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Unique Ways To Add a Touch of Glamour to Your Home

By
Emma Radebaugh
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Unique Ways To Add a Touch of Glamour to Your Home

Décor is a great way to display things that give you pride. You can show off items that honor your Caribbean heritage, hang up art from your favorite trip, and include decorative pieces that share your personality with visitors. For those who have glamorous personalities and want to show it off, here are some unique ways to add a touch of glamour to your home.

Metallic Finishes

Metallic finishes such as gold and chrome automatically make people think of glamour. This is a glamorous update you can make yourself with spray paint, or you can buy pieces in a metallic finish. Add gold or chrome hardware to your kitchen and bathrooms for slight touches of glam in often-used spaces. For a bigger statement, consider large pieces such as a metallic bookshelf or bar cart.

Dramatic Lighting

Light fixtures are necessary for every home, so glamorous people should use them as an opportunity to display their style. You can choose something romantic such as a crystal chandelier, which will delicately scatter light, or go bold with a large black pendent light. If you don’t feel like replacing light fixtures, choose table and floor lamps with crystal or metallic finishes.

Custom Rugs

There are several things to consider when buying a custom rug, such as your budget, the material’s durability, and the room’s design. Once you know what you can afford, what material you want, and how to fit a custom rug in a specific room, you can add this impressive touch. There’s nothing more glamorous than receiving a compliment on a piece and being able to say it’s custom.

Luxurious Textures

Another unique way to add a touch of glamour to your home is through luxurious textures. Velvet is a glamorous material often used for furniture in luxury homes, so consider a velvet couch, chair, or at least velvet pillows. Faux fur is another luxurious texture found in glamorous homes. You can use this material for furniture such as ottomans and benches, or for a snuggly throw blanket.

Metallic finishes, dramatic lighting, custom rugs, and luxurious textures are all unique ways to add a touch of glamour to your home. These touches can be styled to beautifully compliment your existing furniture and décor, so give them a try and add a bit of luxury to your life.

Ideas for Remodeling or Renovating Your Garage

By
Emma Radebaugh
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0
Ideas for Remodeling or Renovating Your Garage

If you have a garage, you are likely not utilizing the space to its maximum capacity. Even if your automobile takes a spot, you can still do so much to elevate the space. No matter what you want to do with your garage, everyone should consider some of these basic ideas for remodeling or renovating your garage.

Lighting

One of the simplest ideas for remodeling or renovating your garage is adjusting the lighting. Often, garages tend to be dreary and bleak because they have little natural light exposure. A small lamp likely lights most of your space. Consider installing recessed, high bay, or flush-mount LED lights to counteract the drab lighting.

You may want to consider purchasing garage doors with windows; this will let in some much-appreciated natural light.

Diamond Plates

There are several reasons to install diamond plates. They are a fun way to elevate the look of your garage. They add a look of professionalism, elegance, and simplicity to the space. Many choose to go with the popular gunmetal gray as it helps reflect their lighting, allowing the space to appear brighter. You can also create a specific energy or feel to your area since diamond plates come in different colors. They usually come in gray, black, red, and sometimes white.

Painting

When you think about your garage, you might automatically associate it with the color gray. There is certainly nothing wrong with the color. But you should consider painting the walls if you want to customize and spruce up your look. A sleek off-white or vibrant cream paint usually works best in garages as they help brighten up the space. Keep in mind that nothing is off limits with a garage. You can paint the walls and the floors!

Garage floors are smooth surfaces perfect for a nice coat of paint. There are also so many unique ways to customize the floor as well. For example, applying an uneven coat of different but complementary paint colors and finishing it off with a resin application creates a wonderous marble gloss texture.

How To Keep Your Air Conditioner Running Efficiently

By
Emma Radebaugh
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0
How To Keep Your Air Conditioner Running Efficiently

Your air conditioner is the silent hero of your household. It keeps the heat out and the cold in, which many people appreciate in climates that are always hot. Therefore, your HVAC is likely always running. While it can do so, it’s subject to normal wear and tear over time. The good thing is you can help it run its best; here’s how to keep your air conditioner running efficiently.

Replace Filter

One of the best ways to keep your air conditioner running efficiently is to maintain your filter properly. Your filter helps trap any debris and dust that might otherwise float around your home, becoming part of your air supply and irritating sensitive noses and lungs. Due to this, it’s essential to change your system’s filter every 90 days. Keep in mind that you may need to replace the filter more periodically if you have any furry friends in your household.

