JERVIS Thompson is one of three partners who run Creative Tailoring, despite not having a secondary education.

“I have three sisters going to high school that time when I was supposed to go to high school. It was only my mom alone. She had to send them to school and I decided that well, I will go and work. So I start working from I was 14,” he stated.

Thompson worked anywhere a job was available at the time. “When I just started out I was doing mason at the time, then I start doing farming, and I just kept on working.”

He did not settle into a job until he was about 20 years old, when his current business partner and childhood friend Peter James told him about an opportunity at his workplace.

“He was the one at the time working for a company in May Pen that sew lunch bag. At the time I didn’t know anything about sewing. He said, ‘You know I have a work for you?’ And me seh wah kind a work? and him seh sewing. Suh me seh my yute you know seh me cyaa use machine and him seh that’s not a problem.

“He brought his machine at my home. I was to do the interview on a Monday so he brought the machine on a Saturday and he showed me what to do on the machine, and I stitch on straight line and stuff like that. So it end up that me get it, not perfect, but I manipulate it — and I went in on the Monday and I do the interview and I got the job,” Thompson shared.

While working, Thompson made the conscious decision to get certified. “After I start sewing at the lunch bag the company, I went to HEART in May Pen and I do a course there in garment construction and fashion designing. Successfully I got out with Level 1 and level 2 certificate. I haven’t done CXC. When I tell persons I have never been to a high school and stuff like that they don’t believe me. Reading and listening to different programmes really enhanced my vocabulary.”

After a while, Thompson and his friend Peter James decided that they wanted to run their own business. “We want to sew for ourselves and create a product for ourselves. At the time I was sewing on my verandah still, and me start look deep inside myself and see that the verandah ting not going to work out and push us very far, so we searched for places. We looked at Mandeville, but Mandeville was overpopulated with tailors so we seh alright, we are coming to May Pen.”

Creative Tailoring began in 2015, with the team sewing clothing. Realising that sewing clothes alone would not work, the Milk River natives brainstormed ideas to see what else they could produce. This was how their brand — Settaway — came into play.

“We started doing bags. At first, we started making lunch bags. We never just wanna settle for lunch bag alone, so we start doing the water bottle holders and backpacks. We didn’t stop there. We know persons buy bag and the disability with bags — it nuh really serve long, and the material were not durable. So we seh alright we can put a twist to dat and mek it stronger,” Thompson said.

His partner Peter James explained why they went ahead with making bags. “We try fi deal wid reality, things that you use in reality. We don’t want to have to just give you a product. We can make money by just replicating bags that are already popular and just sell it. But, that would just say too much about black people. We’re Jamaicans, we’re creative in every way.

“Going to school you always haffi protect you bag. You always haffi use yourself fi shelter u bag. It shouldn’t be that way. So we solved that problem — the bags is water-resistant. We include embroidery as well to bring up the quality,” James continued.

The leatherette used to make the bags are imported from the United States. This is where the third partner — Ryan Douglas — comes in. He markets the business overseas and purchases the material needed. James pointed out that this material is tested before purchasing to ensure that it is of good quality.

It is costly, however, to purchase the raw material from the US. Creative Tailoring spends almost US$2,000 to buy and send the material, and almost double the price to clear it when it arrives in Jamaica. However, its conceptualisers believe it is worth it, because the quality is excellent and customers will get value for their money.

Creative Tailoring provides islandwide delivery to their customers. They also accommodate persons overseas who place orders through their social media pages. However, the team is working on setting up a website to reach even more persons living overseas.

The sewing company officials were among the few young entrepreneurs who received grants after completing the Youth in Business programme in 2016.