Jamaican Living Memoir

Friday, 22 February 2013

'Jamaican-Made' Jamaica Day

Hey World! :)

Today is celebrated as Jamaica Day observed under the theme ‘Celebrate Jamaica: We On It’, so in honour of my country i'm going to profile two Jamaican made products i love. The first is the exquisite leather sandals, Bridget Sandals by local Jamaican designer Bridget Brown.

Style Name: Fringe (pictured on the left)

The Bridget Sandals line is elegantly simple ranging from leather slingbacks and ankle wrap thongs to ornamental flip flops. Her delicate detailing is often inspired by nature with floral or leaf-like embellishments available in many colours particularly metallics and colours inspired by the Caribbean.
Bridget's philosophy is that her sandals are ornaments for the feet which can serve as a conversation piece.

Style Name: Rose (above)

Style Names : Valerie (top left),
Cutaway (bottom left and center),
Mary Kay (top second left to right & bottom right)

Style Name: Norma (above)

So treat your feet to something sweet! Call 876-968-1913 for details on prices or visit the

Bridget Sandals facebook page here.

The other Jamaican designer work i love and fully endorse is Peace-is of Bianca. Bianca Bartley is the creator of this dynamic and exquisite jewellery line. She is an incredibly talented young woman that i just can't wait to see more of her work. Peace-Is of Bianca is where abstract meets organic, giving birth to a fusion of copper, silver, gold, intertwined with semi-precious metals and stones, and a variety of raw materials. Her line is very much in the ethos of “living green”, inspired by nature and her moods.

Bianca’s work has been featured in many local and regional publications. In August 2012 the line was sought after by the ANISA production team of International Television Reality Series- America’s next Top Model, College Edition Cycle 19 which aired in October [where] contestants vie for over thousands of dollars worth of jewellery courtesy of Peace-is of Bianca.

Above pictures from the 'Kaleidoscope' collection.

Left, arm candy bracelets; right, layered chains.

'Peace-is The Cure' collection made for Breast Cancer Awareness Month

For more info. on this collection click: http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20121015/flair/flair8.html

'Water Lily' with Amethyst

I LOOOOOOOVE THESE 'Peace-is of Bianca' Staple Hammered earrings

To place an order or inquire about Peace-is contact: peaceisofbianca@gmail.com or go to the

'Peace-is of Bianca' facebook page here.

Tuesday, 19 February 2013

Stand Up Against Rape or Watch The Nation Fall

Hey World! :)

Take a listen to this song posted below by Jamaican entertainer Romain Virgo titled "Mi a wait".

Awesome song with an even more important message, which should educate the young minds on the respect women deserve and the meaning of the word no. Simply put, ‘no’ means NO!

The reason for waiting on consent and not forcing the other party into sex is not because of the legal punishment but it is out of respect for the other party. It is because we are both entitled to make decisions for ourselves about what we want to do with our bodies. How we want to treat our bodies. Who we want to get involved with. We have that right to decide for ourselves.

Every nation ought to stand up against rape. (Although the legal definition of rape varies from country to country, rape is generally defined as forced or nonconsensual sexual contact, against a female by a male. However, men can still be forced into nonconsensual sex either by a female or a male.) Whether it is from the soft voice of a female or the deep of a man’s, no still means NO!

Scary Fact: “[T]he fastest-growing crimes in Jamaica at the moment are rape and incest. Statistics show that the cases of sexual abuse have increased exponentially since 2007, moving from 121 cases in that year to 2,671 reported cases in 2011. And experts agree that the figure is actually much higher since there is an estimated high percentage of under-reporting. Not only are rape and incest increasing, but the ages of the victims keep getting lower and lower.”
Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/columns/When-rape-becomes-common_12667494#ixzz2LMYbVYNW”

Important To Know:

“Stop” means NO!
“I don’t want to” means NO!
“Do not touch me” means NO!

(But it is not limited to only those words, there is a distinct difference in consenting, just listen.)

Silence does not translate to consent!
My dresscode is not consent!
Being under the influence of drugs or alcohol does not necessarily translate to consent, so it’s best to postpone sex and wait. (Prevention better than cure.)
Consent can be revoked at any time! Whether we just took off our clothes, or we almost started having sex or whether we are mid-penetration and it feels good to you. You have a right to change your mind at any time.
In my view, your “don’t…. stop” rape jokes are only perpetuating the grotesque rape culture of our society! Don’t try to smudge the line between not wanting sex and consenting. It is not funny. Stop it!