Tavy’s Tag Dat brings Jamaican proverbs to life

A dream about her late grandmother would eventually inspire Tavia Gooden Ferguson to turn Jamaican proverbs into illustrated stories on clothing and souvenirs. What began as an effort to bring additional income into her household during the COVID-19 pandemic has since grown into Tavy’s Tag Dat, Tag Dat for short, a Jamaican brand using creative imagery to bring familiar sayings to life.

Hailing from Clarendon, Gooden Ferguson grew up in a family of educators, including her mother, who is now retired from teaching. Being involved in her mother’s classroom preparations from an early age helped nurture her creative instincts.

“I would always be actively involved in helping my mother make charts or fun items for her students. So, my creative side was encouraged and nurtured from exceedingly early on. Since I grew up around creative people, being creative was second nature to me,” she said.

Although she pursued the sciences at Glenmuir High School and later The University of the West Indies, Mona, her creative interests continued to develop, fuelled by her love of anime and animation.

Founded in May 2022, Tag Dat was a joint effort between Gooden Ferguson and her husband, Darrington, who has a background in history and archaeology. While the couple initially wanted to create an additional income stream, they also saw an opportunity to highlight lesser-known aspects of Jamaican culture through their products.

“We thought, what about doing something related to our culture, maybe print on T-shirts, but not the same things you see everywhere with Bob Marley or ‘Yeh Mon’. Those are all great, but there is so much more to our culture. But the question remained, ‘What do we do?’” she explained.

After days of pondering and prayer, inspiration came to Gooden Ferguson in a dream about her late grandmother, who suggested that she build the business around Jamaican proverbs.

“In my dream, my grandmother said, ‘Tavy, why not do Jamaican Proverbs?’ To which she responded, “Really, Grandma?” Tavy’s grandmother then continued by reminding her that she was familiar with these phrases through her upbringing. “And that was it, that is what triggered the concept,” Gooden Ferguson recalled.

With the concept decided, Gooden Ferguson worked with her husband to develop the brand’s visual identity, using illustrations to give each proverb a creative interpretation.

Jamaican Parables

“The images bring the proverbs/parables to life with a little humour, and with that, Tavy’s Tag Dat - Bringing Jamaican Parables to Life was born. It grabs your attention and leaves an impression. We not only add the proverbs with the image, but we also include the meaning; that way, for people who might not understand or know what the proverb is saying, the explanation is there,” she shared.

Bringing the illustrations to life is a collaborative effort, with the business owner working alongside graphic artist Gashwayne Hudson to translate her ideas into designs. She also credits her friend Oneil Banton, who contributed to the brand’s logo, colour concepts and other design elements.

Tag Dat currently features 10 Jamaican proverbs across a range of products, including adult and children’s T-shirts, sweatshirts, hoodies, crop tops and baby onesies. The collection also extends to insulated tumblers, mugs, frosted mason jars, tote bags, hats and jigsaw puzzles.

Asked about customer favourites, Gooden Ferguson said, “Two of our most popular proverbs are ‘If Yuh Waan Good, Yuh Nose Affi Run’ and ‘Scawnful Dawg Nyam Dutty Pudd’n’. The former is my favourite, and the latter is my husband’s and grandmother’s favourite; she used to say it to me often.”

While the pandemic presented an opportunity for Tag Dat to grow, Hurricane Melissa dealt a blow to sales during one of the business’ busiest periods.

“The biggest challenge we faced was people not being able to spend as freely as they did prior to the disaster. This would have impacted our end-of-year sales, as this is one of our busiest seasons. However, even though our sales were impacted, we were still well supported and were able to donate towards hurricane relief. We were also blessed coming out of Suga Lifestyle’s Christmas Connection 2025 with the contract to supply Kingston Bookshop with Tavy’s Tag Dat Products,” she shared.

new audiences

Tag Dat’s growing visibility has also earned the brand a place at the 2026 staging of the Treasure Beach Food, Rum and Reggae three-day festival, which kicked off on Friday and ends on Sunday. Reflecting on the opportunity, particularly in the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa, Gooden Ferguson said she hopes the event will help introduce the brand to new audiences and open doors to corporate partnerships.

At the festival, patrons can expect product bundles featuring locally made handbags from Khentish Designs JA.

“We also have a surprise for patrons who visit our booth - there will also be an item on sale that we have never sold at any other event,” she added.

With products already available at Fontana Waterloo and select Kingston Bookshop locations, Gooden Ferguson hopes to take Tag Dat into local airports, boutiques and eventually international markets. Beyond growing the business, they want to introduce more people, particularly younger generations and members of the diaspora, to the richness of Jamaican proverbs and the heritage they carry.

lifestyle@gleanerjm.com