Drain Line

Your air conditioner drain line will be a white tube that connects to your HVAC and your house. However, it will look different depending on whether your system is inside or outside. The drain line is responsible for keeping humidity out of your home and can be prone to clogging. As you may surmise, a clogged drain will have your home feeling more and more like a sauna. Make sure to flush your drain line out with some vinegar and hot water to avoid that.

How To Keep Your Air Conditioner Running Efficiently
Photo by Max Smith on Unsplash

Tighten Belt

Finally, the last helpful trick is to check the belt of your air conditioner. The serpentine belt keeps every accessory running efficiently. However, your belt might become too loose, jeopardizing your airflow. If you notice this, tightening these belts should fix any problems you have.

Try these valuable fixes to keep your air conditioner running smoothly. However, if you have tried these tricks and still find your system isn’t running as efficiently, you may need to replace your HVAC.

Why Solar Power Is the Future of Energy

By
Emma Radebaugh
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0
Why Solar Power Is the Future of Energy

When you think of renewable energies, your mind automatically goes to wind turbines and solar panels. Wind turbines are incredible, but it is increasingly apparent that solar panels might be more popular. Here are the main reasons why solar power is the future of energy across the world, especially in the islands.

It Can Be Easily Installed on Homes

One of the major reasons that solar power is so synonymous with renewable energy and sustainability is that people see solar panels more often. Wind turbines are incredibly noticeable, but they are few and far between unless you live close to a turbine field. Solar panels, on the other hand, are on many homes. This is because installing a solar panel on your home is easy. All you need is a reliable installation company, and you should be good to go. These panels require little maintenance, and they can even have their own battery disconnected from the electrical grid. Living on an island has previously meant being a victim to random power surges, but solar power can help.

It Is Powerful

As mentioned above, solar power and solar panels do not require much maintenance. This means they can be installed and taken care of easily in the Caribbean. Simultaneously, they collect a lot of energy, and estimates state that solar power will soon make up 40 percent of the United States’ power. Solar batteries are one of the most advanced energy batteries that exist right now. As the world places more importance on this industry, this technology will only continue to advance. The same amount of solar energy will soon be able to power more, rising to meet the world’s increasing energy demands.

Why Solar Power Is the Future of Energy

Solar Energy Creates Jobs

Solar energy does not require much maintenance, but there are different types of solar power, and each requires specialists to continually ensure that everything is working as it should. Other green industries will also create jobs, but these alternative industries seem confined to large-scale operations. Solar energy, on the other hand, can be applied in multiple ways. For example, there are big fields of solar panels, much like there are wind turbines. Still, solar panels are also used domestically within neighborhoods and smaller communities, and these require workers as well. This is why solar power is the future of energy.

How To Have an Environmentally Sustainable Garden

By
Emma Radebaugh
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0
How To Have an Environmentally Sustainable Garden

Gardening is a therapeutic hobby. Really, there are natural antidepressants in the soil! On the individual level, gardening does not make much of a dent in the environment. But gardening is about connecting with the earth. By developing our relationship with Mother Nature, we can garden in an eco-friendly way. Here is how to have an environmentally sustainable garden.

Get In There

Weeds are annoying, but it is possible to beat them without chemicals that damage the earth. Just think, if our ancestors could do it, so can we. Removing weeds without chemicals is simple—just get in there and pull them out with your hands.

Getting on the ground can seem like a challenge, but this process targets key areas rather than spraying your entire garden with chemicals. Moreover, pulling weeds by hand connects you to the land, your garden and yourself. By hand-pulling weeds, you will notice how therapeutic gardening can be.

How You Water

It’s not about how much water you use here—it’s how you use it. If you are unfamiliar, irrigation systems are environmentally sustainable methods for watering your garden. Spraying your plants with the shower setting on your hose is wasteful, even if it is fun to pretend like it’s raining.

There are different irrigation systems, but gardeners tend to implement a popular technique known as drip irrigation. Drip irrigation uses water more efficiently because you can control how much water each plant gets. Moreover, drip irrigation is also extremely helpful in preventing weeds since it keeps water output limited.

How to Have an Environmentally Sustainable Garden

Enemy of My Enemy

It is almost too easy to get rid of creepy crawlers with pesticides, but it’s not the only way. The alternative does require more effort, but it will make your garden more environmentally sustainable. The truth is, when striving for a sustainable garden, we may not be able to get rid of pests completely, but we do have some control.

