You probably have worn a piece in the Caribbean Apparel line and not even know it. Or you may have seen someone or have had a friend who has donned one of the cultural slogan-laden jackets and shirts of the line. Truth is, the Caribbean Apparel is among the fastest growing brands among young folks and is especially popular with the urban market.

Legrand Gandhi Lindor, the man behind it, likes it that way. Born in Boston of Haitian parents, Lindor graduated with a Bachelors degree in Finance and Real Estate Investments/Development from The George Washington University before receiving his Juris Doctor and a Masters of Business Administration at the University of Connecticut.

At one point, he thought he could somehow combine his love of different cultures, and his knowledge of entrepreneurship, finance and business law and parlay all three fields into a business. Lindor truly wanted to form a company that would focus not on just one country, but many in a way to help create cohesion or at least an understanding of different cultures starting with the Caribbean islands.

But many new entrepreneurs dream about mixing all their passions together, and sometimes the results fall considerably below their expectations. Would this venture of Lindor’s work? Six years after it officially launched—Caribbean Apparel the company Lindor founded—still stands. From Grenada, to the Virgin Islands, to Barbados, and to the flagship Haiti collection, Caribbean Apparel helps consumers celebrate their identity and cultural self-expression.

Lindor discussed his entrepreneurial journey, the fashion business, and what comes next for his eponymous brand.

Q & A

Kreyolicious: When did it first occur to you that starting a company selling Caribbean-themed and Haiti-themed apparel would be profitable?
Well, ever since my undergraduate days my friends and I would go to the various West Indian Festivals —DC, Miami, New York, Boston—and we would spend our money on various things, apparel being one of them. That is when it first occurred to me that in the future we could make money selling higher quality apparel with more thought intensive designs. Being a business major I figured why not have fun and make money at the same time at these festivals. I finally put that into practice in my third year of my JD/MBA program when the opportunity arose. I put a plan together and sold shirts at the Annual National Haitian Student conference in 2007 which was hosted at Penn State University. I went to the event with about forty shirts or so and sold out in thirty-minutes. While I started with the t-shirts, the process of making jackets for Haiti was well under way which we debuted in the fall of 2007 with the Haiti Flag Jacket, Haiti 1804 Jacket and the Limited Edition white Haiti jacket for females and Blue Haiti jacket for men.

It was more about giving our people good quality clothing to wear not just during Kanaval—Carnival—but everyday and a way to express our cultures in ways that people may not know about: for example our Toussaint L’Ouverture shirt or our Haiti shirt which has Est. 1804—meaning established 1804 as some young Haitian-Americans don’t know the history of Haiti—but only what they see on television—which normally isn’t anything positive. So our whole motto, Unity. Culture. Pride. ™ is coming from a different angle—being all inclusive and high quality designs on high quality apparel. We love hearing stories from our customers about positive reactions that others give them when they are either wearing one of our jackets or shirts.

Kreyolicious: Caribbean Apparel™, a rather simple name we think. Was it difficult to come up with?
Not really. We first started as LGappareL®—with the LGL representing my initials. We then wanted to create a brand name that would be more descriptive of what we do and focus on right from reading or saying our brand name. It gets the point across and simply a hot concept that many people have caught onto in a rather short period of time.

Kreyolicious: You’ve been running Caribbean Apparel™ for years now. Do you have any advice and tips for someone who might be wanting to take up a similar venture?
The advice would be to love what you do and do it well. Things are not always easy and there are many more behind the scenes work that gets done that many people don’t see or realize because all they see is the end product. Also, don’t get discouraged. Learn from mistakes or failures to improve upon what you are doing and don’t let someone tell you that you cannot do something; use it as fuel for your fire within.

