What’s good in the hood? I really and truly hope all is well with you and yours especially with the New Year and all. 2013 looks fine and dandy no?! Clearly I took a break from blogging for a tad and tried to live life a bit while figuring out where I was going in life — both professionally and personally. I’m a work in progress ya’ll and I hope you can identify with me in some way. In figuring it all out, I had the opportunity pursue a little bit of interior design for a friend over the Christmas plus I won a contest held on Facebook by celebrity interior designer and reality TV star Nikki Chu (of which I’m sure I’ll still post about.) Wooohoo!!! Well, the win was that spark that lit a lil fire under my ass and gave me some encouragement to step out and just do it you know.

As with most serious decisions, there was a level of fear in pursuing what I surely had a bit of talent. So, after weeks of pondering I decided to create Gigi + Nini Designs. For now, it’s a blog that focuses on my interior design obsessions as well giving a peek into my journey/learning process of becoming a self taught accessories designer. Gigi + Nini Designs… has an awesome ring to it no? There is so much to learn, but I think I’m up for it. (Pray and wish me luck). Anyhoo, with that said, I hope that you can visit and join me on the Facebook page. It will mean a heck of a lot if you do. Also, you may notice that things are looking a bit different around there here parts. I’ve changed over to the WordPress platform and I’m working on making the blog more visually appealing and chock full of good content. So, officially, it’s back to your regularly scheduled fashion, and style obsessing program. You with me? Yes!!!!

Thus, enter the LURVE CENTRAL (pretty much like Grand Central — abuzz with activity, but here we’re just a hub of LURVE). I’ve been pretty much fallen in love with cobalt. It’s so bright and beautiful — puts a smile on my face every time I see it. Oh, and the orange and cobalt or white and cobalt togetherness, though a bit cliche, is super duper awesome-sauce. Trust!

Oh, and by the way, thank you for being that ‘down homie, lurver, friend, ride or die’ kinda dude/dudette. I see you all still passing though and giving mad love through email and the like. I see ya’ and appreciate it all. Thank you bews!!! Meh lurve yah!!!

They are simply divine!!!

“Creativity is the basis of self-expression. Why are some people supposedly more creative than others, and why can’t others open themselves up enough to be able to express who they are?

Creation is the birth of something, and something cannot come from nothing. When someone creates something: a painting, a poem, a photograph, the creativity comes from an idea, from a feeling, from emotion, or from a combination of ideas, feelings and emotions that are somehow ‘reborn’ from all our experiences and perspectives.

Creativity is the desire to express ourselves. To formulate these expressions, we have to draw from our reservoir of experience, dreams, desires and experimentation and mix together what was, what is, and what could be… I don’t think you can learn it, it is rather something that evolves. Your perception of everything in your life fills up this reservoir.

Some people are drawn to create and express themselves, others are drawn to reflect, to analyze. But in the end, they all could be creative if they had the desire to explore the way in which they are integrated in the world of their experiences. Because creativity is really a rebirth, a true tone we feel for ourselves and for our world. Then our work becomes a real part of who we are. Maybe all this is a question of how deep we are willing to go…”

This is Trinidad and Tobago Carnival. Carnival is Trinidad and Tobago Fashion. It’s that place where imagination runs rampant. This mini documentary by Haute Caribe takes us a bit deeper into the state and influence of the Trinidad and Tobago fashion industry. It’s about  has been quite the shot of inspiration really.Truth be told, I’ve watched it quite a couple of times and I’m encouraged more and more to create what I envision.

Please take a look and get a glimpse of the bits and pieces of my homeland. From that, I hope that you leave with an appreciation of our splendid melange of cultures as well as it’s influence our fashion. Let me know what you think in the comment section.