Placing companion plants in your garden deters many pests. Common companion plants include basil, thyme, lavender, petunias and marigolds. What’s more, these plants attract insects that are beneficial to your garden, creating a symbiotic relationship between insects and plants.

4 Crucial Things to Know When End-of-life Financial Planning

By
Jordan Unger
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0

Though end-of-life financial planning is often an uncomfortable topic of conversation, it is an important issue to discuss with family, relatives and other loved ones. Proactively building an end-of-life financial plan can help prepare your money, property and other assets for a smooth transition after your death.

“The same way people plan to purchase a home for the first time, plan their birthday parties or plan their weddings is the same way you should plan putting aside funds or sitting with a funeral director to discuss what those costs will be if one of your loved ones passes away or if you pass away,” said Evans St. Fort, funeral director and C.E.O. at St. Fort’s Funeral Home and Cremation in North Miami Beach. Proper end-of-life financial planning now will keep your loved ones protected into the future and reduce the paperwork they must manage later. 

Last Will and Testament

A will is essential to end-of-life financial planning. It is essentially a legal document that outlines how a person’s money, property and other assets will be distributed upon their death, and who has the authority to take charge of that work. When planning your will, it is important to name an executor – the person you choose to carry out its terms. Your executor should be someone you trust enough to give access to your personal records and finances after you go.

Creating a will ensures that family knows how to distribute your assets according to your wishes. Without a will, the state has the authority to make important decisions that might not align with your desires and that could cost family members or business partners money for legal representation in probate court. It is worth noting that insurance plans can only distribute to people listed as beneficiaries, regardless of who is named in a will, so it is important to make sure those details match. 

Life Insurance

Life insurance is necessary for those whose passing would be a financial blow to others in their life. For example, most parents get life insurance coverage to replace income needed to support their children, elderly parents or other loved ones in case the worst happens. Life insurance also pays off outstanding debts that would otherwise become your family’s responsibility. “Within insurance, all of it goes to whoever the beneficiary is once you pass,” said St. Fort, “It is going to be one check that you get once the claim is sent.” For most people, term life insurance — one of the less expensive types — is sufficient.

With this coverage, you pay low premiums for a period of time, usually between 10 and 30 years. If you pass during that time frame, a cash benefit is paid to whoever you name as a beneficiary. Permanent life insurance is a bit pricier but remains in force for your entire life as long as premiums are paid. This could be a better option for those who have a lifelong financial dependent, such as a child with a disability who requires aid for daily tasks.

End-of-life Financial Planning - A couple preparing funeral documents with an expert.

Expenses

Funerals are expensive. Although estimates vary, a funeral can cost $7,000 to $12,000 or more in the state of Florida. It depends, in part, on whether a loved one is buried or cremated. Common expenses and add-ons include a coffin or urn, burial plot, memorial plaque, headstone, death notice and obituaries and payment for the people involved in a service memorial: mortician, officiant, musicians, caterer and more. One of the best ways to control these costs and limit the burden of decisions left for grieving families is to plan ahead.

Most mortuaries offer assistance with advanced planning for funerals, walking you through common options and their costs. If paid in advance, some mortuaries can manage all the arrangements without relatives having to make any additional payments. Others make sure the costs are covered by a whole life insurance policy. It also is a good idea to make your last wishes known among your loved ones and to include one or two close relatives in your detailed planning. 

Records

It is imperative to stay organized and keep track of all the critical details when end-of-life financial planning. Make sure loved ones know where to find your will, insurance documents, financial statements, social security card and other vital records, should you pass. These should also include bank account numbers, military discharge papers, tax records, debt statements, mortgage paperwork and other information about any ongoing obligations. A single, secure location, such as a safe or safety deposit box, is best. 

For St. Fort, end-of-life planning simply shows your family that you care. “Real love is saying although I might not want to do this [end-of-life planning], I’m going to, because I love my family and I want them to be in a good situation if I pass,” he said. 