Kreyolicious: What are the daily going-ons of running Caribbean Apparel™? Are you the type that wakes up at 5 a.m. and goes home at 9 p.m.?
Daily, we are in thoughts of how to make more designs and countries. We are continuously contemplating new designs with our Creative Director and partnerships with others to expand our brand. Also, we are learning more and more about the apparel and printing industry. We have expanded our business to custom print and embroider for others, whether it be student groups, entertainment bands, family reunions, companies, etc. I am more of the type to wake up at 9 and go to bed at 3 a.m. [Smiles]

Kreyolicious: As you began running Caribbean Apparel™, what was the biggest challenge you faced as a shot-caller?
The biggest challenge of being a decision maker is to listen to others and their ideas and even if I may not personally feel it is the best look or what have you, it may make more business sense to go in that particular direction. We have so many ideas that the actual hardest thing is figuring which direction to go in next in terms of expanding our business.

Kreyolicious: You have so many selections. Do you have a bestseller?
Currently, our best seller is our L’Union Fait La Force and Nègre Maron design—Unity Makes Strength. I believe this is our greatest concept shirt and the Haitian motto is a powerful phrase and to combine with the Nègre Maron statue—which is a staple in Haiti and symbolized freedom and the power of working together—is a design that has resonated with all types of people, not just Haitians.

Kreyolicious: Does your company partake in any Haiti-related activities?
Caribbean Apparel™ is constantly working with various companies and organizations who help people help themselves. We like to work with organizations that focus on health and education, not just in Haiti but throughout the Caribbean. We have been invited and have attended many events for non-profits including fashion shows, fundraisers, etc. We have been invited by the Haitian Embassy in Washington, DC for a few events over the years, we have participated in a fashion showcase in Haiti. People can keep up to date with what we are involved with on our website, where we post on our blog events that we have
participated in or will participate. We have also help sponsor events as well.

Kreyolicious: What’s next for the line?
Next for us, is to create more countries and then to start our production in Haiti to create jobs. From there, our other goals and ambitions will come to fruition.

You can visit Caribbean Apparel’s website and view their selections here.

Chapo Ba…in which we give a brief tribute to someone who has had a significant impact on Haitian culture.

Today’s Chapo Ba goes out to Justin Lhérisson.

Lherisson’s name will always go down in Haitian history for writing “La Dessalinelienne”, which is the Haitian National Anthem.

In recent years, many have recognized him for being among one of the very first writers to write in Creole. His novel La famille des Pitite-Caille: les fortunes de chez nous, published in 1904 had huge portions in Creole, although it was written mostly in French.

In his book A History of Literature in the Caribbean: Hispanic and Francophone Regions, literary pundit Albert James Arnold
praised Lhérisson being the first Haitian novelist to create a literary work that tackled incest and sexual abuse. The literary work in question was his 1904 novel Zoune Chez sa Ninaine (Zoune at Her Grandmother’s Godmother’s House-thanks reader!), also recognized for its sensitive treatment of Haitian peasant life.

A lawyer, Lhérisson was also a historian and a poet, writing three volumes of poetry Les Chants de l’Aurore and Passe-temps, both published in 1893, and Myrtha, published the previous year.

Among Lhérisson’s accomplishments was the founding of Le Soir, the Haitian version of People magazine of its day (in terms of popularity), with literary substance.

Born Alexis Michel Justin Lhérisson in Port-au-Prince in 1873, Lhérisson was 34 years old at his death.

New Yorker Richard Louissaint founded a much-needed movement for Haitian-American creatives known as The Haitian Creatives series. A creative himself (surprise, surprise), Louissaint’s creative love and forever crush is photography. Let’s trace his journey, starting from his chilhood years onwards, and learn more about the Haitian Creative Series he’s so passionate about.

Kreyolicious: When you think about your childhood and teen years, can you think of incidents that proved that you were heading towards an artistic direction in life?
In all honesty, not really. i used to draw in middle school and even applied to an art program inhighschool but didn’t get in. So, that ended my aspirations in that realm. Not until college did I discover I was somewhat good at writing for the school paper.

Kreyolicious: Why did you start the Haitian Creatives movement?
It was all organic and came out me documenting Zing Experience a group started by Paul Beaubrun and his wife Cynthia Casasola. The movement was already there i just connected the dots and saw the degrees of separation in the New York creative scene and Paul just happened to know a lot of them.

