Barbados Investment & Development Corporation

Regional design Initiative gets going

Thursday, 28 May 2009 12:06

The Caribbean Export Design Initiative, launched in 2008 with the goal of growing design capacity and increasing the output of high-end products from the region, has set January 2010 at the Maison et Object Show in Paris for the launch of new handicraft collections by an enlarged group of companies.

To attain that goal, a planning meeting in Jamaica in mid-February set initial goals along the way, starting with the establishment of the Caribbean Design Network, and national design network, and national design networks in several CARIFORUM countries.  A database of design practitioners in each country will also be created, and lobbying efforts to governments and awareness campaigns will also be undertaken.

Products in the original Onsite Caribbean handicraft line will be refined and the existing collection expanded, while new collections will be created with additional companies.

It is also planned that the existing design centres in Jamaica, Barbados, Dominican Republic and Trinidad & Tobago will be used to create and pilot a new design network with regional designers, identify potential design nodes and partners in areas without a design centre.

A mission to Maison et Objet in September is planned for designers and companies involved in the Onsite Caribbean Project.

Source: TRADEWATCH, 02/2009