Renowned Photo Artist David I. Muir to Release Iconic “Pieces of Jamaica®” Book Ahead of Jamaica 60 Celebrations

By
admin
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0
Photography by David I. Muir

Ten years after his internationally acclaimed photo art collection-turned-coffee table book “Pieces of Jamaica®: The Real Rock Edition,” photographer David I. Muir is releasing a second volume. The 2022 edition of “Pieces of Jamaica®” commemorates Jamaica’s 60th anniversary of independence and will offer a stunning depiction of Jamaican culture, not typically published or celebrated, in a visual narrative of Jamaica’s beauty. The book and associated products will be available for pre-order in April at piecesofjamaica.com, with distribution beginning in the summer.

Photographer and fine artist Sean Henry has joined Muir to capture evocative pictures of the land they love. Both recently completed a project to capture visitor-oriented images for Jamaica Tourist Board campaigns. 

The new photo art collection is meant to satisfy the appetites of Jamaicans in the diaspora, fans of the island and residents who revere their home. In “Pieces of Jamaica®,” more than 150 pages of new images will tell a story of the island, her culture, people, landscapes, traditions and more. The book will showcase both familiar and little-known areas that beckon readers abroad to visit and encourage those on the island to explore. Throughout the book, national prose, quotes from Jamaican thought-leaders and influencers, as well as the artists’ own words will be featured. 

Sean Henry and David I. Muir on site shooting for Pieces of Jamaica in St. Elizabeth.
Sean Henry (left) and David I. Muir in White Hall, St. Elizabeth

David I. Muir is an entrepreneur and community leader whose special love for candid, cultural and lifestyle photography is a signature component of his art collections. His photographs have been displayed in exhibitions at home and abroad. In addition, he is an in-demand commercial photographer working from his base in South Florida. As president of Island Syndicate, a multiple-award winning publishing company dedicated to storytelling excellence, Muir is poised to create the quintessential Jamaican photo collection. “I wanted to celebrate Jamaica because of how much I love it,” Muir said. “I wanted to extol the virtues of Jamaica because I had left it, and I wanted other people to know how wonderful Jamaica is. People expressed how much my images connected with them and how special they were. I don’t necessarily see myself as the best photographer, but I certainly feel as though what I share about Jamaica feels like the truth.”

Sean Henry will contribute photos as well as fine art pieces to the printed collection. He is best known for his lifelike illustrations of Jamaican scenery, culture and portraits in watercolor, pastel, ink, charcoal and mixed media. A graduate of the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts, he founded screen printing and graphics house IYA Limited which he has operated since 1988. “It is important to me to showcase the places that go unseen or ‘un-thought-of’ as beautiful. I also want to showcase my skills as a photographer as I’m mainly known as an artist and painter,” he said. “The fine art pieces that I’ll include will bring a different element to the project. Some of the places we capture, to some, are no longer in their glory days. My watercolor pieces will show the beauty that they still possess today, in another form of art.”

“Pieces of Jamaica®” will be published by Island Syndicate, which David runs with his business partner, Calibe Thompson. The creative services agency brings storytelling excellence to photography, video and print publishing projects for discerning clients in the US, and is now working with clients in the Caribbean.

Select featured images from the 2022 edition of “Pieces of Jamaica®” will also be available in paper and canvas prints, and on commemorative memorabilia like notebooks, apparel and backpacks. Interested fans of the project can join the mailing list for updates and learn more about the book, merchandise, upcoming events and sponsorship opportunities at piecesofjamaica.com. 

Forget Salad! Try These 3 Paleo Island Recipes To Kickstart Your Diet

By
Hannah Gulics
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0

The paleolithic diet, often simply called paleo, is a dietary plan that favors foods eaten by early humans before agricultural development, like lean meats, fish, nuts, fruits and vegetables. That also means limiting dairy, beans, grains, highly processed foods and refined sugar. Looking to kickstart your diet? Anyone trying to lose weight or jumpstart a cleaner way of eating might enjoy these three paleo island recipes that are just as tasty as they are healthy.

*Always consult with your primary care physician before starting a new diet.

Saltfish Accra 

These delicious salted cod and herb fritters are paleo, Whole-30 and AIP (autoimmune protocol) diet friendly, using cassava flour, coconut oil and tapioca starch as substitutes for grains and dairy. For a vegan version of this dish, try this tasty recipe!

