Speaker 1: I want you to take a moment to think about
Speaker 1: how many women you know who are not only mothers,
Speaker 1: but are also raising the standards in their industries, their communities,
Speaker 1: and their culture. Candy King is one of those women.
Speaker 1: She is the founder and CEO of Carnival by Candy,
Speaker 1: a brand dedicated to all things Carnival and making women
Speaker 1: feel confident. Her products are innovative and beautifully made, but
Speaker 1: what makes Carnival by Candy extraordinary is the intention behind it.
Speaker 1: You see, Candy is not just designing stockings and other accessories,
Speaker 1: She's designing experiences. Her story is a reminder that building
Speaker 1: a brand isn't just about strategy. It's about intention. It's
Speaker 1: about vision that's rooted in something deeper than profit, a
Speaker 1: desire to be of service to your culture, your family,
Speaker 1: and yourself. She's not just creating space for Caribbean creatives.
Speaker 1: She's showing us that excellence and authenticity can coexist. In
Speaker 1: the midst of an already powerful dialogue, Candy and I
Speaker 1: realized that we share a cool connection. Both of our
Speaker 1: mothers were flight attendants for Air Jamaica. Now, if you
Speaker 1: know anything about Air Jamaica, you'll remember their iconic slogan
Speaker 1: soaring to new heights, And as I sat with that
Speaker 1: moment afterwards, it struck me how fitting it was for
Speaker 1: the women we are now and the women who raised us.
Speaker 1: Candy is now charting her own flight path, not through aviation,
Speaker 1: but through artistry. Even her daughter's name Chorus, speaks to
Speaker 1: a form of artistry. In music, a chorus is what
Speaker 1: brings a song together. It's what echoes, what repeats, and
Speaker 1: in Candy's life, it symbolizes something deeper, the harmony between
Speaker 1: womanhood and motherhood, creativity and clarity. This episode is about
Speaker 1: that balance, about what it means to lead with ambition
Speaker 1: and intention to build something royal in its essence and
Speaker 1: rooted in the rhythm of who you are. So grab
Speaker 1: your tea, coffee, or a glass of wine and let's
Speaker 1: Talk the Things. Hello everyone, Welcome back to Let's Talk
Speaker 1: the Things, where we discuss personal growth, travel, music, beauty
Speaker 1: and wellness while encouraging you to live fearlessly and fabulously.
Speaker 1: I'm your host, Ash and this week we are talking
Speaker 1: to Taints with a woman who has taken the business
Speaker 1: of carnival and turned it into a vehicle of culture, empowerment,
Speaker 1: and Undeniable Caribbean pride entrepreneur, television host and CEO of
Speaker 1: Carnival by Candy Candy King. Hi Candy, how are you? Hi?
Speaker 2: Ash? I'm so excited to be on your podcast. Thank
Speaker 2: you so much for having me. I am doing it
Speaker 2: just fine today.
Speaker 1: That's great. Thank you so much for being here. So
Speaker 1: I'm really excited.
Speaker 2: Let's go me too.
Speaker 1: So, for as a first time guest, I should say,
Speaker 1: and for persons that are listening for the first time,
Speaker 1: we begin each episode with our listener's favorite segment, and
Speaker 1: it's called datna Sound safe? So so, Candy, I'm going
Speaker 1: to read messages or social media posts that listeners sent in.
Speaker 1: And if you think it sounds crazy or a little
Speaker 1: bit concerning, you just say that notes sounds safe and
Speaker 1: explain why. And if you agree, you say you agree
Speaker 1: and explain why sounds good?
Speaker 2: Okay, all right, so.
Speaker 1: Don't worry, it's not scary, just.
Speaker 3: All right.
Speaker 1: So the first person said, my son found me crying
Speaker 1: in the kitchen. He wrapped his arms around me and whispered, mummy,
Speaker 1: is it because you're fat? Now I'm crying for two reasons,
Speaker 1: you know, so none So for she.
Speaker 4: K's and I mean, can't blame them right because they
Speaker 4: haven't as called it, and as you grow up you
Speaker 4: kind of learn and get to what's appropriate and what's
Speaker 4: not appropriate.
Speaker 2: So there's a little bit of very true, very.
Speaker 1: True, half and half half. I agree, okay. The next
Speaker 1: person said, don't tell me you miss me, tell me
Speaker 1: you're outside with doubles. I agree.
Speaker 2: I agree. Very safe love language like come on, yes,
Speaker 2: tell me whatever you know.
Speaker 1: I like, absolutely, I'm in the group.
Speaker 3: Okay.
Speaker 1: The next one, the person said, what is a luxury
Speaker 1: that most people I should say? The person asked, what
Speaker 1: is a luxury that most people don't realize is a luxury?
Speaker 1: And the person answered friends. Having actual friends, not familiar acquaintances,
Speaker 1: real friends one of the best hacks for a fulfilling life.
Speaker 2: Absolutely agree, actual and factual. I live by that. I
Speaker 2: have had friends since high school. It's something that I
Speaker 2: love to talk about that they've seen me through every season.
Speaker 2: We've seen each other through all our seasons where knowing
Speaker 2: motherhood together coincidentally, it's great. It does enhance my life
Speaker 2: in so many ways. Just social literally yesterday that the
Speaker 2: quality of the relationships in your life is what determines
Speaker 2: like how happy you are and how long you live
Speaker 2: and things like that. I one thousand person believe that.
Speaker 1: So yes, I agree, Yes, that is very safe. And
Speaker 1: I think what you just said is so true the
Speaker 1: quality of relationships, right, because you'll see some people and
Speaker 1: they have like so many friends, but they're not really friends,
Speaker 1: if you get what I'm saying. Like they have a
Speaker 1: lot of people show up to their birthday party, but
Speaker 1: can they call those people having a hard time? Or
Speaker 1: can they tell them their secrets? You know, I feel
Speaker 1: like people don't understand the value of friendship and same.
Speaker 1: I have friends from high school still, some friends even
Speaker 1: from prep school, you know what I mean. So I
Speaker 1: think like we can call on you know who you
Speaker 1: can ye?
Speaker 2: Absolutely?
Speaker 1: Yeah, absolutely, Okay, that one sounds safe. All right? Two more,
Speaker 1: This one is hilarious. The person said he blocked me
Speaker 1: on everything, so I applied to his job and I'm
Speaker 1: starting next week.
Speaker 2: That let's sound safe. That's sound safe. That sounds very toxic, miss, miss,
Speaker 2: that sounds very toxic. Let's not go there. Let's just
Speaker 2: let by.
Speaker 1: Yes, yes, don't try to force things. Please, it's not
Speaker 1: that serious. It can never be that non at all.
Speaker 2: Please, we have to learn to let go, and this
Speaker 2: is one of those things.
Speaker 3: Let it go.
Speaker 1: Yes, the only thing we're supposed to be chasing, ladies
Speaker 1: is our dreams. Please not not the man, not them,
Speaker 1: let them come to you. Exactly exactly. That's wild, though
Speaker 1: not applied for his dream crazy.
Speaker 2: I mean, I don't. Okay, Like as a species, I
Speaker 2: don't we do that.
Speaker 1: Yeah, but we're what we're doing better, We're sure sure, sure, okay.
Speaker 1: Last one in this segment, the person said, you'll find
Speaker 1: me where there is peace, where there is joy, where
Speaker 1: there is reciprocity, where words of protection are spoken over me,
Speaker 1: where I'm celebrated for growing and wanting better for myself.
Speaker 1: This is where I exist.
Speaker 2: Absolutely, this is where we bloom, This is where we grow,
Speaker 2: and this is all. I love that. That sounds very
Speaker 2: safe to me. I'm here for the reassurance, for the
Speaker 2: words of affirmation, like, yeah, I love that.
Speaker 1: That is how we grow. Yes, the relationships as well, Yes, yes,
Speaker 1: And just like what you said, you know, it's important
Speaker 1: our environment too, we surround ourselves with and just being
Speaker 1: somewhere where you're valued. I think that says a lot
Speaker 1: about how you see yourself too. Exactly. You know, so yeah,
Speaker 1: that one sounds very safe.
Speaker 3: So that was fun.
Speaker 1: See I told you, it's always frightened when I say that.
Speaker 1: I was sure, sure, Oh no, it's good, just you know,
Speaker 1: just to loosen it up a little bit, something fun.
Speaker 2: That worked.
