Poetry Kisses: Jennifer St. Louis’s Life of Art

Story & Photos by Stan Bishop

“You can tell a lot about someone based on what they wear,” Jennifer St. Louis tells me as we sit downstairs Blue Coral Mall in downtown Castries.

She is not merely observing shoppers. She’s taking part in her latest pop-up shop along with other artisans.

“Which is why I always do my research to try to perfect anything I hope to put out there because I understand that people can be very critical when it comes to quality,” she adds. 

As she relates her journey as a craftswoman, artist, wife, singer, voice artist and entrepreneur, St. Louis reveals her story of a woman who wears her ideas. Literally. And she wants you to wear them, too, – not merely jewellery, art and accessories, but wearable art that speaks to the wearer and all whose eyes meet her striking works.

She blends her love of poetry – in music, art, images and movement – with her skill and creativity to fashion statement fashion jewellery and create fine art. Her pieces are Afro-Caribbean-inspired. She relies heavily on natural, local raw materials – shells, seeds, found objects – as well as precious and semi-precious stones, pearls and fabric.  

St. Louis is Manager/Designer of Poetry Kisses, a company she founded in 2014 that has taken her love of poetry to artistic extreme. She specializes in statement necklaces, up-cycled jewellery, simple necklaces, bracelets, earrings, waist beads, anklets, thigh beads, barefoot sandals, and up-cycled masks. To her growing collection of wearable art she’s added that “visual poetry your home can wear” – striking watercolour and acrylic paintings, from portraits to landscapes.

As far back as she can recall, she’s always been creating jewellery. But before immersing herself full-time in her business, St. Louis worked for four years in the Ministry of Physical Development – in the Crown Lands Section as a Data Entry Clerk. She started selling her pieces there when people began expressing interest in her work, including her sister-in-law and business partner, Nadia.

The Poetry Kisses brand actually existed long before the business came into existence. As St. Louis tells it, she had read a poem written by Elizabeth Browning when she was planning her wedding eight years ago to sound engineer and producer, Meriaha St. Louis. As she was preparing for this union of two creatives, this fragment from Browning returned time and again like a song’s refrain:

First time he kissed me, he but only kissed

The fingers of this hand wherewith I write;

And ever since, it grew more clean and white.

Slow to world-greetings, quick with its "O, list,"

When the angels speak. A ring of amethyst

I could not wear here, plainer to my sight,

Than that first kiss.

St. Louis gave the poem a different way, eventually creating an email address using Poetry Kisses as an emblem for her life of creativity which began with her mother, Beth Jn Francois, herself an entrepreneur, who ran her own shop. When it came time to find a name for the business, she decided to use Poetry Kisses.

Her mother specialised in clothing and lingerie for plus-sized women. Intimates, shoes, everything. St. Louis worked there after school and on weekends and vacations.

After her contract with the Ministry was not renewed in 2014, St. Louis decided to go into her business full-time. Even with her business studies at St. Joseph’s Convent and her love of literature firmly cemented when she studied English at Sir Arthur Lewis Community College, she knew very little of what to expect in actually running a creative industry.

At times she felt discouraged but, over time, was able to adapt to the challenges. That experience also works best for her whenever she gets the chance to explain to people that her jewellery is more like pieces of art that are your closest friends.

Three years ago, Poetry Kisses underwent a major rebranding exercise and launched its website, poetrykisses.com. So far, the response has been great, with positive feedback from customers public and additional marketing and exposure. She’s been encouraged by her husband, family, and Shammah Philgence and Renuya Morris, close friends from SALCC days. She also credits the Ministry of Commerce, the Small Enterprise Development Unit (SEDU), hotels and retailers with helping her showcase her business to wider audiences. 

“After registering with the Trade Export and Promotion Agency (TEPA) – now renamed Export Saint Lucia -- we started to get more traction and opportunities to showcase our items,” St. Louis tells me. “We participated in the Saint Lucia Wedding Symposium in 2015 where the models wore my pieces on the catwalk.”

St. Louis also participated in the annual Saint Lucia-Taiwan Partnership Trade Show for three years, describing the event as “an awesome experience, really, because it affords us great export and networking opportunities.” But long before she popped up at the popular trade show, St. Louis was already making a name for herself and her company through pop-ups.  