Paleo Island Recipes To Kickstart Your Diet

What you need

  • 1 pound frozen deboned salted cod
  • 1 small red onion, diced
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 3-4 scallions, chopped 
  • ⅓ cup cilantro, finely chopped 
  • 2 tablespoons thyme
  • ½ of a lime, juiced
  • ¼ cup cassava flour 
  • 2 ½ tablespoons tapioca starch 
  • ¼ cup coconut milk 
  • Coconut oil for frying

What to do

  1. Soak the cod in water for 15-20 minutes to rehydrate and desalinate before cooking
  2. Set a large pot of water to boil on high heat. Strain the cod and add to the boiling water. Boil for 8-9 minutes then change the water and boil again for another 10 minutes. 
  3. Once a majority of the saltiness has been removed, strain and add to a large bowl.
  4. Shred the cod and add red onion, green onion, garlic, cilantro, thyme and lime juice. Mix until combined.
  5. Add the coconut milk and stir. Adding one teaspoon at a time, fold in the tapioca starch and cassava flour until the mixture thickens into a loose dough-like consistency. Scoop out a tablespoon of the batter, roll into a ball with your hands and set aside. Continue until the batter is gone.
  6. Heat 2 tablespoons of coconut oil on medium heat in a frying pan. Add a few of the balls into the oil and cook until crispy and golden (about 5 minutes). Continue this same process with the remaining balls, discarding the old oil and heating new oil each time a new batch goes in. If too many are cooked at a time, the oil will cool and soak into the balls rather than getting them crispy.
  7. Place cooked balls onto a plate with a paper towel to soak up excess oil. Pat dry. Enjoy!

Creole Shrimp and Andouille

This one-pot meal featuring paleo and gluten-free ingredients is perfect for those looking for a dish with a spicy hit to kickstart your diet.

Paleo Island Recipes To Kickstart Your Diet

What you need

  • 12 ounces of Andouille sausage
  • ½ pound of large shrimp, peeled and deveined
  • Olive oil for cooking
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • ½ red bell pepper
  • ½ green bell pepper
  • 1 zucchini
  • ½ teaspoon dried basil
  • ½ teaspoon thyme, chopped
  • ¼ teaspoon oregano, chopped
  • ¼ teaspoon chili flakes or red pepper flakes
  • 2 ½ tablespoons tomato paste
  • ½ cup chicken broth

What to do

  1. In a large skillet, heat about 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium high heat. Add in the shrimp and stir constantly until the shrimp is transparent in the center, about 2-3 minutes depending on size. Transfer cooked shrimp to a plate and set aside.
  2. Add more olive oil to the skillet and sauté the onions, peppers, zucchini and garlic together. 
  3. Add the sausage and cook covered about 5 minutes. Stir occasionally until browned.
  4. Stir in the tomato paste and chicken broth.
  5. Add basil, thyme, oregano and pepper flakes, stirring between each addition. 
  6. Cook for another 5 minutes or until the sauce thickens. Add the shrimp and stir until the flavors are incorporated. 
  7. Eat alone or pour over natural rice.

Plantain Casserole

This flavorful Puerto Rican casserole is paleo, AIP and Whole30 friendly and is one of the heartiest paleo island recipes.

Paleo Island Recipes To Kickstart Your Diet

What you need

For the bottom layer and topping:

  • 2 ripe yellow plantains
  • ½ pound cassava or yucca
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon pepper

For the filling:

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 3-4 cloves of crushed garlic
  • 1 pound of ground beef
  • ⅓ cup fresh cilantro, chopped
  • 2 teaspoons thyme, chopped
  • 2 tablespoons capers
  • 2 tablespoons green olives (Castelvetrano olives, if possible)
  • 2 tablespoons coconut aminos (soy sauce substitute)
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon pepper

What to do

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. For the mash layer, boil the plantains and cassava or yucca in a large pot until tender. Remove the skins and blend with salt and pepper. Layer half the mash onto the bottom of a casserole dish and leave the other half in the pot. Set aside. 
  2. Add olive oil to a large skillet over medium high heat. Sauté the onions and garlic together until softened. Add in cilantro and thyme. Stir.
  3. Add the ground beef with salt and pepper and cook until browned.
  4. Reduce the heat to low. Add the capers, olives and coconut aminos to saute for about 5 minutes. 
  5. Add the beef mixture over the layer of the plantain mash in the casserole dish.  Add the remaining  mash for the final layer and top with sliced plantains. 
  6. Bake for 15 minutes.

Surviving in Style: How Audrey Nelson Beat Cancer and Looked Good Doing It

By
Lyndon Nicholas
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21

On the Saturday morning of our interview, Audrey Nelson looks stunning. She wears a full face of makeup with rouge-red lipstick and slips on elegant gold earrings which dangle off the corners of the screen. 