Speaker 1: Now let's talk the real things. You are someone that
Speaker 1: I've really been looking forward to talking to, not just
Speaker 1: about business, but about purpose and just all of the
Speaker 1: amazing achievements you've accomplished as a woman in the male
Speaker 1: dominated carnival industry. So let's go back to younger Candy.
Speaker 1: Take me back to your prep school days in Jamaica.
Speaker 1: What kind of little girl were you and were there
Speaker 1: any early signs of you wanting to build something on
Speaker 1: your own?
Speaker 2: Absolutely not, I age. I was not one of those
Speaker 2: people that knew what they wanted to do in life
Speaker 2: or had any idea or I don't think it's something
Speaker 2: my parents pressured me for either. So it wasn't really
Speaker 2: on my book my radar until I was grown up,
Speaker 2: and then I had to decide at some point, which
Speaker 2: I still I mean, the story about how I ended
Speaker 2: up in Cannibal is quite accidental, even though I've loved
Speaker 2: it since being a child. So I mean growing up,
Speaker 2: I would have seen my parents play Jamaica Cannival, which
Speaker 2: was fun. We would me and my cousins would go
Speaker 2: out on the roadside to watch them pass. And even
Speaker 2: at that time, it was just a thing to do
Speaker 2: on that day, no real interest. But when I became
Speaker 2: of age, now, I guess sometime in high school and
Speaker 2: I was able to jump Cannibal for my first time.
Speaker 2: I think maybe it would be a little after high
Speaker 2: school and trying to remember if I was sixteen or
Speaker 2: eighteen when it happened, But you know, I wanted to
Speaker 2: experience it because it was something for us to do.
Speaker 2: Was very cool at the time. Everybody wanted to be
Speaker 2: a part of it. And I did it for the
Speaker 2: first time, and I wouldn't even sat arrest this history
Speaker 2: like we enjoyed it. We continued to jump here after
Speaker 2: year I went to college. That kind of put us
Speaker 2: spoke in the wheels because I was at home to
Speaker 2: jump Cannibal. But I remember just even as a little girl,
Speaker 2: like I said, I had no clean for carnival. I
Speaker 2: was just being a kid.
Speaker 1: No, I was just being a kid, right right.
Speaker 2: I remember being very outspoken. I have a brother and
Speaker 2: our parents would describe each of us as like this
Speaker 2: is the old spoken one, like this is a little
Speaker 2: shy one. And I was not they one. So I
Speaker 2: was spoken one. I was a social butterfly. Yeah, you know,
Speaker 2: everybody said I was a chatterbox. All my report cards
Speaker 2: came back with the chat too much as potentials, but
Speaker 2: just too much that kind.
Speaker 1: Of thing that was me.
Speaker 2: Yeah right, you know I used to be so nothing
Speaker 2: to do with carnival or even business. I mean, even
Speaker 2: as I got older, I kind of saw myself in
Speaker 2: a corporate environment, working my way up. I was not
Speaker 2: beaten by no entrepreneurial book.
Speaker 1: I never wanted to be known.
Speaker 2: I never want myself that did so hard. So yeah, no,
Speaker 2: I never wanted to do. It's completely by accident.
Speaker 1: But in terms of my child. So what is the
Speaker 1: story then, because it's so strange to me, like you've
Speaker 1: done so much. I just exacted you to have that story.
Speaker 2: It's so interesting. So I would have had a corporate
Speaker 2: job when I first I went to school in Ohio
Speaker 2: for four years, I got my degree, I came, I
Speaker 2: moved back to Jamaica.
Speaker 1: I got a corporate job. I was working. I was comfortable,
Speaker 1: it was fun. I enjoyed my job. I thought I
Speaker 1: was good at my job, and I.
Speaker 2: Knew once I had enough money, which is this was
Speaker 2: my first real stable, corporate job. Now that I wanted
Speaker 2: to try to go to Trinidad Cannibal because you know,
Speaker 2: I would have seen people gone. It looked really fun,
Speaker 2: but it's also really expensive, so not a girl job.
Speaker 2: I'm like, Okay, can you know, spend the morney I
Speaker 2: got to Cannival. So I went to my first cannival
Speaker 2: in two thousand and eleven or twelve of one of those.
Speaker 2: And the year after I went, a couple of people
Speaker 2: are like, boy, I didn't want to go, but they
Speaker 2: don't know how to go. And I had a girl
Speaker 2: who had helped me at the time to like get
Speaker 2: a costume and tickets for parties and stuff like that,
Speaker 2: and I was think, it's apressive. If I never have
Speaker 2: her in Trinidad to help me, what would I have done.
Speaker 2: But since I had gone and kind new the ropes
Speaker 2: and met a couple of people, I helped other people
Speaker 2: the following year. By the second year, I was seen
Speaker 2: im a boy, you know, as a matter charge, and
Speaker 2: people are because it's works and its work and in
Speaker 2: the beginning, I just wanted it to be supplemental income.
Speaker 2: I was like, my goal was like to get thirty
Speaker 2: help thirty people to get to cannival. And I said
Speaker 2: to myself, boy, that would have been great supplemental income
Speaker 2: based on what I'm earning in corporate. I just did
Speaker 2: this once a year, I get a little you know,
Speaker 2: side money, and I'm good to go. That job ended
Speaker 2: up making me redundant, and I was like, well, this
Speaker 2: just going half a work. So I didn't have a
Speaker 2: job for a while. So I was just kind of
Speaker 2: winging it with the carnivals. But it blossomed, it bloomed,
Speaker 2: it continued to grow. People wanted to go to other carnivals.
Speaker 2: So after Trinidad, I had trainees that wanted to come
Speaker 2: to Jamaica, and then after that they wanted to go
Speaker 2: to crop Over and it I just built up an
Speaker 2: audience of people who wanted to travel to different cannivals.
Speaker 2: I realized that, you know, it's kind of a niche,
Speaker 2: but there are people who carnival hop. There's a really
Speaker 2: yeah like industry hair. So that's how I first got
Speaker 2: started doing that. I did have other jobs, corporate jobs,
Speaker 2: even in between, because I was sure. I was like,
Speaker 2: I mean, look good, but you know my parents rested,
Speaker 2: like we need to get a serious job. You know, yes,
Speaker 2: my parents, yes, And so you know I didn't have
Speaker 2: the confidence at the time either. You know, I've still
Speaker 2: you know, needed to be guided and very much. I'm like,
Speaker 2: you know, I started to do other little things that
Speaker 2: doubuild the media for a bit, had some other jobs.
Speaker 1: Right, I remember you were hosting a show. Yes I was.
Speaker 2: Yes, I was hosting.
Speaker 1: Access TV.
Speaker 2: Yes, yeah I did. And those things are things I'm
Speaker 2: still passionate about to be stayed. But boy, I can't
Speaker 2: of all just kind of come compact over my whole life.
Speaker 1: And you know, I still do it where I can.
Speaker 2: I got to the other day, which I hosted an
Speaker 2: amazing show, but I was still in Cannibal.
Speaker 1: Yeah. That's that's really.
Speaker 2: Ultimately how I got started my advice. Every time I'm
Speaker 2: talking to other entrepreneurs, like how did you start, and
Speaker 2: I'm that boy, I still had a foot.
Speaker 1: In corporate and that's really what it was.
Speaker 2: Like. I had other incomes at the time because I
Speaker 2: just was not sure. Sometimes the money was good, sometimes
Speaker 2: it wasn't. Monster great, monster, h you know what I mean.
Speaker 1: So that's how it goes. Yeah, I still had a push.
Speaker 2: In corporate somewhere. There was some stable income at all
Speaker 2: times as I went along. After that, we started a
Speaker 2: band in twenty sixteen here in Generica.
Speaker 1: That went really well for a time.
Speaker 2: But like most entrepreneurs, some things work out, some things don't,
Speaker 2: and this was one of the things that did not
Speaker 2: work out for me. It was very hardbreaking in a life, okay,
Speaker 2: but it's just one of those things that, yeah, you
Speaker 2: just have.
Speaker 1: It just didn't work out. Yeah, it didn't work out.
Speaker 2: I was okay with it. And then the pandemic hit.
Speaker 1: Girl. Oh yes, that's food right. Yes, that must have
Speaker 1: been so hard, just for the industry exactly.
Speaker 2: Entertainment was completely dead. We could not gather, we could
Speaker 2: not go to carnival, we could not do anything. It
Speaker 2: was a really difficult time. Thank god, I had a
Speaker 2: really amazing partner who's not my husband. Yes, I got
Speaker 2: pregnant started a family in that time, and I'm so
Speaker 2: blessed that I was able to afford to do that.