Kreyolicious: What drew you to photography?
I just began documenting events and my friends during college for fun and then discovered the darkroom my last year of college. Then, it became a more serious hobby where I would come to Vibe Magazine, who I had a short, full-time stint with then freelanced) original Director of Photography George Pitts and get his opinion of prints I would make. Then, an apprenticeship with Haitian photographer Marc Baptiste exposed me to the world of black photographer doing commercial work for the first time.

Kreyolicious: Ever suffered a long period of creative block?
Prior to making it the Haitian Creatives Series officially a project in 2013, personal and professional problems had left me in a very long rut. I had a stopped shooting consistently— even personally—around 2010 and couldn’t get past it until I quit a job I hated. [I started] shooting video work to find another outlet for my creativity. I really didn’t get out of [the rut] until 2013. I have learned to best way to get through blocks and slow periods of work is to shoot, shoot and come up with projects to work on with others.

Kreyolicious: You’re based in New York. What bearing does that have on your creativity?
New York is still that cliche despite it being inhospitable financially for creatives, the poor, working and middle classes. There’s so much creative energy and inspiration everywhere if you look hard enough, just not in the places it used to be like museums, which are really not that affordable. The biggest change for me has been the discovery of collaborators which I nice to have. Us only-children types tend to work alone so much ’cause we are used to it.

Kreyolicious: What are some of the most inspiring, creativity-boosting books you’ve ever read?
As I was a writer first, they tend to be fiction books, in particular scifi and fantasy. N. K. Jemisin, who was became the first Black woman to win the Hugo Award for best novel, inspires me a lot. And of course here predecessor the late Octavia Butler. But aside from that, there is Create Dangerously:The Immigrant Artist at Work by Edwidge Danticat.

A photo shot Richard Louissaint!

Kreyolicious: What advice would you give to someone who wants to be a creative?
Honestly, if you discover you have a creative itch early, scratch it. You can work on other things and try things out. But everyone’s paths are different. You may decide to have a full time job and work on your creative ambitions. Or you can decide to suffer the artist’s life which can be very rewarding and also very draining emotionally and financially until you find a balance. Just make sure sure you choose.

Kreyolicious: What do you hope to accomplish in five years?
To finally finish this first short film I have been working on for two years with Jason Minnis, an accomplished musician. Turn the Haitian Creatives Series into a full-length film. Get better as a filmmaker and DP. And to be cool with the life I have chosen.

[Richard Louissaint’s headshot/main photo: Ariel Williams]

FOLLOW RICHARD LOUISSAINT’S HAITIAN CREATIVES SERIES. GO HERE! VISIT HIS PHOTOGRAPHY SITE HERE!

Haitian cuisine would have made it to California, but it wouldn’t have made as big of a splash had it not been for Georges Laguerre, better known as Tigeorges. Laguerre is the owner of TiGeorges Restaurant, one of the few Haitian restaurants in California, and one of the most celebrated restaurants serving international cuisine in California. After decades of owning the landmark restaurant, running his own non-profit organization and selling his branded Haitian coffee, Tigeorges is telling his story in No Man Is An Island: A Memoir of Family and Haitian Cuisine, co-written with Jeremy Rosenberg.

Above: Chef Tigeorges! Photo Credit: Tor Johansen/TorPhoto

TiGeorges nearly died at birth and had to be revived. His restaurant got burned down at the height of success, only to be moved elsewhere and be more popular than ever. Can this book be categorized? No Man Is An Island is a foodie memoir, it’s an autobiography, and it’s a cookbook. It’s a love letter from a man who loves Haiti, Haitian cuisine, and the kitchen.

Above: Chef Tigeorges and co-writer Jeremy Rosenberg inside Tigeorges Chicken in California. Photo Credit: Fabrice Cazeau.

Kreyolicious: When you were little, did you ever imagine you’d get this far in life?
Yes…My dream was to become a camera man in Hollywood…So far, that dream has not been materialized.
[But] for sure I knew from the education that I had received from my parents I will play a very important role in society.

Kreyolicious: No Man Is An Island. I think this title is so appropriate for your book. So many ways you could interpret it. Did you consider other titles?
Tigeorges in the kitchen…Because cooking was always my passion.

