CREATE

CARIBBEAN EXPORT DEVELOPMENT AGENCY - CREATE 01CREATIVEDESIGN -BAGGINGTHELOOKOFLEATHER

This huge undertaking requires a massive and dedicated effort and one of the defining factors towards promoting job creation and boosting growth may lay in the diversification of regional entrepreneurial business. Based on the assurance that entrepreneurs will help to construct the bridge to reach the region’s economic salvation, in Barbados a couple is busy laying a foundation not in mortar but in the appearance of leather. Mark Daniel studied Fine Arts and aspired to be an architect although he had a love for fashion. His high-school sweetheart, Ava, is a skilled seamstress and enjoyed making one-of-a-kind shirts for her partner who developed a knack for painting them. For this couple their business would grow in an odd manner with the demand preceding the product. “People wanted to know where they could get what I was wearing,” Daniel shares and the growing demand would prompt the birth of Mark and Ava’s line Avark. The couple set up a studio and started producing. “We were business focused with no clue of merchandising. We were selling fashion but not fashion designers.” Increasing demand served as

motivation for the self-made designers and in a rather short time frame, Avark exploded onto the fashion scene in Barbados with a distinctive carefree easy-to- wear style. The collections were painted with a free- hand design ensuring that the line, while cohesive, was composed of individually unique pieces. Thanks to Daniel wearing the works of art, many associated Avark almost exclusively with men’s wear. It was a deliberate strategy and one that would pay off for the husband and wife duo. “No-one was really catering to men so the demand for customized men’s wear was high.” On runways the collection featured the men’s line exclusively, further propagating the myth. Yet Daniel confesses that in fact Avark produced 85% women’s wear from inception for the simple reason that the primary purchasers were female. Seeking to outfit their partners, many women seized the opportunity to dress themselves. It was a winning situation for all parties. Avark’s introduction to the runway followed a similar path as the development of the business, initiated by the encouragement of others. “We were enrolled into Caribbean Fashion Week by another designer,” Daniel tells. In resulting media reviews of the popular event, the Avark collection would make front-page news,

MARK & AVA DANIEL AVARK BARBADOS

Armed with knowledge, raw talent and an innate desire to succeed, Avark sought to dominate the local and regional runways but the designers noticed a key element was missing from their presentation.

propelling the company into a whole new direction. “Up to this point we had no formal training and Ava said we had to make a decision, if we were going to do this, we would do it well,” and with the future of their business in mind, the entrepreneurs sought a formal education in fashion. Armed with knowledge, raw talent and an innate desire to succeed, Avark sought to dominate the local and regional runways but the designers noticed a key element was missing from their presentation. “Our models were barefoot,” Daniel explains the rural ethnic feel of the line did not lend to pairing with conventional footwear. With a shrug of the shoulders Daniel states matter-of-factly, “so we made shoes.” The couple would creatively diversify the brand over time, adding soft furnishings, mirrors and furniture to the product line and private villas and homes to the expanding clientele. Continuing to

find new ways to compliment the runway showings Avark started designing and producing bags, to help “finish the look.” The customized bags became themagnumopus for the Avark line. Daniel created the limited edition product by hand using basic tools – material, knife, ruler, needle, thread, paint and paintbrush. Taking days to complete each premium priced bag the designer was challenged by how to take the new product into the market. Participation in Caribbean Fashion Week served as an introduction to Caribbean Export for Mark and Ava Daniel. Partnered with the Barbados Investment and Development Corporation (BIDC), the development agency aligned Avark with buyers for their product. Buyers held the promise of a secure future for the line but Daniel understood that buyers required products with the consistently high quality associated with the brand.

23