Speaker 2: I'm actually glad it happened in the pandemic because it
Speaker 2: afforded me the space and the time, especially the mental
Speaker 2: capacity to really like doning on being a mom and
Speaker 2: even learning things. Yeah, I mean, because girl, let me
Speaker 2: just tell you that, you know, and it was wrong,
Speaker 2: I can well imagine because it was also very lonely.
Speaker 2: But me with notice, I mean, people used to send
Speaker 2: to me all the time, like my my child was
Speaker 2: talking early A lot of the pandemic babies, we're doing
Speaker 2: a lot of crazy things much than people would say
Speaker 2: that their children would have done them or whatever. But
Speaker 2: it's because we had the space and the time to
Speaker 2: like be with them all the time.
Speaker 1: All the time. Yeah, we were with them all the time.
Speaker 2: And you see the difference that that makes when you
Speaker 2: are present and fully present with your children and your family.
Speaker 2: And yeah, so that's those are the positive things that
Speaker 2: I would have taken out of the pandemic. But yeah,
Speaker 2: continued in Carnival and right before the pandemic though, is
Speaker 2: when I would have thought of the kind of a
Speaker 2: accessories idea.
Speaker 1: So yes, yes, I thought that was so brilliant.
Speaker 2: Yeah, that's really what changed life. That's really that was
Speaker 2: the idea. Yeah, man, the only one I was a
Speaker 2: catalyst that was that was so I would have thought
Speaker 2: of that right before the pandemic and then the pandemic
Speaker 2: and then I was just like more mom. But right
Speaker 2: after the pandemic I had to really pick things back
Speaker 2: up by rebranded. I came back really really strong with
Speaker 2: uh well, I rebranded the company. So initially, when I
Speaker 2: used to help people to get to carnivals, I call
Speaker 2: that Carnival by Candy, But when I thought of the
Speaker 2: stockings and the accessories, I named it stocking by Candy
Speaker 2: because you know, well, Carnival by Candy was something else
Speaker 2: and I can't. I had kind of shut down that
Speaker 2: concerge side of the business because the reality was it
Speaker 2: was I guess, like way too much stress and like
Speaker 2: not enough money.
Speaker 1: Wasn't making me like.
Speaker 2: Wealth you know what, I like, I want to do
Speaker 2: from when they were were like you put in it
Speaker 2: was great supplemental income, but like scaleability just was not
Speaker 2: really there for me. And there are a bunch of
Speaker 2: ways I thought that, wow, if I did this and
Speaker 2: I did that, I could scale. But it just came
Speaker 2: back to when you're doing a service based thing, it's
Speaker 2: your time and it's like there's only twenty four hours
Speaker 2: in a day to get me. It's like yeah, so
Speaker 2: it's like I felt like it was almost like two
Speaker 2: hard to scale because it required too much out of me.
Speaker 2: But when I thought of like the stuckings, I'm like, butt,
Speaker 2: this can sell wellness, you know what I mean? Yeah, this,
Speaker 2: this can sell all time a day.
Speaker 1: You know what I mean.
Speaker 2: Well, I'm skill. I don't have to about this is brilliant, No,
Speaker 2: it really is. I'm so like pushing products on people now,
Speaker 2: I'm like, find a product. Everybody, find a product. Yeah, product,
Speaker 2: because it changed my life. I don't know, everybody's experience
Speaker 2: is different because they're different. Because there's a lot of
Speaker 2: people in service based industries that are thriving and doing
Speaker 2: well and wealthy and have scaled their business. Is just true,
Speaker 2: that's true, but it just was not working for me
Speaker 2: at the time. I'm like, I look like a prop
Speaker 2: of all of my time, my mental energy, and I
Speaker 2: you know, like I felt like I could only do
Speaker 2: so much with the twenty four.
Speaker 1: Hours in the day. And I have talked about all
Speaker 1: sorts of stuff.
Speaker 2: But when it's like, I don't know, I thank god
Speaker 2: every day that he planted that stucking idea in my
Speaker 2: brain because girl, it was transformative or so brilliant.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and like that's a transformative I think for a weeks.
Speaker 2: Yes, it was for the industry, and I love plain
Speaker 2: like because people I think it's like like sucks, Like
Speaker 2: you can just buy and sell sucks from any supplier.
Speaker 2: You're fine, and you just sell sucks. You know, you
Speaker 2: go downtown this it sucks. It's so it's different. So
Speaker 2: I actually went ahead and got all the protections that
Speaker 2: I needed for my stockings. Yeah, and that's really what
Speaker 2: made the difference because actually when you have an idea,
Speaker 2: it's really important to protect the idea. And I am
Speaker 2: an for this because in the we don't do it,
Speaker 2: we don't do it, we don't believe in it. I mean, yeah,
Speaker 2: it's under utilized. Service gypoy is up there, just I
Speaker 2: don't know if they're gathering industry or what. I know
Speaker 2: people do it, but you know, you think it's for
Speaker 2: something company or it's for some corporates. Protecting ideas, protective designs,
Speaker 2: protect the things that you create. And I created something
Speaker 2: and I am really proud of it. But immediately as
Speaker 2: I thought of that idea, I didn't want somebody else
Speaker 2: to do with somebody who had more money. I had
Speaker 2: a better network than me and then when you get
Speaker 2: I didn't want that, So yes, it was very important.
Speaker 2: You know, it was real and it has happened, and
Speaker 2: there have been a lot of copiers. It's one of
Speaker 2: the greatest.
Speaker 1: On a second, because this is definitely a thing. I
Speaker 1: had Printon Omar from ja on here a couple of
Speaker 1: weeks ago, and they said the same thing. They talked
Speaker 1: about importance of having things done on the business side
Speaker 1: because somebody was literally trying to sell their product at
Speaker 1: a trade show and I'm like.
Speaker 2: What these people are bright, And you know, when you
Speaker 2: gets into like fashion and designing, it even gets more
Speaker 2: difficult because the laws are not as even straight.
Speaker 1: They're not that stockings something exists for that already.
Speaker 2: So I did It's not actually a patent because I
Speaker 2: didn't invent stockings. I put a design on seconds. So
Speaker 2: I put a VCT band on existing, an existing item,
Speaker 2: and that's just called an industrial design protection. And I
Speaker 2: went ahead and I filed in Jamaica, and I was shocked.
Speaker 2: Cheap cheap. It was not no big expensive not to
Speaker 2: do either. Yeah, it's reasonably priced to do. But you know,
Speaker 2: I had a lawyer that was advising me at the
Speaker 2: time she's like, boy, girl, you have to go to
Speaker 2: all these different jurisdictions and file this exact industrial design protection.
Speaker 2: If you want to be protected from somebody doing it
Speaker 2: in Trinidad, or somebody doing it in Barbados, or somebody
Speaker 2: doing it anywhere else in the world, you literally have
Speaker 2: to go to the US and file it, Go to
Speaker 2: Barbados filet go to Trinidad and file it. And I
Speaker 2: was a boy again. This is going to take upon
Speaker 2: my time again. As you go along in this journey,
Speaker 2: you learn more and more, you get more educated. She
Speaker 2: introduced me to what's called the Hague Agreement, which is
Speaker 2: all these countries sign on to the agreement to say,
Speaker 2: if you apply to the World Intellectual Property Organization in Geneva, Switzerland,
Speaker 2: you can get a protection that protects it in all
Speaker 2: the countries that have signed on to the agreement. So
Speaker 2: she's like, okay, spensive, that one was expensive.
Speaker 1: That it was expensive. It was worth it.
Speaker 2: It was.
Speaker 1: Me.
Speaker 2: And when I was doing that en it was in
Speaker 2: the pandemic when money was a little tight, and I'm like,
Speaker 2: so I feel like.
Speaker 1: This could be worth it.
Speaker 2: Let me just spend a little money and do it.
Speaker 2: But at the times like something you can't see I
Speaker 2: return on right. So it's very hard to put money
Speaker 2: into something and money inside. And you know, but I'm
Speaker 2: so happy that I did that because I did it
Speaker 2: and I got through. I got I was shy because
Speaker 2: I felt like I was doing commissions applications. No, I
Speaker 2: do not know what I'm doing or what I'm even answering,
Speaker 2: like they're asking questions.
