Traditionally, paper is used to celebrate a five-year anniversary. So, it’s fitting that for this year’s staging of Design Week JA, its fifth anniversary, the theme is Eco (is) Essential. Understanding that the country is still in a pandemic, event conceptualiser Novia McDonald-Whyte kicked off this year’s staging by moderating a webinar yesterday, Wednesday, October 20, with a panel of heavy-hitters.

The webinar was entitled Sustainability — The New Hallmark of Living and Conscious Design… The Only Way Forward. The panel comprised outgoing Urban Development Corporation (UDC) General Manager Heather Pinnock; National Commercial Bank (NCB) Fairview Financial Centre Branch Manager Stuart Barnes; True Value International Senior Consultant – Paint Todd Myers; National Housing Trust (NHT)Corporate and Public Affairs Manager Dwayne Berbick; chartered accountant Patricia Henry; ARC Manufacturing Limited Managing Director Deanall Barnes; Timothy Oulton, head of retail Jude Leach; and Timothy Oulton (Barbados) Gallery Manager Emma Alexander.

First up was Pinnock. In addition to highlighting that climate change disproportionately affects the Caribbean despite the region emitting less than 1 per cent of the world’s carbon emissions, she discussed sustainability and its impact on everyday life. “What we do today affects the future,” she said. Sustainability lies at the intersection of environment, society and economy. Simply put, in determining what things cost, and what consumers want, people should not do anything economically or socially that affects the environment.

Barnes then discussed the impact of the pandemic on home and business. He framed NCB’s outlook on sustainability as being influenced by the “process of looking at ourselves in terms of health and wealth”. During the pandemic, he noted, the bank has done many things to safeguard the well-being of its customers. Notable among them is a three-month zero per cent interest on $100,000, which customers can use to invest in making their home a sanctuary or investing in personal health.

Myers, as is customary, gave a preview of the paint colour of the year for the upcoming year. True Value’s 2022 paint colours of the year are Elm Street (a “mid-tone, soothing and timeless greyed green”) and Brilliant Berry (a purplish, “blue-red hue”). On the eco-friendly front, Myers was proud to shine a spotlight on True Value paints, all having achieved every possible eco-certification, including from the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA), whose certification is one of the most difficult to obtain.

In keeping with its parish development plan, the NHT continues to make headway in creating sustainable developments. Newsworthy takeaways from Berbick’s presentation include the Trust’s partnering with Bureau of Standards Jamaica to explore incorporating bamboo in construction. Berbick noted that the company was still committed to green spaces (homeowners receive two fruit trees to plant on their lots). It is also keen on forming partnerships with developers who have novel and “alternative building solutions” that are green. Berbick also reiterated the NHT’s advantageous solar power panel loan.

Henry, followed with an inspiring personal story about homeownership. At 25, with two children, she purchased a home. What was interesting and on-theme was that she opted to buy a home rather than a motor vehicle — an unconscious eco decision. Henry shared with viewers how they too can level up, lower mortgage rates, and shorten the duration of the mortgage repayment period.

Barnes was quick to highlight that ARC Manufacturing Limited, a supporter of Design Week JA from the inception, embraces initiatives that impact communities and daily life, which is a part of the company’s ethos.

“we have relationships with our internal and external communities,” the managing director said.

In addition to hiring staffers committed to sustainability, ARC only embarks on projects that embrace green technology, and operates manufacturing processes that adopt sustainability best practices. Barnes, too, allowed viewers to celebrate with the organisation, which once again attained ISO certification.

Meanwhile, from across the Pond, Leach took viewers inside the Timothy Oulton flagship gallery. Fresh from attending the opening of the founder’s newest venture — a gastropub called The Chelsea Pig by Timothy Oulton — Leach was still full of energy.

Sustainability, she explained, is a hallmark of the Timothy Oulton brand, and Leach demonstrated a few of the brand’s concepts that fulfil this commitment:

•The Pillar of Knowledge — a tower of recycled and used books.

• The use of a decommissioned mine-seeking remotely operated underwater vehicle from the Royal Navy.

•The brand’s possession of the world’s most extensive collection of vintage Louis Vuitton and Goyard steamer trunks repurposed in many ways.

• A table made from a 60-year-old Chinese fishing boat.

• A coffee table created from a propeller and a disc of glass.

•A replica of the moon landing’s Apollo that’s hand-forged and houses an uber-luxe sitting room.

Viewers also learned that:

• All of the brand’s leather is tanned by a sustainable tannery in Brazil.

•It sells a dome home, which is a fully ecological abode. (Oulton lives in one.)

• And that Rare by Timothy Oulton is both the brand’s antique arm and pillar of its business.

If that trip wasn’t enough, Leach handed it over to her colleague in Barbados. Alexander showed viewers Timothy Oulton through a Caribbean lens, allowing them to experience the brand’s Noble Souls collection virtually. Described as a “new concept rooted in sensory joy, natural materials and ancient craftsmanship”, Noble Souls is the brand’s first sofa range ever made using only 100 per cent natural vegetable dyes, feathers and natural linens. Each piece is breathtaking in its simplicity and beauty.

— Vaughn Stafford Gray