She teeters on the edge of the camera’s lens, avoiding being in full view. It isn’t until she stands up that I see the full scope of her ensemble: a cobalt-blue dress which could fit as well on a runway as it does in the administrative office of Bethlehem Junior Academy where Audrey Nelson and her sister, Barbara Nelson-Bennett, are fielding this interview. Audrey, who began in the medical field, has found her greatest business success forging a path in the education sector.

After a bout with stage-three cancer, Nelson has continued to show her strength, versatility and perseverance with her continuing work in education as well as a foray into the realm of fashion and consulting. Through it all, she’s proven herself a person of nuanced expertise and accomplishments, someone who exudes confidence, while shunning attention or praise. This is what makes Audrey Nelson “a phenomenal woman,” says her friend Michelle Richards.

Surviving in Style: How Audrey Nelson Beat Cancer and Looked Good Doing It

Nelson’s switch to education after a decade in the medical field was not a career path she had planned for herself. When her mother wanted to expand their at-home preschool, Nelson had her concerns. “I wasn’t sure I would like working with kids,” she admits. Curbing her trepidation, Nelson decided to go back to school to learn more about childhood education. And it worked: Nelson and her mother not only found a site for Bethlehem Preschool but went on to open Bethlehem Junior Academy, which serves kids from kindergarten through grade eight.

Audrey Nelson downplays the praise she often receives for her accomplishments, instead touting her student’s academic success above her own, noting that many of her students are now applying to and attending colleges with full-ride scholarships. To her, watching the students’ success “made it very exciting, very rewarding.”  

Smiling Through the Worst of Times

For many, cancer is seen as one of the defining challenges of their lives, but when Nelson details her experience with cancer, she does so with the  nonchalance of someone relaying the inconvenience of a common cold. Audrey knew something was wrong after she saw the worried look on her doctor’s face during a routine colonoscopy. “They came out and told me they saw multiple polyps,” Audrey says, her eyes darting away, hinting at discomfort. Others in her life were shocked. “My knees went out on me,” remembered her sister, Barbara Nelson-Bennett.

Nelson herself had a different reaction. Even when the doctor told her the cancer had metastasized, she calmly remarked, “Just tell me what to do so I can get it done quickly.” Audrey is someone who chooses to forge a path forward instead of dwelling on her challenges.

During the chemotherapy treatments, Nelson stayed with her sister. “I have never seen anyone handle sickness the way my sister did,” Nelson-Bennett admits. “She was taking care of me!” Nelson helped plan and schedule her sister’s wedding, as well as providing emotional support despite the often-excruciating treatments she herself was undergoing. Nelson pays little mind to what many might consider the darkest of her challenges. Instead, she grins and remarks that to her, cancer wasn’t something that she “looked at like a negative.” She found a way to spin her experience to help others. “It’s helped me to give strength to other women who have gone through it.”

Family has always been an anchor for Nelson, especially during times of struggle. When she and her husband divorced, it was family in Florida that took her and her two young sons in so that she could get back on her feet. During that time, she worked multiple jobs as a single mother, got her bachelor’s degree, and made sure that her sons were able to attend prestigious private schools. “At that point, I evolved,” Nelson relates, a tremor of pride in her voice.

Nelson considers her and her sons, 27-year old Anthony Box Jr. and 32-year old Claude Box II, a tight family unit. They agree, and in their anecdotes emerges the picture of a woman willing to do anything for her own. “She’s one of the few people that I’ve seen that exemplifies unconditional love,” Anthony says. Claude likens her to a brown bear. “You know how you never cross paths between a bear and her cubs? That’s how strong she is, and how protective she has been for us.” Through family, she has both found strength and become an example of it for her children as they move forward in life.

Fashion Was Her Shield

Surviving in Style: How Audrey Nelson Beat Cancer and Looked Good Doing It

Even the strongest individuals need tools to help themselves stay grounded during hard times. During her battle with cancer, Audrey Nelson leaned on fashion to keep her spirits up. She went to her hospital appointments fully made up. She said she “dressed up, so much so that they thought that I wasn’t a patient.” She remembers draping herself every day in her favorite self-curated outfits even when she wasn’t at her best. She’d conceal her chemo bag within designer handbags, hide her newly gaunt figure under the gallant contours of couture brands and the sparkle of accessories.