Speaker 1: I do not, But you know what, you did it.
Speaker 2: I did it, and that's it.
Speaker 1: And so now I'm pretty much protective for the.
Speaker 2: World's the idea, which is really really not just humbling,
Speaker 2: but I feel good about it, like it gives me
Speaker 2: the confidence to continue to pursue this dream and this
Speaker 2: business in a very serious way because it means that
Speaker 2: I really had I really had an idea that made sense,
Speaker 2: you know what I mean, the ideas.
Speaker 1: Worldwide candy that meant that that means.
Speaker 2: And when I see all the copiers at first, the copiers,
Speaker 2: it was really it would bother me and I would
Speaker 2: pursue them from the legal route and see some desist.
Speaker 2: So many I'm not I don't even want certain things.
Speaker 2: I don't want to say. I don't want to encourage
Speaker 2: a body to copy anybody's idea. Right a point where
Speaker 2: I decided I just have to focus on what I
Speaker 2: am doing and making sure that my product is the
Speaker 2: best and when people look at the quality of it
Speaker 2: and the features not they'll know. Because if I sit
Speaker 2: on a fight, fight, fight, fight, for all I'm going
Speaker 2: to do is.
Speaker 1: Yeah, you can't fight. Everybody can't fight. Everybody worst fighting.
Speaker 2: Right Hello, let let's say it's not you know, some
Speaker 2: little know them have no business, a hustle or whatever
Speaker 2: it is. Like I said, everybody thinks just like I
Speaker 2: don't know, sucks it does buy and sell it themselves.
Speaker 2: So a big party tell us. People don't have the
Speaker 2: education around it.
Speaker 1: They don't know, they don't know that it's true.
Speaker 3: They don't know.
Speaker 2: They don't know any better. So so I always approach
Speaker 2: people amicably. First, I'm like, hey, you may not know,
Speaker 2: but I actually owned the I callic patent. Because people
Speaker 2: don't know any better either, you know. So I'm like,
Speaker 2: I actually owned the patent for this design. So and
Speaker 2: I even said to people like seller for yeah any more.
Speaker 2: I have done that before because I that's unreasonable, Like,
Speaker 2: I know, you spend your money to go buy the team,
Speaker 2: you know, sell it out or buy no more or
Speaker 2: whatever it is. But I usually want to give people
Speaker 2: the education first and approach it amicably. And Limitus tell you, actually,
Speaker 2: not one time have I approaching am akable that it
Speaker 2: has been approached back to me amicably. It's always like
Speaker 2: people calling my bluff. You don't own it, what you're
Speaker 2: going to do. I have never had one personship Wow,
Speaker 2: I didn't know, crazy, okay, understood.
Speaker 3: You know.
Speaker 1: And that's something that I find is really hard for
Speaker 1: me to digest a lot of times. We talk a
Speaker 1: lot about it on this podcast, you know, being kind
Speaker 1: and being good to people and you know, just considering
Speaker 1: being considerate of people, and the fact that when you
Speaker 1: do that, it seems like the majority of people don't
Speaker 1: take it, as you said, as like whoa, this person
Speaker 1: really could have sued me, but instead they're coming to
Speaker 1: me kindly and asking me to do something. They take
Speaker 1: it as oh, well, they don't have any backbone, so
Speaker 1: I can just tell them whatever, and they're probably going
Speaker 1: to be too scared to do anything. And it's just
Speaker 1: so unfortunate because to me, I would be appreciative of
Speaker 1: somebody approaching me.
Speaker 2: Like that, but Nobody, not one person as not one
Speaker 2: person has ever been thank you for the information, thank
Speaker 2: you for the education I'm going to do. That's crazy always,
Speaker 2: and I have curated and changed that message because I'm like,
Speaker 2: maybe it's me, maybe maybe my message is on aggressive.
Speaker 1: Or maybe it's the tone or so many as a
Speaker 1: whole nicely.
Speaker 2: Who soft. I feel like it doesn't matter that the
Speaker 2: messages will either get ignored or it would just it's
Speaker 2: just always nobody has ever.
Speaker 1: Said back to me, you know, thank you. I'm so sorry.
Speaker 2: I didn't know even just that I just didn't know,
Speaker 2: because I know people don't.
Speaker 1: Know even just to take accountability.
Speaker 2: It's hard, Yeah, it's hard. So yeah, we we we
Speaker 2: continue to struggle through that challenge. But like I said,
Speaker 2: I have done so many things on my stockings now
Speaker 2: to distinguish them from the pack. I've added features to them.
Speaker 2: I've done like quality checks, We've done different types of
Speaker 2: stockings now, like we the thing is so elevated now
Speaker 2: that it's it's almost hard to know all of the
Speaker 2: features that are under stockings.
Speaker 1: And I love it. I love it.
Speaker 2: I love it.
Speaker 1: That's the best route you could take.
Speaker 2: And then let me just tell you again, people think
Speaker 2: this thing is so simple, like, oh, she's just buying
Speaker 2: and selling stockings. But when I say that, this has
Speaker 2: been the single most profitable thing I've ever done in
Speaker 2: my life, I'm a whole thing.
Speaker 1: I've done a lot of I know you have self
Speaker 1: jobs girls, and it.
Speaker 2: Has far surpassed any corporate job I've ever had. I
Speaker 2: mean really, yeah, I'm surpassing.
Speaker 1: Even my's amazing.
Speaker 2: And who are in corporate, I'm surpassing their salaries. It
Speaker 2: has been very successful for me. I'm very proud of it.
Speaker 2: And it continues to grow. It continues to grow.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I love that, and I think that's such a
Speaker 1: good example that you're setting, even for your daughter, right,
Speaker 1: And it brings me to my next topic. There's a
Speaker 1: quote I came across that made me think of you,
Speaker 1: and it says a mother is not defined by what
Speaker 1: she gives up to have a child, but what she
Speaker 1: chooses to build alongside her child, not despite them, but
Speaker 1: because of them. That's so interesting, isn't it, Because a
Speaker 1: lot of times I think that people think once you
Speaker 1: become a mother, like your life is over. You know
Speaker 1: you can do that way? Do you think for yourself?
Speaker 1: I'm sure it can. I'm not a mother yet, I'm
Speaker 1: sure it can't feel that way. But you're a great
Speaker 1: example of, you know, being a mother, a CEO, a creative,
Speaker 1: you know, a daughter of the Caribbean. You know, some
Speaker 1: would say, how do you balance those roles and how
Speaker 1: has motherhood changed maybe your definition of success.
Speaker 2: So very interesting that you should even bring this up,
Speaker 2: because just last week when I was struggling through Cannibal
Speaker 2: in Jamaica, which this was a very season for me.
Speaker 1: Us of course, get a corporate job, ok, baby, get
Speaker 1: a corporate se You know, you sound like your parents.
Speaker 2: But again, you know, I mean I'm joking. Of course,
Speaker 2: can do what you want. I'm not one of those
Speaker 2: people that is going to force her to do something
Speaker 2: that I have or project something on her in my
Speaker 2: hand about who she should be. I want her to
Speaker 2: be her own person. I want her to live out
Speaker 2: her own dreams in whatever world where she wants to
Speaker 2: do them. And I'm not hard on fast on any curve.
Speaker 2: I mean, she doesn't need to be a doctor or
Speaker 2: a lot. I just want her to do something. Oh yeah,
Speaker 2: you have doing and good enough money for her own lifestyle.
Speaker 2: So I'm not hard and fast on that. But in
Speaker 2: terms of the balance, every single time people have asked
Speaker 2: me this question, I have the same answer, and the
Speaker 2: answer is there's no balance. You know, if I am
Speaker 2: doing one thing strong, something else is suffering. So, for example,
Speaker 2: even during those like Carnival in Jamaica is a very
Speaker 2: difficult time for me in terms of time. I am
Speaker 2: also the head of marketing at a band in Jamaica
Speaker 2: which is exited as Carnival. I do have Carnival by Candy,
Speaker 2: pop up shops and various things to manage it. That's
Speaker 2: is concerned. I have an event Carnival week as well.
Speaker 2: There's a lot of different moving parts. It's also distribution
Speaker 2: to Exodus, so we have If you've ever played Cannibal
Speaker 2: and you see what distribution is like, it's very busy for.
Speaker 1: The staff who have to work it.
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, it's it's a very tedious, time consuming thing
Speaker 2: and it will take up your whole day and your
Speaker 2: whole night just to make sure that things are in
Speaker 2: place for mascarados.