“I remember having my very first pop-up in the car park at Massy Mega some years ago,” she said. “It was great hearing the feedback from customers who wanted to know more about the business and also shared photos on social media wearing their pieces. So whether I make $50 or $100, I’m always happy that people see the value in my work and are willing to support me.”

For St. Louis, the creative process is a labour of love because she truly loves what she does. She’s always making something that makes a poetic statement. She sews, paints and draws. She admits to feeling drawn into various directions at times, but explained that the nature of the business has helped her marry all of her skills.

Recently, she’s been experimenting on a technique called line art, in which you paint a continuous line by never lifting the paint brush off the page until the painting is completed. She’s also manufactured her own beads with a secret process she’s dubbed “Jennite”. Yet another dimension to an artistic entrepreneur who wants people to see the poetic side to her craft.

“When I started out, I really loved creating Afro-centric pieces because I have a deep love for my African culture,” the young entrepreneur says about her signature style of work. “I also love celebrating my Saint Lucian heritage through my work. For me, it’s about creating what I love seeing: Black women wearing jewellery that makes them feel comfortable in their skin. So by wearing a piece from Poetry Kisses, it’s like wearing an armour of sorts while making a beautiful statement.”

Her home in Cacao, Babonneau is the couple’s hub of creativity. In his studio, husband Meriaha is either mixing tracks or recording an artiste. In her studio, she may be found painting one day, stringing intricate beads the next day, designing a bold statement piece on another day – all to the sound of jazz or whatever strikes her fancy as the day’s creation soundtrack.

Poetry Kisses items are currently available at Harbour Club and Rissy Kouture - House of Caribbean Fashion as she seeks to grow her list of retailers. Items can also be purchased online via the Poetry Kisses website and social media platforms. It includes an online merchandise shop, an electronic gallery of her artwork, shirts, phone cases, apparel, soft furnishings and accessories, and original artwork and prints.

“Whether you’re unemployed or employed but being underpaid, don’t ever think about going into business just to make a lot of money instantly,” St. Louis advises. “It takes a long time before you actually do. I’ve always said that working in the public sector taught me a great deal of patience which I bring to my own business. You need to be customer-friendly because people are expecting that quality in both the goods and service you provide. Also, remember that you’re a brand, so you have to represent your brand well. Put as much effort into your business as you would for an employer.”

Then came August 2019 and her biggest landmark moment to date – joining the nearly 100-member delegation that represented Saint Lucia at CARIFESTA XIV in Trinidad and Tobago. For the nearly two weeks the delegation was there, it was not uncommon to see patrons to the fashion marketplace at Queen’s Park Savannah standing in awe as St. Louis created new pieces on the spot. Back then, she told me almost the same thing she did earlier this year when we spoke.

“To date, it’s been the best experience I’ve had to showcase my business,” St. Louis says. “It was also the first time I travelled overseas solo. Being at CARIFESTA XIV was an indescribable experience. Just being there and being able to exhibit my products to the huge crowds of people who were giving positive feedback was amazing.

“I mean, in Saint Lucia, I have a market where people appreciate the work; however, not many folks are prepared to purchase an item. In Trinidad, however, people could not get enough. Some were even asking for more extravagant designs. So, I was able to make a few sales and connections while there. Some people have even invited me to events they host throughout the year. So, I’m definitely looking forward to that.”

The CARIFESTA XIV experience also gave St. Louis the opportunity to meet people from other cultures. She saw pieces there that raised her consciousness as to the limitless possibilities for her craft. She’s now more aware about the extent to which she can reach by pushing her creativity further.

While being a data entry clerk was merely a fraction of St. Louis’s responsibilities back in the day, she especially loved the customer service aspect of it. So much so that it has helped her tremendously to connect with customers, find out what precisely they want, and figure out how best to meet those needs. It’s a quality she infuses in her work even as she acknowledges that being an entrepreneur comes with high stakes.

“Take risks because the rewards will be amazing,” she urges fellow entrepreneurs. “Even if you have to go back to the drawing board, do so. Refocusing doesn’t mean that you have failed.”

 

Website: www.poetrykisses.com

Cell: 1 (758) 715 2628

Email: poetrykisses@gmail.com

Facebook: facebook.com/PoetryKisses/

Instagram: Poetry Kisses