The hallways of her doctor’s office would become the runways to her fashion show, as she pretended the fluorescent overhead lights were the glimmering flashes of paparazzi wielding cameras. She found power in this practice that others might deem superficial. “That was one of the only things that kept me going. It made me happy, and it kept me alive.” Donning her favorite outfits and accessories helped her exude a strength that extended from the external to the internal. 

From a young age, Nelson had always been interested in fashion. “My whole passion was being a fashion designer.” But she did not enter the fashion world in her youth because of the social climate. She found it hard to “break into the market,” especially as a young, black, immigrant woman.  

After winning her fight with cancer and gaining a new perspective on life, Audrey Nelson, now 60,  shares that she is “excited for life” and still has many plans for the future. In addition to spending time with family and continuing her work with Bethlehem Junior Academy, Nelson plans to open an online store, consulting with women on how to use fashion as a form of empowerment. Educating people on how to dress is her way of teaching women “how to take pride in yourself.” 

In the end, she isn’t a phenomenal woman because of what she’s been through, but because of how she’s been able to carry herself through it all: as someone with poise and, as longtime friend Joan Quinland describes, as someone “full of grace.”

These 3 Creatives Are Giving Representation to the Chinese Caribbean Diaspora

By
Rebecca Hugh
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0
Danielle Ayow at the Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival.

These creatives, born and bred in North America and deeply inspired by their roots, are engaging with their heritage and representing the Chinese Caribbean diaspora to create distinctive voices in art forms from food to film.

For second-generation kids from Chinese Caribbean immigrant families, weeknight dinners and bedtime tales mean much more than spending time together. These precious moments sharing stories and traditions become a gateway to past generations. No matter where loved ones go, their culture travels with them, shaping a sense of belonging that transcends borders. 

Katarina Wong, Mixed Media

New York x Cuba

3 Creatives Are Giving Representation to the Chinese Caribbean Diaspora - Katarina Wong.
Photo courtesy of Katarina Wong

Art has always been a family affair for New York-based artist, writer and curator Katarina Wong. Wong remembers her creativity being encouraged as a small child. “My father would give me paint brushes and usually I would draw or paint as he worked at his drafting table,” she says. With a Chinese immigrant father and Cuban mother, Wong explores this legacy of migration throughout her mixed media practice. 

These dynamics are writ large in her series “Azulejos,” which was prompted by the renovation of her apartment in Havana, Cuba. She became enchanted by the beauty and history of the traditional cement tiles, made from techniques brought over by the Spanish that evolved into something authentically Caribbean. Learning how artisans created these colorful tiles inspired her to meld their patterns with the iconic Chinese takeout box ― another object shaped by migration as immigrant Asian restaurateurs adopted an American innovation. She entangles these cultural threads further, painting the tile patterns in Chinese imperial yellow and the classic blue-and-white palette of Ming Dynasty porcelain. 

3 Creatives Are Giving Representation to the Chinese Caribbean Diaspora - Tile work in Wong's apartment in Old Havana, Cuba.
Tile work in Wong’s apartment in Old Havana, Cuba.
Photo courtesy of Katarina Wong

With a master’s degree in theological studies, Wong, deeply informed by the Buddhist ideology of dependent origination, investigates cultural intersections. “We’re all co-creating reality together,” she explains. “There’s no objective reality.” She explores this interconnection in her installation series, “The Fingerprint Project.” Creating molds of friends’ fingertips, she assembles each individual fingerprint into soaring patterns that mimic animal migrations.

3 Creatives Are Giving Representation to the Chinese Caribbean Diaspora - Fingerprint Project
Fingerprint Project: Murmuration Unfolding, 2017.
Photo courtesy of Katarina Wong

It’s a poetic reminder of the complexity underlying humanity, a sentiment that also resonates for the artist when thinking about her island roots. “I think it’s very easy to think of Caribbean people as monolithic,” Katarina Wong says. “What I hope to show is that the Caribbean is a complex and wonderful confluence of cultures and history.” 

Craig Wong, Culinary Arts

Canada x Kingston

As owner and chef of famed Toronto restaurant Patois, Craig Wong attracted major accolades for his spin on Chinese-Caribbean cuisine. Before branching out on his own, he honed his skills at Michelin-starred restaurants like Alain Ducasse au Plaza Athénée in Paris and The Fat Duck in England. But his love for food goes back to the family kitchen, learning dishes from his Chinese-Jamaican parents who came to Canada in the early 1970s.