Speaker 1: So there were a lots of different living.
Speaker 2: Parts, stockings and Carnival by Candy on the accessoris end
Speaker 2: is also very logistical, so I have to make sure
Speaker 2: stock gets to certain locations. We have to do stock checks.
Speaker 2: If something runs, oh you have to bring it up
Speaker 2: back from another location. There's a lot, and I have
Speaker 2: staff and everybody is doing what they're supposed but it's
Speaker 2: it's physically demanding on me for a cannibal week, and
Speaker 2: so I'm not present at home, and so I am
Speaker 2: not at home right, So there's no balancer that's is concerned.
Speaker 2: Sometimes I come home and my daughter would be sleeping,
Speaker 2: and she gets I kiss up in her sleep and
Speaker 2: I tell her I love her. Well, she's sleeping, and
Speaker 2: that's that's just it. Before she wake up, I'm probably gone,
Speaker 2: or all I get to do is wake up and
Speaker 2: take her to school or tell her goodbye as she
Speaker 2: goes to school. But I don't like when one thing
Speaker 2: is thriving, something else is suffering and something so.
Speaker 1: It has been in my life.
Speaker 2: I don't I can't say I'm doing two things really well,
Speaker 2: but I will say in the end, and I always
Speaker 2: talk about this with my husband, especially just in our dynamic.
Speaker 2: My daughter always all right, you know, she's always fine.
Speaker 2: The guilt is on me when I'm not present.
Speaker 1: I'm like, okay, yes, what she feeling get home with
Speaker 1: her dad, or.
Speaker 2: She's with her grandma or you know what I mean.
Speaker 2: She's fine. She's actually fine. And so the guilt has
Speaker 2: actually been living with mothers all this time, because it's
Speaker 2: not that I've never present, It's just that I had
Speaker 2: a project whill I was working. And so those are
Speaker 2: the examples that I set, or that I hope to set. That,
Speaker 2: Like mommy is hard working. And I always said to her,
Speaker 2: even if mommy leaves, mommy always comes back.
Speaker 1: So you know, that's the.
Speaker 2: Thing, Like even if she's like, Momie, don't go, I'm like, yes,
Speaker 2: Mommy has to go, but Mommy is gonna come back.
Speaker 1: And that's just saying like we live by that, like
Speaker 1: I'm not.
Speaker 2: Gone, I'm just going to do something. I'll be right back,
Speaker 2: you know, or I'll see you tomorrow.
Speaker 1: Or what ad I say is your dreams exactly, know,
Speaker 1: like you're pursuing your dreams and you're getting up and
Speaker 1: you're in a very non traditional way. But yeah, exactly.
Speaker 1: But it's important for her to see all aspects of working.
Speaker 1: You know, working is not just nine to five, and
Speaker 1: it's in our generations that's a lot.
Speaker 2: With myself and her dad, who is a musician, right,
Speaker 2: so yeah, we both have non traditional entertainment based jobs,
Speaker 2: and so she right. Sometimes we're like, of course if
Speaker 2: we did have nine to five, you know, because she
Speaker 2: loved you know, she loves when we are just quickly
Speaker 2: northstet when I'm not.
Speaker 1: She loved that. She loved more than having.
Speaker 2: Ninety fives.
Speaker 1: Girl, what would she do till six pens? And that's
Speaker 1: so funny. I feel like I can relate to because
Speaker 1: my dad is a musician and my mom used to
Speaker 1: work for a Jamaica when I was great, so I
Speaker 1: know that life. Yeah, she was a flight attendant for
Speaker 1: many years. I probably know each other, I'm sure you know.
Speaker 1: Oh my gosh, they still talk on around. Yes, they're
Speaker 1: in group chats everything. No, it's it's like my mom
Speaker 1: talks about it and it's like tears want to come
Speaker 1: to her eyes. It's a very strange thing.
Speaker 2: Love that company, you know.
Speaker 1: Oh, but you have to admit it was but it
Speaker 1: was a lovely feeling. Yes, you know you know what
Speaker 1: I mean. Yes, I feel bad for anyone that didn't
Speaker 1: get to experience Jamaica like utensils, knife and fork, peanuts.
Speaker 2: Aware, silverware, yes, silver aware.
Speaker 1: Sometimes we'll be traveling and my mom would be like, wow,
Speaker 1: is this all the the flight attendant dress nowadays? Mom
Speaker 1: a judgment because she's so used to like how they
Speaker 1: had she tells me do all these things and going
Speaker 1: for like you know, measurements and all these It was
Speaker 1: like a hole to do, you know what I mean,
Speaker 1: So like she's just not used to hald flight attendants
Speaker 1: just come and serve you peanuts like still not she
Speaker 1: still can't.
Speaker 2: It was just thrown back of peanuts on the table.
Speaker 1: That's it, yes, exactly. And she was in a time
Speaker 1: where they were doing like modeling on the plane and
Speaker 1: all that. So yeah, it was it was definitely to
Speaker 1: tell you, yeah, I agree with it.
Speaker 2: I mean like that entire being a flight attendant was
Speaker 2: like this option. Like Jamaica flight attendants were amazing to.
Speaker 1: Me, like they were like mister, yes, they were just beautiful,
Speaker 1: like everybody was beautiful.
Speaker 2: Like it was like I said, it was a moment.
Speaker 2: If you know you know you were there, then yeah,
Speaker 2: I want to talk to.
Speaker 1: You really quickly about the emotional and even spiritual I
Speaker 1: guess sense behind carnival, right because people think it's just
Speaker 1: like jumping up and down and pretty costumes. But I
Speaker 1: think there's more to it, right. I think it's just
Speaker 1: it really represents freedom and liberation and celebration. I think,
Speaker 1: you know, Soca music in and of itself is just
Speaker 1: so positive, So I wonder what it means to you
Speaker 1: you Carnival as a whole.
Speaker 2: Well, Carnival has been a very liberating experience for me.
Speaker 1: I remember my.
Speaker 2: First training that Carnival. It was like an epiphany of sorts.
Speaker 2: It was like it was the funnest thing I had
Speaker 2: ever done in my entire life, and I felt really
Speaker 2: free in those moments where I was jumping off and
Speaker 2: down or that's just what it represented.
Speaker 1: It was.
Speaker 2: It was like freedom in motion for me at the time,
Speaker 2: where I got to be like fully myself and unfiltered,
Speaker 2: and it felt really good. I mean, I know a
Speaker 2: lot of people think it's just like phetos and beds
Speaker 2: and skill because exactly, but it is very spiritual for people,
Speaker 2: particularly for those who you know, like the training is.
Speaker 2: They have the cultural element behind their Carnival as well,
Speaker 2: so they're very serious about it. And once I got
Speaker 2: the education behind how it started, how we got to
Speaker 2: where we are today, you get a greater appreciation for it.
Speaker 2: It's very you know, ancestral, and it's a spiritual relea
Speaker 2: so a lot of people, not just for myself. So
Speaker 2: it has been very healing for me. And one of
Speaker 2: the things that I have taken pride in doing is
Speaker 2: making women more confident. And that is where that journey
Speaker 2: kind of began for me. Yes, I wanted to once
Speaker 2: I started and I was like, boy, this thing is
Speaker 2: so nice. And I mean it was all fun, fun
Speaker 2: and well and good and healing, and but like you know,
Speaker 2: you start to see some gaps and that stucking thing.
Speaker 2: Like literally, I'm just like scrolling on social media and
Speaker 2: I'm seeing like everybody look good, but I'm stucking band
Speaker 2: just showing it's like an eyesore, and even coming from
Speaker 2: the concierge, like you want to elevate people's experience because
Speaker 2: Trinidad was a carnival, it was hard to get to.
Speaker 2: It's not like Jimmy Corey your stuff at Esa Tagamat
Speaker 2: and buy a ticket for the dance and it.
Speaker 1: Just got to dance, you know what I mean?
Speaker 2: That is what we culturally have come to me.
Speaker 1: There's no expensivity around events.
Speaker 2: Every promote and want them dance to run, and so
Speaker 2: the tickets are all over everywhere. It can stuff and
Speaker 2: get one anytime, and so Jamaicans are not accustomed to that.
Speaker 2: And you have to in its entirety holistically plan A
Speaker 2: trined that Carnival trip from top to bottom. You have
Speaker 2: to know what fetes you're going to in advance, you
Speaker 2: have to know who you're on the road with in advance.
