By Sachina Russell

Kerry Ann Clarke, owner of KerryManWomanHome and producer of the Collection MoDa is a visionary and a natural curator of art and life.

She studied at the Paris American Academy, an American fashion school in Paris.

It was during this time that a younger Kerry decided that she didn’t like fashion design.

So, she went to Parson’s Fashion School to study fashion marketing before honing her skills which would lead her to become one of Jamaica’s best lifestyle retailers.

She also attended La Sorbonne School in Paris, learning French. Now that’s cool, ‘oui oui’!

Kerry had used her time wisely, identifying her passion and it wasn’t fashion design but fashion marketing and pursued a career which sees her today as the proprietor and creative force of KerryManWomanHome.

Kerry’s ManWomanHome is 16-years-old and is a concept store based in Jamaica with products from artisans all over the world.

‘Concept’ is the operative term here as the products and services change to accommodate the current season.

Therefore, if it is summer, expect a ‘beach bum’ décor and if it is winter expect sweaters.

However, what is constant is that garments for both genders and home décor/accented goods of exquisite taste can be found at Kerry’s Kingston emporium.

Her brand champions discerning lifestyle. She is inspired by her travels, nature, animals, art shows on Instagram, fashion, architecture, life—“anything that’s beautiful .”

For the past number of years, she had a physical store located on South Avenue, but decided it was time to leave after being there for many years.

She recalls good times at South Avenue but with the business becoming more recognised, decided it was time to expand and sought a property that would be three times the size of her South Avenue space.

So, she gave her landlord notice that she was seeking a better shopping experience for her customers.

Then came the global pandemic, which in its own way created time for Kerry to re-evaluate. There is still no physical store but she did come up with a pop-up shop located in the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel over the Christmas season, which was a resounding success.

With rave reviews, Kerry will again open the doors to her pop-up shop in the spring of 2021 and it is hoped that the ravishes of the COVID-19 outbreak would have subsided by then and that she will be housed in her new location.

“As a creative, you always want to make plans and improve.”

A part of this improvement Kerry says, is considering and measuring the livelihoods of Jamaicans.

“ Jamaican culture is so strong and vibrant both at home and abroad, but many Jamaicans don’t have the purchasing capacity as other countries,” says Kerry.  She notes the cultural impact that Jamaica has more developed countries and regards them as untapped markets.

And so, one of Kerry’s goal is for Jamaicans to identify  local artisans support them. And provide a market for their wares.

Kerrymanwomanhome has collaborated with ‘Jamaica Nice’, a local store that sells Jamaica-branded merchandise.

The collaboration’s aim was to promote Jamaica as a brand.

Fortunately ‘Jamaica Nice’ products turned out to be her most popular collaboration yet, she calls it “crack cocaine.”

Part of the proceeds of “Jamaica Nice!” go towards helping the underprivileged, like the Alpha Boys Home or Sister Suzan.

Kerry’s brand is just so unique. Her passion, drive and commitment to her business is commendable. Some even say that Kerry herself is a brand!

She takes great pleasure in sourcing and curating unique, ‘I’ve never seen this before,’ items and takes pride in assuring customers that this has never been seen anywhere else.

KerryManWomanHome also offers personalised ‘Jamaica Nice’ merchandise. Did I mention customer service? KMWH gets a 5/5 here.

Looking around the Winter Pop Up store, one major question came to mind, “How does Kerry choose which products to offer for sale?”

It’s a simple method she says: anything that is liked by her. Then she considers the cost factor, are her goods reasonably priced? She insists that all must be of good quality, meet high workmanship standards and must stand out.

Kerry’s offers top quality while her persona is lowkey. Quite the paradox!

She blends her work with her social life and, when she takes time off, likes to explore nature. Kerry doesn’t think of herself as a public figure despite a following on Instagram over 17,000. She instead sees herself as an entrepreneur and a nature lover.

Producer of the Collection MoDa: Kerry, the visionary

The year 2020 was a horrible one for most people.

The global pandemic destroyed businesses, inconvenienced workers, threatened mental stability, and has made the world an unsafe place.

Many people are struggling with day-to-day living, finding it hard just to get by, while Kerry is taking things in her stride and not bothering to get too perturbed.
 

“I understand that life is hard but it is all about how one chooses to live it. Therefore everything is a lesson and there is a lot to be learnt,” she told Our Today.

 “With the [coronavirus] in 2020, many people experienced hardships and struggled to put a brave face on things but I didn’t see it that way. If there wasn’t this global pandemic, I would be busy planning Collection MoDa where I would be in work, work, work mode. With COVID, I get the time to reconnect. It is almost like the planet is telling us to heal, to spend time with nature and ourselves instead of constantly being on the go. The point is, I try to see the good in every situation, so it doesn’t become a cause to get down on myself. You have to be grateful for being alive,” Clarke added.

MoDa came about because of the possibilities offered by the KerryManWomanHome store. Creative operators would seek advice from Kerry about the quality of products, business opportunities, ideas for shows. She saw a need for a platform to guide these creatives and hence gave birth to MoDa.

MoDa, the highlight of Jamaica’s fashion and lifestyle calendar, was understandably cancelled in 2020. Kerry assured it will be back stronger, bigger and better than ever.

So you want to be a successful entrepreneur, where your name is associated with style, grace, decorum and good manners?

Well, Kerry says:

1. Be passionate.

“If you love what you do, you’ll do it with pleasure.”

2. Understand that you won’t “get rich quick”, if you want to do it the right way…

3. Accept criticism

“When I was at Parsons, we did weekly critiques and every week the professors would critique us so harshly. The aim wasn’t to break us down, instead it was to build us up to be resilient, with better ideas with better decision-making skills.”

4. Be frugal and save

“Some people save and then when they get excited, they spend. Don’t!”

5. Invest in your business and in yourself

6. Spend to make money

7. Be detail-oriented

8. Show gratitude

“  Always be grateful in life .”

Kerry Ann Clarke is a visionary and a natural curator of art and life. She is a fabulous role model for all young women and is an exemplar of hard work paying off, always.