3 Creatives Are Giving Representation to the Chinese Caribbean Diaspora - Toronto chef, Craig Wong.
Toronto chef, Craig Wong.
Photo courtesy of Craig Wong

He credits his China-born grandmother and his father, a Kingstonian, as the first to introduce him to his passion. Cooking alongside them, he learned how much Chinese culinary stylings actually helped shape Jamaican cuisine, “Even in just understanding how soy sauce has become an integral ingredient in jerk paste.” He remembers his grandmother fondly as the original creative improviser. “She was cooking Chinese food with Jamaican ingredients and she was cooking Jamaican food with the Chinese ingredients,” he recalls.

  • These 3 Creatives Are Giving Representation to the Chinese Caribbean Diaspora
    Jerk Lobster
  • These 3 Creatives Are Giving Representation to the Chinese Caribbean Diaspora
    Trini Doubles

The chef brings this mindset to all his culinary ventures, launching his second Toronto restaurant, Bar Mignonette, and serving as executive chef for Dubai’s first Jamaican restaurant, Ting Irie. Wong likes to constantly experiment, exploring myriad techniques like American Southern smokers, churrasco rotisseries and high-powered woks. “I keep a little journal of all the different iterations of each dish,” he says. “I can have 34 different iterations of the same dish.”

3 Creatives Are Giving Representation to the Chinese Caribbean Diaspora - Inside Wong’s landmark Toronto restaurant, Patois.
Inside Wong’s landmark Toronto restaurant, Patois.
Photo courtesy of BIBD

Grounded by this playful approach, he rejects pursuits of culinary purity. Because for Craig Wong, Caribbean food evolved with so many different cultural influences. “That’s why I challenge anyone who says this is not authentic,” he said. “Food travels. Culture travels. And the more we say that food has to be this, the more we’re stopping ourselves from discovering new, delicious combinations.”

Danielle Ayow, Filmmaker

Canada x Trinidad

3 Creatives Are Giving Representation to the Chinese Caribbean Diaspora - “But You’re Not Black”
Danielle Ayow was both the writer and director for “But You’re Not Black.”
Photo courtesy of Danielle Ayow

Danielle Ayow grew up in Toronto, Canada, but her childhood home felt like a world of its own. “The Chinese Caribbean mix was a culture in itself,” laughed Ayow, an actor, comedian, writer and filmmaker. Her Chinese-Trinidadian parents instilled in her a deep love for her island roots, filling her early years with vibrant Caribbean festivals like Toronto’s iconic Caribana.

3 Creatives Are Giving Representation to the Chinese Caribbean Diaspora - Promo ad for the “But You’re Not Black” film.
Promo ad for the “But You’re Not Black” film.
Photo courtesy of Danielle Ayow

Her most recent project involved writing and directing the deeply personal documentary “But You’re Not Black,” which explores the shared joys and challenges many face growing up as Chinese Caribbean in North America. Danielle Ayow well remembers her university days where many people would challenge her cultural affiliation. They’d say, “But you’re not Black,” or ask, “Which parent is mixed?” Fed up, Ayow joked about “this nonsense,” but her frustration fueled what would become a powerful endeavor. She remembers saying, “I’m going to make a documentary that talks about the Chinese immigrants coming to the Caribbean, and that will just help educate the world.” 

The project took three years to complete as Ayow spoke with family and other Chinese Caribbean people about their collective experience. The film is touring the festival circuit in North America and the Caribbean, racking up awards along the way. So far, it has earned the Audience Award at the 2020 Boston Asian-American Film Festival and the Best Documentary Award at the 2020 CaribbeanTales International Film Festival. 

And as an actor, Danielle Ayow is already building an impressive resume with appearances on hit shows like “The Handmaid’s Tale,” “Nurses” and the upcoming, highly anticipated miniseries “Station Eleven.” Whether in front of or behind the camera, she hopes to broaden people’s understanding of complex identities. “Because,” Ayow says, “We have to recognize that there is a lot of diversity within the diverse.”

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ISLAND ORIGINS MAGAZINE is a lifestyle brand that reflects the Caribbean American community. It celebrates the accomplishments and seeks the advice of our high achievers, explores the complex social issues that affect us and our neighbors, and enjoys the frivolities of design, fashion and entertainment inspired by our colorful cultures.

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