Speaker 2: Everything has to be planned in advance. And I was
Speaker 2: saying to myself at that time, like I need to make.
Speaker 1: This more seamless and easier for people.
Speaker 2: And it was the same thing when I thought of
Speaker 2: the accessories and the stockings. It's like I wanted to
Speaker 2: elevate the Carnival experience. And a lot of what has
Speaker 2: happened for me in Carnival is because I wanted to
Speaker 2: improve the product in some way. But yes, it started
Speaker 2: from that spiritual aspect and feeling very liberated and feeling
Speaker 2: like just having a really good time. That's really where
Speaker 2: it's you crave that once you've experienced it.
Speaker 1: And I felt like, how.
Speaker 2: Can I make this better for people, particularly women.
Speaker 1: And I and you.
Speaker 2: Honestly, it's so hard when people give you a compliment
Speaker 2: it's like I want to thank you, like.
Speaker 1: You know, take it can please thank you just say.
Speaker 2: The truth is every year when people were in things
Speaker 2: like particularly the last two years, because I have further
Speaker 2: put another little feature on the stockings now where girls
Speaker 2: can think of like a baby one day they can
Speaker 2: open a little flap and use the bathroom if they need.
Speaker 1: To or cuse me their feminine heigh. Oh my gosh, no,
Speaker 1: I need to get up here, because that is serious.
Speaker 1: That a vading.
Speaker 2: Once you string up antirep your costume, which girls do,
Speaker 2: they will nothing. They will tie it up them string
Speaker 2: it up set.
Speaker 1: As it can.
Speaker 2: Some girls will stitch themselves in so that pieces don't
Speaker 2: move or don't slide down or slide off.
Speaker 1: You don't get to take.
Speaker 2: It off until the end of the day.
Speaker 1: Know, Oh my gosh, So we.
Speaker 2: Used to back in the day it's a little hole
Speaker 2: in the seats of the stocking, so that you could
Speaker 2: just be used to that. And I said, well, we
Speaker 2: just need to make the stockings with a little thing,
Speaker 2: you know, like we thought. So I just I just
Speaker 2: put a little flap on the stocking. Now you just
Speaker 2: open it and if you need to, you know, feminine
Speaker 2: hygiene things, use the restroom whatever it is, and then
Speaker 2: you can close it back and continue. And people have
Speaker 2: to be on the road to be like, oh my god,
Speaker 2: I was on a period or because that time in
Speaker 2: a month, or I'm so happy I did this. I
Speaker 2: used to to cut the hole and then the whole
Speaker 2: stocking would rip for whatever it is. And that makes
Speaker 2: me feel good for women, that makes me feel.
Speaker 1: Yes, oh my gosh. That is literally like a game changer, seriously,
Speaker 1: for so many reasons, just for the simple fact if
Speaker 1: you're just somebody that has to use the bathroom a lot.
Speaker 3: You know what I mean.
Speaker 2: Like sometimes people come up to the booth to buy
Speaker 2: a stockings and I will ask them, I'm like, are
Speaker 2: you a person that like uses the bathroom a lot
Speaker 2: on the road Because I don't know, some reason I
Speaker 2: do not have to go on the road, So I
Speaker 2: don't know if I'm sweating, I don't know if I'm drinking.
Speaker 1: I really I never have to go. I do not
Speaker 1: know the entire time. Entire time, I never have.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's a little crazy, man, but its czy.
Speaker 1: Maybe it's a stress Maybe I don't know if it
Speaker 1: is stressful.
Speaker 2: Trust me when I tell you that that is the
Speaker 2: single most comment. I'm a game changer for me, So yes,
Speaker 2: thank you all of that to say thank you all
Speaker 2: the things. Yes, thank you, thank you so much.
Speaker 1: No, you're welcome, and you know. In addition to all
Speaker 1: of that, I just think even the way that some
Speaker 1: of the costumes are structured now everybody is not necessarily
Speaker 1: comfortable with, like let's say the front part. So I
Speaker 1: feel like it also gives us women a little bit
Speaker 1: more confidence that nothing is going to pop out that
Speaker 1: should you know? Ye exactly, So I think, yeah, that's
Speaker 1: that's why it's just such a game changer to me.
Speaker 2: Sure, the innovation now in terms of features on the
Speaker 2: stuffings has no big come like a pillar of carnival
Speaker 2: by candy, Like people look out for what are we
Speaker 2: going to do next on an accessory or how are
Speaker 2: we going to elevate or make it easier for women
Speaker 2: or for people who are playing masks.
Speaker 1: So this has become a little pressure in on a life. Yes,
Speaker 1: what happens when you're great, People have higher expectations.
Speaker 2: Right, So I am we are really pushing the company
Speaker 2: now to continue to innovate and to invent and to
Speaker 2: create things because we don't just want to buy and sell, right,
Speaker 2: Like I said, we want to elevate their carnival experiences.
Speaker 2: We want to move into different experiences because this doesn't
Speaker 2: just have to be carnivals. Like every time I look
Speaker 2: at Beyond Our World Torn and tell us we're performing
Speaker 2: all over the stockings they have, Yes, they're.
Speaker 1: Dancing all especially Beyonce.
Speaker 2: She loves us, she loves us stuckling. So you know,
Speaker 2: we're trying to, like, you know, go into other industries
Speaker 2: and navigate through the space in the performing arts in
Speaker 2: some way.
Speaker 1: So I mean that's kind of work the five year goal.
Speaker 2: Not that you asked, but well, I feel well, you.
Speaker 1: Know what I was going to say. First of all,
Speaker 1: I feel like you're reading my notes because that's going
Speaker 1: to be my next question. So thank you you got
Speaker 1: ahead of me. But I will stop that to say,
Speaker 1: I'm just going to put it on in the universe.
Speaker 1: I feel like Beyonce Act three, she's going to have
Speaker 1: to have some carnival by candy, Thank you, And I
Speaker 1: think that's what we're seeing.
Speaker 2: That's right then, thanks, and that's on that period.
Speaker 1: Yes, yes, so I wanted to ask you what's next
Speaker 1: for a Carnival by Candy besides Beyonce wearing it exactly.
Speaker 2: So, like I said, yeah, we want to move into
Speaker 2: some different spaces, particularly in particularly in the dance world.
Speaker 2: I don't even feel like I've completely dominated the carnival space.
Speaker 2: Carnival is a multi billion industry. Girl, there is a
Speaker 2: long way to go. This is a long way to go.
Speaker 1: And the girls, yes, you pick the right industry business perspective.
Speaker 2: The girls paid to Carnival. Carnival is not cheap.
Speaker 1: The costume not cheap. No, the flight not cheap.
Speaker 2: It's not cheap.
Speaker 1: Nothing is cheap.
Speaker 2: Nothing about it is cheap. And I want, like I said,
Speaker 2: I want them to have a good experience. I want
Speaker 2: them to be comfortable on the road. For some reason,
Speaker 2: when people put on stockings, I feel like they have
Speaker 2: on pants. As you know, the costumes can be very
Speaker 2: skim piece. So it's it's like I want to continue.
Speaker 2: There are a lot of other markets. I haven't even
Speaker 2: gone in with the stockings. People have heard of it.
Speaker 2: They're like, oh, what are you bringing your stockings to?
Speaker 2: Where about Saint Martin or or a little cannival. There's
Speaker 2: lots of Caribbean carnivals in every nook and cranny around
Speaker 2: the world, around North America, there's all kinds of living canivals,
Speaker 2: big cannivals. There's nothing hill, there's there's still a long
Speaker 2: way for me to go in Cannibal. So I know
Speaker 2: people will often be like, oh, what's next time. It's like,
Speaker 2: I'm still focusing on dominating here in this industry, and
Speaker 2: then three to five are moving on into other industries.
Speaker 1: So yeah, that's really where we are.
Speaker 2: But I mean, again, with some emphasis on innovation, will continue.
Speaker 2: We want to have new drops every year. We want
Speaker 2: to innovate, we want to elevate the experience. So yeah,
Speaker 2: I love that We're going to continue to create. That's
Speaker 2: what we're going to continue to do.
Speaker 1: Before we transition to our final segment, I've been allowing
Speaker 1: my guests to ask me one question this season, So
Speaker 1: is there anything you'd like to ask me?
