about me
Hey guys! thanks for checking out my page!
I'm a twenty-something who's just trying to live her best life on the island of Barbados. Like everything, that comes with its pluses and minuses. On the bright side, it's always summer here and we're never more than 20 minutes away from the beach. On the other hand, as a beauty and fashion junkie, it can be really difficult to get my fix since most of the products I came to love in the U.S. just aren't sold here, and importing them yourself is unnecessarily complicated. It's definitely hard to go from having amazon delivery your orders the same day to waiting a month, then having to schedule an appointment to collect it from the port and having no clue how much you're going to end up paying in duties ( it's actually 200% on some items here) So on this site I'll be documenting what makes it so challenging and so amazing to call this little rock home.
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I also love to experiment with skincare and beauty products so I'll be documenting all of that as well if you're dealing with any of the same issues that I am it just might help you pick the right products for yourself!
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Because of the times we live in, I've developed something of a love-hate relationship with fashion and as I mentioned, it's another passion that has been complicated by moving home. I say that because it's so important for me that we have humans ( and especially Millenials ) do everything in our power to live sustainable lives and that the products we spend our money on don't support companies that exploit their workers. That being said living here it can be extremely expensive and consistently get "slow fashion" here. As i'm writting this, I haven't even been working full time for a full year so I just don't have the resouces I would need at this point to build an extirely sustainable wardobe. What I do try to do it support local small business as much as possible and save towards a capsule wardrobe I can be proud of! Until then, I'll just be sharing from what I'm able to reasonably source here now!
SO whether it's the crochet pieces I'm creating myself, or the what new items I'm adding to my wardrobe, you'll see it all here!
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Background
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"I've lived in Barbados, Venezuela,Canada, Montezuma, New Mexico and Florida and I don't intend to stop there!"
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Growing up in Barbados, I never really expected to be back here as an adult but after graduating from the University of Florida in 2017 nothing sounded better to me than coming home and spending the first few years of my working life on the beautiful island I grew up on. Before the University of Florida, I attended the United World College (UWC) in the USA and had two of the most transformative years of my life ( on a side note, if you're reading this and considering applying, do it!! Also, feel free to fill out the contact box if you have any questions for me, it's been a while but I if I can't help I usually know someone who can!)
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Whilst at UF I started the Brathwaite Brand which was my life of handmade crochet items. I created tops, bags, swimsuits and baby outfits. Since coming home I haven't been doing it as much as I used to because I'm extremely picky about what type yarn I use. There's a contact form on the crochet page here that you can fill out if you're interested in ordering something but now it's always based on what yarn I have available at the time.
Lastly, here are a few quick facts about me
- I'm a cat lover ( the word crazy has been floated around once or twice)
- I work in digital marketing in the tourism industry ( which is part of where the whole Caribbean content creator comes in because I work for a company that operates across the region)
- I have one little sister
- I'm a libra ( and I read horoscopes all the time even though I know it's not real)
- handbags > shoes
-if you know me you know that Briar is not the name I grew up with. The reason that decided to go by Briar kind of hard to explain but just know that it's the name I choose for myself and that's all that matters:)
- I have the biggest sweet tooth ( it's a serious problem)
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That's it for me! If you're a brand who'd like to work with me or If you like what you see here and have some feedback for me, feel free to fill out the contact box below!
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xoxo Briar Brathwaite
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