“It all began one day in 1988 when my then 5-year old son came home from school with a drawing of a red house. I fell in love with the drawing and asked Ben to draw another house on a large pocket-sized piece of white cotton-knit fabric. He did and I painted and decorated the red house, embroidered it onto an adult-sized white tee shirt, and Wee Pals was born!
I started making these ‘night shirts’ for the children of family and friends, and by 1991, had registered the company and was selling at small markets. 1992 saw the opening of my first small retail shop in Ellerslie Plaza, Maraval, Trinidad, and soon afterwards, a kiosk in Long Circular Mall, Trinidad.
Wee Pals diversified to become a family line offering a range of products from baby tee shirts and dresses to matching ones for Moms and Dads; to stationery, soft furnishings and even wooden puzzles and cookies. Many of the products were exported throughout the Caribbean islands but the pinnacle came when, in a collaboration, we produced a collection in Prato, Italy for a high end store in New York City.
There were many forces at that time that made a local brand and branded retail experience untenable in Trinidad, and so ended a chapter in the history of Wee Pals. However today, with the wonderful and joyous new beginning of our grand children, I am once again jumping into the market. This time I expect more exciting things!”