Speaker 2: I would love to know, like this podcast thing, Like
Speaker 2: tell me about the business of podcasting. I need to
Speaker 2: be educated on the business of podcasting because it's something
Speaker 2: I'm like loosely interested in. So it's something I would
Speaker 2: have asked you off the airport. I mean, since you asked, yeah,
Speaker 2: shine some light, how has it been going, How did
Speaker 2: you get started? All of that stuff?
Speaker 1: So you know what's so funny? You may want to
Speaker 1: ask a different question. Here's why I know when I
Speaker 1: tell you, you're gonna be shocked, because most people are.
Speaker 1: I know nothing about part casting, I know nothing about journalism,
Speaker 1: I know nothing about communicating. I'm being dead serious. Oh.
Speaker 1: I started this podcast was I was doing my masters
Speaker 1: at Harvard and I had a project where I looked
Speaker 1: at the effects of violence on women and girls of
Speaker 1: the Jamaica and diaspora. Right, so, persons that leave Jamaica
Speaker 1: come here, you know the man, the man may end
Speaker 1: up killing some woman, or the woman ends up with
Speaker 1: an abuser, stuff like that. And I found that most
Speaker 1: of these women they just didn't have a space where
Speaker 1: they felt encouraged to leave that situation, or the men
Speaker 1: didn't have a space where they felt seen, or just
Speaker 1: didn't really have a space.
Speaker 2: Right.
Speaker 1: So I just had this idea, what if I just
Speaker 1: started a podcast where I just brought people on, like first,
Speaker 1: my friends and family at first, and like my uncles
Speaker 1: because I told you, my dad's a musician. So brought
Speaker 1: people on that just talked about their lives and how
Speaker 1: they got to where they got to just for people
Speaker 1: to be encouraged, and then it just turned into this,
Speaker 1: so I had wow, Yes, that's why I'm like, I'm
Speaker 1: probably not the best person because it literally just happened
Speaker 1: and from there so many people heard about it, and
Speaker 1: you know, getting people that are very famous obviously that helps,
Speaker 1: and a lot of people and this is what means
Speaker 1: a lot to me. A lot of people have come
Speaker 1: on just because they feel comfortable speaking to me. I've
Speaker 1: never had anyone ask me to tell them the questions beforehand.
Speaker 1: I take that very seriously. I did, Oh my gosh,
Speaker 1: I'm the first person. You know.
Speaker 2: I actually a little bit from anxiety.
Speaker 1: It is like I need to know.
Speaker 2: I need to know because I want to prepare and
Speaker 2: I don't want to not be prepared. I actually thought
Speaker 2: to myself that I need to practice more interviews where
Speaker 2: I don't know the questions or I don't know the questions, and.
Speaker 1: That's the reason. So the reason behind that is I've
Speaker 1: even have my parents on here, and the reason behind
Speaker 1: that is because I want it to be genuine. I
Speaker 1: don't want it to be something where I'm like, so, Candy,
Speaker 1: how have you you know what I mean? Yeah, and
Speaker 1: like you whole show, so you know how it is
Speaker 1: like some people you can give them the questions and
Speaker 1: they do know how to respond in a genuine way.
Speaker 1: But you have a lots of people that are going
Speaker 1: to answer like a robot, and I feel like, I don't.
Speaker 1: I want people to come here and feel like it's genuine,
Speaker 1: you know what I mean. So you've done so I
Speaker 1: feel like, oh, thank you so much.
Speaker 2: So it's just something.
Speaker 1: It's really something that there ends up being a business side, yes,
Speaker 1: but I honestly just started doing it and I'm doing
Speaker 1: it just for my community. Really, I'm not. It's not
Speaker 1: anything that I was like, oh my gosh, this is
Speaker 1: going to be a big thing. It's just turned into
Speaker 1: that because usually I end up having conversations with people
Speaker 1: and we end up being friends afterwards, or we end
Speaker 1: up you know, talking. It just happens because you know,
Speaker 1: we just feel comfortable talking to each other, and I
Speaker 1: think people feel good that they can trust me because
Speaker 1: I'm a stranger. And then it just was like wait, wow,
Speaker 1: you know that was fun, or she didn't ask me
Speaker 1: anything salacious or nothing like that. So people end up
Speaker 1: feeling comfortable. So I know it doesn't really answer your questions.
Speaker 1: I don't know it does.
Speaker 2: No, no, no, no that I actually it sounds a
Speaker 2: lot like my story, like it just kind of happened
Speaker 2: and it just it yes, yes, exactly turning into something
Speaker 2: so yeah, no, I get it.
Speaker 1: I guess it exactly exactly.
Speaker 2: It makes me. It comforts me to know that there
Speaker 2: are other people with similar experiences, because you know, I
Speaker 2: have people and friends who have seriously pursued being a
Speaker 2: doctor her entire lives, or being a what if it
Speaker 2: is a lawyer an engineer, like all the people with
Speaker 2: real professions out there who have been studying for the
Speaker 2: last I don't know, fifteen twenty years.
Speaker 1: Of their lives.
Speaker 2: Yeah. Personally, yeah, it's like I'm envious, and at first
Speaker 2: it's almost intimidating, like, well me just leant of being
Speaker 2: accountable now, and I'm going to.
Speaker 1: Make the best of it.
Speaker 2: I had no business plan. I had no you know
Speaker 2: what I mean. There's a school you got to learn
Speaker 2: the industry or or even business.
Speaker 1: See, that's why you're so good at it because it's
Speaker 1: your passion. Passion. Like when something is your passion, it's
Speaker 1: just that's like ever.
Speaker 2: Because I want to make you feel better in your costume,
Speaker 2: and so you're going to continue not thinking with profits
Speaker 2: in mind, but thinking with how can I make this
Speaker 2: experience better for you in mind?
Speaker 1: And that's the exactly enough coming sleep.
Speaker 2: It's the passion, okay, because exactly that's what's going to
Speaker 2: drive you.
Speaker 1: Yep, and calling sick. You can't for your passion, No,
Speaker 1: I cannot sick. Yeah, it's been Yeah, that's the journey.
Speaker 2: And I'm happy that you're also walking a similar pass and.
Speaker 1: Yes, we're both trying to make it refreshing conversation.
Speaker 2: So thank you so much.
Speaker 1: Oh you're welcome. Okay, so we're not totally done yet.
Speaker 1: I'm going to ask you six rapid fire questions. So
Speaker 1: you just say the first thing that comes.
Speaker 3: To after you just exactly. I literally was like, oh
Speaker 3: my god, it was fun.
Speaker 1: It's fun. But now you know you can trust me.
Speaker 1: It's fun, trust me, trust me. The first question a book, film,
Speaker 1: or quote you return to when you need clarity.
Speaker 2: All right, well, let me let me talk about the book,
Speaker 2: because I just finished this book and it really sat
Speaker 2: well with me. It was big magic. Oh yes, and
Speaker 2: that gave me a lot of clarity on a lot
Speaker 2: of things that's going on in my life about ideas
Speaker 2: and how they create. And yeah, it's much about being
Speaker 2: a creative, continuing to pursue my passion and making sure
Speaker 2: that I act on ideas and I get the ideas.
Speaker 2: So it was very it was very motivating for me
Speaker 2: that last book that I just read, and of course
Speaker 2: it's not top of mine for me.
Speaker 1: I love that perfect Okay, so we'll go with that
Speaker 1: the book, all right. Next question, what's a personal habit
Speaker 1: or ritual that keeps you grounded? The gym girl working out? Yes,
Speaker 1: I love that. I love working out. I'm not a
Speaker 1: big drinker. I don't do anything else as my vice.
Speaker 2: It is working out. I work out four times a
Speaker 2: week at the gym. And I also just added pilates.
Speaker 1: I'm a plates girl. Now welcome. I love pilates.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm a platus girl. No, so I just added
Speaker 2: that to love that. Yeah, but definitely in the health
Speaker 2: and wellness space in that way for just for the
Speaker 2: it's not really so much about the aesthetic of it
Speaker 2: is like, yeah, but it did it, didn't know. It's
Speaker 2: really about just being healthy and from my.
Speaker 1: Mind, yeah, and it makes you feel good. I feel
Speaker 1: it does it does for sure? All right? Next question,
Speaker 1: If you weren't in the carnival or entertainment space, what
Speaker 1: else would you be doing.
Speaker 2: Media and television. I've said that my whole life. If
Speaker 2: I really, if if kind of all afforded me the
Speaker 2: space and time to continue to pursue media and television,
Speaker 2: I would have. I recently just completed a project called
Speaker 2: Carnival Catwalk, which aired all well. It aired regionally here
Speaker 2: in the Caribbean, and I was the host of that show.