Kreyolicious: So you worked with Professor Jeremy Rosenberg on the book. What was the collaboration process like?
It took us seven years to make this book. Always have been fun to work with Jeremy.

Kreyolicious: How did you ever get the courage to make the move to California, when you had been living in New York for so long?
Never did like the cold…I remember during winter time, I always had the blues. Could not see myself back in NewYork again—although my entire family is in New York.

Kreyolicious: Do you see yourself writing another book after this one?
The answer is yes…Because I have so much more to say about my life experience in Los Angeles.

Above: Tigeorges Laguerre (left) and co-author Jeremy Rosenberg at an event promoting the book No Man Is An Island. Photo Credit: Gary Leonard.

Kreyolicious: At one point, you were really into filmmaking. Do you ever think about having a cooking TV show about Haitian cuisine?
A TV show is a great idea. That will give me a chance to show to the youth interested in Haitian cuisine how much
passion exists in the Haitian culinary [arts].

Kreyolicious: I have heard that some Walmarts around the country are selling “griyo” in their deli. Only, they don’t call it griyo. Do you think that as the decades go by, Haitian cooking will become more mainstream…like griyo will become the new taco, and diri sòs pwa will become the new chow mein?
Anything coming out of Haiti is hard to sell. Somehow, the rest of the world feel the originality of our cuisine should change so that Haitianty can be accepted and I refuse to sell Haiti on that level. No deformation if you come to patronage my business. I am going to say that Haiti[‘s] cuisine is among the ten best cuisines on this planet. And us Haitian restaurateurs have great responsibility not to combine the name of our restaurant with the name of other countries—that is Caribbean Haitian, French Kreyol etc.

Kreyolicious: What else can we look forward to from you?
Soon to open up a TiGeorges Kafe in my home town Port-De-Paix.

CLICK HERE to purchase his book on Amazon.

CLICK HERE TO VISIT THE TIGEORGES RESTAURANT WEBSITE.

Everything But A Man stars award-winning actors Jimmy Jean-Louis and Gessica Geneus and veteran actress Monica Calhoun. The film debuted at the American Black Film Festival in Miami this past summer, and received a whopping six nominations. But here’s some other facts you need to know about it and its cast!

1. The film was directed and written by Oakland-born writer-director Nnegest Likké.
Likké, who spent some of her early years traveling Europe and Africa, is known for films that explore cultural differences. Everything But A Man centers on a black couple who have cultural differences. This is a theme in another Nnegest Likké film entitled Ben and Ara.

2. This is the second teaming of Louis and Likké.
This isn’t the first time Jimmy Jean-Louis and Likké are collaborating. Likké previously worked with Louis for Phat Girlz, a Fox Searchlight film released in the mid-2000s that grossed $7 million in the USA alone. In an interview with Black Hollywood Renaissance, the director stated that she thought that she’d get more offers from Hollywood after her film’s success, but had to get financing from African sources.

3…And the fourth pairing of Jimmy Jean-Louis and Gessica Geneus
According to IMDB Everything But A Man marks the fourth time that Jimmy Jean-Louis and actress Gessica Geneus have co-starred together in a feature film. The thespians previously appeared in the French TV movie Toussaint Louverture, and two Haitian Creole-language feature films Cousines and Le President a-t-il Le Sida, both released in the mid-2000s. Jean-Louis and Geneus will be on the talent roster for the Kareem Mortimer film Cargo.

4. Everything But A Man marks the eight time that Jimmy Jean-Louis has starred and produced or co-produced a production.
He keeps it low-key, but in addition to being a big man in front of the camera, Jimmy Jean-Louis has gotten more than a passing taste at producing. Other past production credits include the feature film Life Outside of Pearl, and the documentary Jimmy Goes to Nollywood. Prior to Everything But A Man, the “Hero” actor’s previous production credit was for the film The Empty Box (Spanish title: La caja vacía), directed by Claudia Saint-Luce.

5. They started as teenagers.
Did you know that co-stars Monica Calhoun and Gessica Geneus have been acting since they were teenagers? IMBD indicates that Monica had her first role as an actress when she was just fourteen, and Gessica Geneus has been acting since the age of seventeen.

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