Mr Retail: Mystery man putting Vincy talent in the spotlight

With the recent release of the first instalment of the ‘Igaburi’ documentary series, the name Mr Retail has been rolling off the tongues of persons within the creative industry – praising him for taking up the mantle of highlighting talented Vincentians.

However, despite the popularity of the documentary on social media, which features local designer Jeremy Payne, Mr Retail – the creator of ‘Igaburi’{{more}} – remains somewhat of a mystery, with the vast majority not knowing who exactly he is.

And that’s the way he intends to keep it for the foreseeable future!

In a recent interview with SEARCHLIGHT, Mr Retail explained that he has no interest being in the public spotlight, preferring instead to provide the platform on which others can gain the exposure they need.

“I just like it that way. I love St Vincent for a very simple fact: that you can just walk down the road in short pants and a shirt and comfy sneakers and do your business and be about your way without having to be verbally accosted,” he explained.

“Some people live for that; some people like that extra attention, but I don’t need it… It’s just unnecessary for me… It’s not about me; it’s about them and their stories!”

His first instalment of the ‘Igaburi’ series is a two-parter, which features local fashion designers Jeremy Payne (Fashion is Payne) and Odini Sutherland (Peta Odini). Part one, which focuses on Jeremy, was released two weeks ago, and part two (Peta Odini) will be released within the next week or so.

With Vincentian talent not receiving as much visual representation and exposure as some of our regional counterparts, Mr Retail came to the conclusion that the only way to go about doing something about that would be to provide them with a platform himself.

“I can’t really complain, because I have the equipment… and I can’t be saying I’m not seeing anything if I’m not doing anything about it.”

He recalled that initially, he wasn’t sure where he wanted to go artistically with the documentary series, but he contacted Jeremy and Odini with his idea, and they agreed to take part in it.

“I followed them around for a few days; got to know them a bit, so I could ask them questions and do like a documentary/interview style presentation on both of them. I found Odini’s [interview] to be more polished, because I suppose she’s been around this block a lot longer,” he noted.

“With Jeremy, I don’t think he went out of St Vincent to gain his experience – he stayed here and plied that trade and developed it.”

Considering that the fashion industry is not as developed locally as it is within the region, Mr Retail surmised that for Jeremy to have progressed as he has, it would have required a lot of self-motivation – something he [Mr Retail] employs a lot within his own career.

“I don’t need reassuring, I don’t need a pat on the back; I can assess with my critical eye whether this will work or this won’t work. So, seeing how he developed his own art form, going from a student of Vonnie Roudette to building his own brand… was very inspirational and kind of amazing also.”

Additionally, he pointed out that Odini’s journey to get to where she is now as a designer was also very interesting, because it wasn’t necessarily a straight path to get there.

“I understood both of their dynamics, and it was really a joy… It started out as me just wanting to do something and it evolved into ‘I have to do this thing’… It felt right to go about it that way and get it done right.”

Mr Retail said that his greatest hope is that others will be inspired by the Vincentians he features in the ‘Igaburi’ series, and use it as impetus to drive their own careers.

How did his interest in video begin?

From an early age, Mr Retail realized that being creative appealed to him more than academic pursuits and he often found himself burning the midnight oil exploring his musical interests.

“I was the kid sleeping in class, because I was up all night… School was for sleeping and home was to work,” he joked.

With a background in classical music training, Mr Retail recalled that as he became more serious about his musical pursuits, he began to think of ways in which he could express said music visually – so he decided to invest in cameras and video equipment.

“I just started messing about with different production software and it gradually went from just messing around to investing money, and by extension investing time…

“Then it was like having two passions and meld them into one. Then last or the year before, the video started overtaking the music, which up ‘til now I still don’t know how I feel about that,” he mused.

And through his development, he has been fortunate enough to have parents who encouraged him to pursue his creative pursuits – even though he lives in a society that tends to view such pursuits as hobbies.

So… what’s next?

In the near future, Mr Retail will be expanding his scope in terms of the persons he features in his ‘Igaburi’ series.

Explaining that the word ‘Igaburi’ comes from the Garifuna language, he pointed out that it took him quite some time to find the term, as nothing he came up with prior to that seemed to fit.

“I was looking for a word that represents being a good creative… not just doing something wishy washy… There’s no knocking that because everybody has to progress. But to present it with confidence, you have to have style, you have to develop your form, you have to have a certain attitude; and that word ‘igaburi’ has all those words in it.”

He also disclosed that completing the first two interviews has been a huge learning curve for him, which he intends to apply in subsequent video interviews.

“They’re going to grow and improve. I think I’m going to re-do Jeremy’s and Odini’s when I get better at this… when they grow and become something greater!”

He added: “I don’t just want to make it about fashion and music and soca artistes, I want to touch sports… non-governmental organizations, some businesses that supported generations of people or fishermen at a certain wharf… They all have a certain flair and style about them.”

Mr Retail hopes that in addition to providing a platform to give persons exposure for their talent, the documentary series will also help to keep said persons in the public’s consciousness, as he finds that Vincentian society tends to “love to forget.”

Describing himself as an overachiever, he said that in terms of his musical pursuits, he has many ideas that he is excited about embarking on. He also divulged that he has other projects in mind for his video pursuits – including films – that may see him working with the likes of Jomol James and Akley Olton.

“There’s a lot that I want to get to. As long as time permits, I’ll gladly do it all!” (JSV)