B.V.I. Monday, August 10 – The Premier’s Office through its Small Business Bureau (SBB) in the Department of Trade and Consumer Affairs is throwing its support behind a local entrepreneur, facilitating her participation in an upcoming event in New York.
The bureau will sponsor the participation of Ms. Kristin Frazer, Design Director of Trefle in the fourth annual runway fashion show, The Great Fashion Mix Series – Bikini Under the Bridge, scheduled for New York on Saturday, August 15.
Ms. Frazer, a member of the BVI contingent attending CARIFESTA X in Guyana last year, used that occasion to launch her own line of couture swimwear for women.
Manager of the SBB, Ms. Yvonne Crabbe, told the Department of Information and Public Relations that Ms. Frazer, a client of the bureau, wrote to the department in June requesting assistance to attend the event.
“In her letter, Ms. Frazer expressed her passion for fashion designing and the exciting opportunities that have come her way since the launch of her designer collection at CARIFESTA X,” Ms. Crabbe said.
She added “it is this kind of passion we want to see among small business owners in the Territory; Ms. Frazer has demonstrated the level of dedication we want to see emulated by local entrepreneurs and it is for this reason we decided to support this small business owner in this particular venture.”
According to Ms. Crabbe, “part of the bureau’s mission is to provide a network through which new and established small businesses can receive training and assistance and it is our duty to do all we can to empower them and facilitate their continued growth and development.”
Reflecting on the challenges of the current economic climate, Ms. Crabbe said “it is important now more than ever that we help to foster the growth of the small business sector because that will help to ensure our economic survival as a small Territory.”
Ms. Frazer, who designed swimsuits for the swimwear segment in last Sunday’s Miss BVI Pageant, leaves the Territory today for the New York event. Prior to her departure, she expressed sincere gratitude to the government, the Small Business Bureau and the Department of Trade and Consumer Affairs for facilitating her participation in the fashion show.
“The feedback I received from the shows I have done in the Caribbean including Guyana, Jamaica, the United States Virgin Islands and Summer Sizzle here in the BVI, has been positive. I am very excited about the opportunity to showcase in New York and overjoyed that the Small Business Bureau decided to support me,” Ms. Frazer told the Department of Information and Public Relations.
She added, “I appreciate it very much because as the start up owner and founder of Trefle Designs, it has been challenging because designing takes time; it takes much dedication and it takes money.”
The Great Fashion Mix series – Bikini Under the Bridge is expected to provide an opportunity for award winning designers and new ones, like Ms. Frazer, to showcase their swimwear collections.
The Small Business Bureau is dedicated to the economic growth and individual professional development of the small business sector in the Territory; and provides training, resources, referrals and support to those seeking to create, sustain or grow small businesses.
British Virgin Islands News