing success. We organized our exhibit at York U and we were able to meet and interact with many researchers, writers, academics on mas, pan and Carnival. It was also good for me to see the slide show presentation on the history of steelband by Kim Johnson. Kim and I used to be neighbors in Trinidad, but this was actually my first time listening to him share his great knowledge on pan. We are trying to get that slideshow and some of his images for our pan project---more on that later.

We also ran into mas man extraordinaire Peter Minshall, who was quite happy to see our Collection of steelpan items in precious metals, and our product brochure which showed the link between the pan and piano. And we will be inviting him to our launch of our next Collection closer to Christmas. Ray Funk was also at the conference. Ray has been researching calypso for years, and now he told me he will be focusing on the steelpan. I do look forward to working with him in the future. And Dr. Keith Nurse of UWI spoke on the potential for Carnival and cultural industries, which set me thinking of what we can do to be an example for other companies in this sector. I'm already looking forward to collaborating with him.

Of course, the main item on the agenda for the Thursday (July 31st) night was the Kings and Queen's competition at the Caribana festival and our promotions. We were offering all registrants from Toronto the chance to win a free trip to Trinidad for Panorama 2009. So we had our hundreds of nicely designed postcards and positioned ourselves strategically at the gate to ensure all patrons received one. We had to compete with folks giving out free bandanas, free whistles, free water and a chance to win a free diamond. This was our first time doing this sort of public promotion and while the 1500 - 2000 people at the event were Caribbean Diaspora, I'm not sure we will do this kind of promotion again.

Things were a bit different on the Friday night, which was the Pan Alive competition. This was for the true, true pan people and so we had donated one of our signature pieces, the sterling silver basspan bracelet (retail value US$200) as a door prize. We still distributed the postcards (because we had almost 5000) as people entered. In general, I found almost 85% of those approached were receptive and polite. Was it the pan people, or the Canadians, I wondered? Anyway, we did have the opportunity to give our promotional message to the audience as we did the door prize. Next time we have to have a big banner on stage with us.

Hey, be sure to visit the Toronto page for photos of the exhibit, the door prize and other fun things from Caribana.

Most important for us, and for all our supporters in Toronto, we made contact with someone who will be helping us get into retailers in Toronto. So soon we will have a big announcement of locations where the Collection can be purchased!!! This is great.

And, more good news. The Liz Mannette Collection was invited to participate in the Caribbean Week Fashion Gala happening on Sept 27th. So I will definitely be visiting Toronto very soon and very often.

Thanks to all of those who made this Toronto Caribana launch a success. My marketing assistant Carlene worked so hard to get our exhibit together and my sis Bernadette came up from New York to give some support. We have a great team here.

So now, it is on to the next gathering of pan people...in Japan, UK and the US.

It can be tiring, but I'm having a great time.

Starting Out with Liz Mannette

This is it. I've finally jumped in and started the blog to track the development and launch of our fashion design company. This is a big step and I was determined to do it by the end of June. So, at least I've kept close to my deadline.

But what is this all about? Liz Mannette has been launched as a fashion design company for people who like the music of the steelpan, also known as steeldrums, or steel drums.

And the purpose of this blog is to share the development and goings-on with customers and also to receive comments, questions, opinions, etc from all who have an interest in steelpan, fashion and everything in between.

The name of the fashion line, at this point, is Liz Mannette, which is an abbreviated version of my name and I am the main designer of all the products as of now. Initially I started with another name..StrumOn... but after considering the successful business models in the fashion world, and getting a few thumbs down from an unscientific test of that choice, I figured I'd do what the big names have done successfully...use my own name as the brand. And given the Mannette name awareness in the steelpan world, I figured, why not capitalize on this ready awareness. So from Elizabeth Mannette emerged Liz Mannette, and the journey is now underway.

What do I mean by a fashion design company for people who like the music of the steel drums and the steel pans?

Simple.The instrument was invented in Trinidad and Tobago around the 1930s and by migration of Trinis (as locals of Trinidad and Tobago are called) it spread all around the world, mainly to big cities of London, New York, etc, but eventually throughout the world creating what we now know as the Steelpan Diaspora.

Now the music connects a global audience on each continent, of diverse players, supporters, musicians, educators, male, female, young, old, rich, poor, black, white and brown, and others who share the passion and love for all things associated with this instrument.

Our aim at Liz Mannette is to design beautiful, classic, elegant and stylish fashion and lifestyle accessories to enable people of the steelpan world to reflect and express their love of the music in the daily lives.

We'd love to hear from you.

thanks for reading