A child of Caribbean immigrants to the US, and born in New York City, Malene Barnett is now a globe-trotting business owner whose luxury carpet designs have graced the floors of fashion gurus, media mavens, and even America’s oldest commercial corporation and style cathedral—Saks Fifth Avenue.
Though her work and experiences have seen her brush shoulders with celebrated names like Arianna Huffington and Tory Bursch, the Brooklyn-based entrepreneur will return to her island roots next month with a visit to T&T for an evening-long experience celebrating the power of womanhood.
Dubbed Cocktails and Conversations: If Not Now, When?, the event is part of the Forward Forty umbrella, an initiative aimed at helping woman over the age of 40 assume the most successful, beautiful, and enlightened versions of themselves.
Forward Forty is the brainchild of Mango Media Caribbean’s managing director Judette Coward, who was compelled to create the brand to help women grow more beautiful and successful as they age.
“Culture and advertising dictates to us that after 40, we no longer matter! But we do, and Forward Forty came about as a way to engage women who had stories to tell. It’s a way for me to be the conduit for other women to raise their own voice., she said.
To be held at Drew Manor in Santa Cruz Valley on October 2, the event will feature four speakers, cuisine by award-winning chef Debra Metivier, an exclusive marketplace, and the company of some very engaging women.
Among them is Barnett, who brings with her years of experience as a New York entrepreneur in the creative industry. A graduate of the prestigious Fashion Institute of Technology, Barnett is now the owner of the eponymous Malene B Studios in New York, where she creates award-winning carpets, fine art wall coverings, and artisan tiles. Barnett is also creating her own lifestyle brand featuring bespoke tableware that is set to hit stores in the near future.
Featured by the likes of the Huffington Post, New York Magazine and Interior Design Magazine, Barnett’s work is global.
At Cocktails and Conversations, Barnett will focus on how she unlocked her authentic power and used it to create the relationship, career, impact and larger creative contributions she yearned for.
The event will also feature conversations by Maria Daniel, a partner at Ernst and Young Trinidad who leads a female dominated department in a male-dominated service line; Dianne Hunt, the founder of the popular Dianne’s Tea Shop and the former designer and co-owner of Radical Designs; as well as Sharon Christopher, former Deputy CEO at First Citizens and now a leadership development consultant at Sharon Christopher and Associates.
Following the speakers, the experience will ease into a more relaxed space, with cocktails from the House of Angostura and hors d’oeuvres by award-winning chef Debra Metivier.
Tickets to the experience are now on sale and can be bought online at http://forwardforty.com/theexperience.