Speaker 2: But you know, the opportunities are not as I'm not
Speaker 2: able to take on the opportunities as I would have
Speaker 2: liked to because I'm busy, I'm doing other things. And
Speaker 2: if I've been honest and I really play as well, again,
Speaker 2: it's more of a passion project. It's like, if I
Speaker 2: pursued this, I know I probably could have earned more
Speaker 2: of a Right now, It's like, yeah, I do it
Speaker 2: when I can.
Speaker 1: When you can. All right, makes sense. What's one thing
Speaker 1: most people misunderstand about you?
Speaker 2: I would have to say that I have it all
Speaker 2: figured out and I have some amazing work life balance,
Speaker 2: which people I was like, how do you do it?
Speaker 2: You seem like you're doing so much, and I just
Speaker 2: feel like everything's on high all the time, and I
Speaker 2: feel like I'm outing files every single day, you know
Speaker 2: I do because of everything that transfered. I'll give you
Speaker 2: a really short story, because of any everything that transparred
Speaker 2: in Cannival this year, I was really on a mental
Speaker 2: break for the last two weeks, like I have just
Speaker 2: been zonkeed and zoned out and just trying to catch
Speaker 2: my head from a tail.
Speaker 1: At this point.
Speaker 2: Have been very kind of lowkey. I mean at home,
Speaker 2: I haven't really been paying attention to so much, like
Speaker 2: what's going on. And my daughter had pictured day at school,
Speaker 2: and let me just tell it was a mess.
Speaker 1: First, I brought her on.
Speaker 2: The wrong day day's school. It was like fix her up, comb, hair, dress, everything,
Speaker 2: their life tomorrow.
Speaker 1: Then when I brought her the following.
Speaker 2: Day, she's graduating from preschool to go to big school,
Speaker 2: and there was like a cap so her hair in
Speaker 2: a high ponytail. They're like, we're going to have to that,
Speaker 2: Oh mom. It was in the email that they're going
Speaker 2: to be.
Speaker 1: Oh no.
Speaker 2: Yeah. I think it is the perception that I have
Speaker 2: it all together.
Speaker 1: Yeah, but you're human.
Speaker 2: Yeah, But I'm very much very human almost, and I
Speaker 2: make a lot of mistakes. Okay, let me just tell
Speaker 2: you so all the time. Yeah, that's the biggest misconception
Speaker 2: that like people see me, you know, social media is
Speaker 2: a lie and they would see what ye be on
Speaker 2: social media.
Speaker 1: Like, oh, I'm so happy you said your daughter.
Speaker 2: Yeah, like your career and you're this and you're that,
Speaker 2: and yeah she's on that school of the wrong picture.
Speaker 1: I'm so happy you said that because I think it's
Speaker 1: good to humanize yourself a lot of times. Sure, because yeah,
Speaker 1: people don't understand social media is just things you're choosing
Speaker 1: to share. Like everybody is dealing with something at some point.
Speaker 1: Just because they're not on camera crying. Absolutely, that doesn't
Speaker 1: mean that they're not dealing with something. So I'm really
Speaker 1: glad you said that for sure. All right, if you
Speaker 1: want an all expense paigre to the Maldives, which five
Speaker 1: people are you bringing? Wow? Well my husband of course,
Speaker 1: of course. Yes, it's like I want to send my
Speaker 1: daughter us. I wouldn't manage to stay home with grandma.
Speaker 2: That bad.
Speaker 1: No, we're not judging, absolutely not.
Speaker 2: I'm so happy that this is a safe space. Yes,
Speaker 2: I love my daughter's name is Corus. I love her
Speaker 2: to the moon, but I want her to have experiences
Speaker 2: that feel authentic to her. And I'm all these kind
Speaker 2: of sound a little bit more me than it's on her.
Speaker 2: I mean, I know she'd love the bee chancing and
Speaker 2: she love our parents he but it's on it it
Speaker 2: sounds like she may not have the best timey right
Speaker 2: after that, I would bring my girls. Oh my god,
Speaker 2: like I said, I've had the same friends for the
Speaker 2: last twenty addios. Yes, so yeah, that would be Janelle, Giordance,
Speaker 2: Selina so Moora, and then my husband. A lot of
Speaker 2: people they're meant to kill me.
Speaker 1: So you would bring more than five people? You can't
Speaker 1: say that that's fine? I will okay, So you'd have
Speaker 1: I mean, it is the whole group chat. It is
Speaker 1: all expense paid. So I don't see why.
Speaker 2: Now everybody, I need a whole group chat call me.
Speaker 3: I love that.
Speaker 1: I love that. And your husband should be able to
Speaker 1: bring some people to right because.
Speaker 2: If he's a musician, you know who answer yes, that's true,
Speaker 2: killing me just come alone?
Speaker 1: Oh my gosh, I can't manage. But yeah, you're right
Speaker 1: about the answer. Ash Okay, so that works, that works
Speaker 1: all right. So last question, what would you say to
Speaker 1: the eighteen year old version of yourself, the young woman
Speaker 1: who hadn't built the brand, hadn't become a mother, but
Speaker 1: was dreaming of something more. It's going to be a
Speaker 1: bumpy ride, but you'll get there. And you know the
Speaker 1: quote that I returned to and it just came, it
Speaker 1: just popped in your hand. Yes, it is that.
Speaker 2: And I constantly remind myself of this is that I
Speaker 2: dreamt about the things I have now, and I always
Speaker 2: remind myself of that quote that bees are dreams realized
Speaker 2: right now, and I have to keep dreaming a new dream. Basically, well,
Speaker 2: this is.
Speaker 1: Something I prayed for.
Speaker 2: I prayed for the family, I prayed for the husband,
Speaker 2: I prayed for the house. I prayed for the business
Speaker 2: to be successful. I know, I want the business to
Speaker 2: be more successful, Like there was a time where we
Speaker 2: just wanted profits, or we just wanted to make sure
Speaker 2: we could sell off the stock or I know it's
Speaker 2: like I have I have people all over the world
Speaker 2: asking for the stockings and the demand is high, and
Speaker 2: I'm like, okay, now I got to take like another level.
Speaker 2: We need to take it to another level. You know
Speaker 2: what I mean, so, yeah, we need to. It's a
Speaker 2: quote that I constantly remind myself of that Diesel. I'm
Speaker 2: living in a dream realized and if I could talk
Speaker 2: so that eighteen year old girl like a bumpy right,
Speaker 2: And it's not It is not linear.
Speaker 1: Entrepreneurship is not linear.
Speaker 2: You're not constantly sending the way climb a corporate ladder
Speaker 2: or it's not going to be like that.
Speaker 1: And there's going to be a lot of values.
Speaker 2: There's probably more valides at this point than than peaks,
Speaker 2: but the peaks are peaking.
Speaker 1: Now it's time for my little thank you candle problem.
Speaker 1: Thank you for sure. Thank you for showing us that
Speaker 1: building a life of meaning doesn't require choosing between motherhood
Speaker 1: and ambition, softness and strength, or culture and commerce. I
Speaker 1: think you are a living example that legacy is not
Speaker 1: just about what we leave behind, but how we live
Speaker 1: while we're here, how we show up, who we uplift,
Speaker 1: and what we create with intention.
Speaker 3: Now you.
Speaker 1: You reminded us that being a woman in leadership is
Speaker 1: not simply about holding a title. It's about holding space
Speaker 1: for creativity, for responsibility, for joy, and for others to
Speaker 1: rise and for those listening, especially women I hope this
Speaker 1: episode really just reminds you that your dreams are not
Speaker 1: too big, your timing is not off, and your story
Speaker 1: is still unfolding, and you don't need permission to step
Speaker 1: fully into who you are begin coming. You only need
Speaker 1: courage and perhaps a little candy colored vision along the way.
Speaker 1: So yeah, thank you so much for coming. I really
Speaker 1: enjoyed this.
Speaker 2: Thank you so much for having me Ash, thank you
Speaker 2: for thinking of me and inviting me. I'm happy to
Speaker 2: share my story, something I'm trying to practice to do
Speaker 2: more of, because, like I said, I always dread being
Speaker 2: the interviewee. So thank you so much for the very
Speaker 2: well done, practice crushing interview.
Speaker 1: I appreciate it. Thank you so much. Yes, right, not
Speaker 1: like that.