St. Lucia Simply Beautiful

March 31, 2011

Harris At Large!  

ANOTHER GLORIOUS NIGHT IN PARADISE! 

Miss Joycie Mederick was back with her usual fabulous fashion show after an absence of three years. The rain drizzled, it fell heavily but the show went on. The patrons were spared the disappointment of a cancellation. The clouds did roll by and the show was nothing short of a touch of class, Fashion and TV personalities from the USA were in attendance and participated in the show. 

There is no turning back or should I say nothing can stop Cinnamon Productions. Joycie has stepped up her fashion production to the next level and plans to take St. Lucian Fashion Designers and Models along with her for the ride. The winner of the 1^st prize from among the seven participating designers will travel to New York later this year to participate in a Fashion Extravaganza. 

It was a glorious night. The audience was primarily young people who really enjoyed themselves. This augers well for the future of the industry. Joycie did not disappoint. The show opened with the launch of Joycie’s Swim Wear Collection for Summer 2011 which was a hit with the audience. The models did justice to the collection of swim wear. Oh what a night! 

The competition to select Best Designer was high energy with the models rally getting down to serious business as they did their best to show off their outfits and impress the judges and audience. The models got a great opportunity to experience at first hand the joy of being a model. I am certain that with the contributions of the US based professionals many lessons were learnt. The New York Designer treated patrons to a collection of his designs which was very much appreciated and was definitely a welcomed bonus. 

Saint Lucia has talent in many areas that can be commercialized; unfortunately there are not enough drivers and available financial resources to advance the transfer of ideas into businesses. The business environment is constantly changing and the time has come to recognize the fact that business is not only buying and selling. The move towards creative industries is where the action should be at this time. I sincerely hope that government will come to the assistance of our creative people and give tangible support to this emerging sector. We need drivers of new age industries. In many instances what is new to us has been around for decades. We are now trying to catch up. We get involve in too many activities for FUN. It is time to change that mind set and get into the habit of doing things for PROFIT. We must learn to turn our passion into business whenever possible. Some industries have longevity, they will always be around. The Music and Entertainment Industry will always be around. It is a growth industry, driven by increased population. 

The people who continue to struggle along with ideas and projects, sometimes even having to compromise their pride by becoming beggars as they seek sponsorship should not be treated that way. One of the most frustrating task in the promotion business is getting sponsors to support events. It is literally a beggar’s job. That has to stop. There must be a better way. Serious promoters should be able, like in any other business to present a viable project proposal, giving value for money and get it funded. Maybe, an incentive to give Entrepreneurs who invest in such projects a 50% premium on the amount provided as further deductible towards easing their corporation tax. Another approach could be to create a Creative Industries Fund where corporate contributors will be given an incentive for their contributions. 

There are several ways in which funding could be mobilized. Yet another idea, I feel that the Fund should not only give non refundable support and a system of advances should be introduced where the amounts will be repaid. There are many projects in the creative industry sector that can be self supporting but needs initial assistance. There is always a way. All that is needed is the will. 

In recent weeks, I witnessed the relaunch of Jackie O an Events Management and Artistes’ Management Agency and the return of Cinnamon Products. The services sector is on the move but needs drivers to lead the charge and financial support to back the efforts. 

Miss Joycie Mederick will be on Let’s Talk Business on HWTV channels 42 LIME and 78 Karibcable, Wednesday, 6^th April, 2011 at 8.00pm. 

Remember always to Keepthe Faith, God is in Charge, Dream Big and expect Daily Miracles! 

Edward Harris

Biblicist, Freelance Journalist, Author, Realtor, Business & PR Consultant

Email: eaharrisdestiny@gmail.com

Websites: www.stluciapropertydeals.com www.stluciasimplybeautiful.com www.brainstorminggroup.webs.com  www.cariblist.com  St. Lucia – Agent ECREDMC

 

 

This entry was posted on Saturday, April 2nd, 2011 at 10:19 AM and is filed under Ed Harris. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.