23 / 88
23
MARK & AVA DANIEL
AVARK
BARBADOS
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,
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.