By Kinisha O'Neill, Staff Reporter
COLETTE GARRICK'S love, aside from her children, is her shop - a small cottage to the side of her home located off Hope Road in St. Andrew. It represents her aspirations and life's desires.
Once called The Wanderer (she spent 21 years roaming the world, collecting art) Garrick has, within the last year, renamed the shop Colette as a symbol of her graduation from wandering to finding her true self.
She has done what many have only dreamed of, turning her passion into her occupation. Garrick satisfies her monetary needs by selling unique art, craft and jewellery picked up from places like Brazil, Mexico and Kenya, to name a few.
This 51-year-old seasoned traveller and businesswoman is a mother of three, vegetarian, multicultural cook and survivor of some of life's greatest challenges death, divorce and depression.
I love... art and craft and seeing the creativity. It's like it has an energy of its own, like you're experiencing what the artist experienced at the time.
Success is... not about money, it's about inner peace. Even if I don't have money I have faith that it will come my way, and you know it always does. I certainly know... that God is there for me. They say if God is with you nothing can be against you. I live in faith and that has brought me a lot of peace.
I was always... an artistic person. Albert Huie's (famous Jamaican painter) wife was my mother's best friend, so I grew up posing for him and watching him paint. My mother took me to exhibitions; it served me well in the long run.
Jamaicans are... very creative. We just need to be shown what can be done in a positive way instead of a negative one. I started the shop to help build creativity in Jamaica. It actually worked because a lot of artists who needed a boost would just come to visit even though they didn't have any money. They would come and just look around, for the stimulation.
I have been eccentric... ever since I was a kid. I had a brother who died when I was three. My parents had taken us to England to get treatment for him. My father died two weeks after I turned 12 that was a big shocker for me. After that, my mother did not want to live in Jamaica so we travelled around the world until I finally just asked her to send me to boarding school. I think those things have definitely helped to shape who I am.
The only regret I have... is that I wasn't able to make my marriage work, but maybe it wasn't in me. (They separated in 1996 and were divorced in 1999.) I don't actually regret the divorce itself, just the fact that I couldn't keep the vow. The marriage though was just too overwhelming. I'm sorry I had to break a vow I had made to God.
Being a woman... I always wanted to do things that would keep me close to my children. That's why I did things like teaching vegetarian cooking, making jewellery and having the shop.
GRAND OPPORTUNITY
The shop... never was a great moneymaking endeavour. It was more about sharing. The profits could assist with paying the bills and I could earn something to support myself. Although I was married I still paid my own bills. My husband appreciated it because it took some of the pressure off him.
It allowed me to... meet people and share my travel experience with them. I enjoyed that a lot, that's a part of who I am, a people person.
I renamed the shop Colette because I was no longer the Wanderer. I have stopped the wandering. I was just myself.
I must be doing the right thing... because since I've reopened doors have just been opening for me. I strongly believe that when you are doing the right thing, God just opens doors for you. He takes care of you. That's why there is no need to worry, everything always works out the way they should.
ADVICE TO YOUNGSTERS
Today, women cannot always... afford to stay at home, but they need to find something to do where they can work and earn from home. Kids need the maternal support in the early years. Kids need their mothers, not helpers or their grandmothers.
I advise young women... who want to start their own business to do the research, read the books, go to the library, find out where to get the cheapest supplies and test the market to see what people like, what they need. Once people know that you have it, then they'll come to you. Don't live above your means. A good business card is always important. Once it is attractive, people will refer to it. Start your business as inexpensively as possible.
Visualisation... is also important. I visualise everything I want and I write it all down. People need to know they can have everything they want. You just have to visualise it and work for it.
Do something that you love... then you'll be able to work from sun up to sundown. I teach my kids this and I'm happy that they seem to be following it. If you seek excellence in your own work then everything will follow. Don't be mediocre with your work.
I also do... vegetarian cooking. I cook Mexican, Chinese, Indian and Thai, from recipes I I learned in my travels.
I am currently... selling Mexican, Brazilian, African, Haitian and Indonesian artwork. Prices range from $100 to $5,000. I also sell craft, jewellery and semi-precious stones as well as organic baby clothes, face products and MACA, a Peruvian tuber that acts as a hormone balancer for men and women. It acts as male Viagra and relieves menopausal symptoms in women. I also sell COQ10, an organic rub for problem skin.
HEALTHWISE
I've been a vegetarian... for 10 years, but I still eat fish. Nature is soothing for me, especially the beach. I go to Lime Cay once per week or at least every two weeks.
I get a... Shiatsu massage once every two weeks religiously and I drink a lot of water.
I exercise regularly... I went to the gym for 15 years. Now I do yoga two times per week. I also run and do pilates. I do consider myself a naturalist, although I love make-up and wear it occasionally when I am going out.
