Paul Drakes Success Story - Division of Education, Research and Technology

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Paul Drakes

Tailor

Train the Trainers Programme in Ultra Bespoke Tailoring

At the age of 16 there was an advertisement in the newspapers for an Apprentice chef and I applied for the job. I was accepted and spent one year in training, then went on to the Trinidad & Tobago Hospitality Institute (TTHTI) for three months where I did Mixology and basic food preparation.

I never did formal training in Mixlogy before, but my interest grew after seeing the Bartenders make Cocktails while working at the restaurant as an apprentice. After my training at TTHTI, I worked in the Food & Beverage department at the Hilton Trinidad & Conference Centre, gaining valuable experience.

After two years working as a Banquet Mixologist, I was ready for a new challenge, working in the Banquet Department. After six weeks of cross training in the Front Office Department at the Executive Lounge, I worked as the relief staff at the Lounge.

While working at the Lounge, I was responsible for all Executive Floor rooms up to the Presidential Suites. It was while inspecting these suites I learned that the attention to detail, interior design and layout of the rooms were significantly different from the regular standard rooms. One afternoon, while going through the suites my interest grew with the interior design and styling. I went back to my office, took a few sheets of paper, went back to the suite I was inspecting, and began drawing the design of the suite. I took note of how the suites were decorated, especially the drapery.

I started paying more attention to various styles of window treatments, fabric quality, lamps lightning, furniture and all the things that made the suites different from the standard rooms.

My interest in drapery design and interior decorating kept growing and I wanted to pursue further. Eventually, I started a drapery course. I began exploring various courses that I could do and while I was still at the Hilton Trinidad, I received a Scholarship to do Food and Beverage Profit Engineering at the world’s famous Hotel School – The Hague, The Netherlands (Holland). The only Tobagonian to attend that institution.

Being the only participant from the Caribbean, and Tobago, attending this training in Holland, was an honor for me to represent Tobago and the Caribbean. With a passion for fine food, I worked in the main kitchen of the Hotel School, assisting full time students with their food preparation and was the Mixologist for the social events and theme dinners.

In 2014 I had the experience of having Open Management Training in Puurs, Belgium. During my travel there, I saw the importance of being able to speak another language so I decided to learn French at U.W.I St. Augustine. Learning French was a major challenge for me as I had attempted the first level three times without success. That didn’t stop me from wanting to learn more. I decided to challenge myself and pursue a Bachelor’s Degree in Entrepreneurship.

While reading for my degree, I kept failing all my mathematics courses. I continued with the higher level courses for the degree along with the mathematics courses but continued to fail the maths courses. I was not at all ashamed of failure.

I persevered, and five years into the degree I continued to fail all the mathematics courses. While reading for my degree, I realized that something was strange and I noticed a pattern of failure in mathematics. I’d asked a friend for help and it was while my friend was helping me with my maths assignment, he suggested that I could be Dyslexic. I decided to do an evaluation for Dyslexia.

With the professional advice I received, I was advised I did not need the Degree and should place my emphasis on the various Arts that I’m interested in such as Culinary Arts, Floral Art, Sartorial Art & Mixology. Well, I did take the advice and I enrolled for a floral arranging course.

During the floral arranging course, I saw an ad in the newspapers for a Wedding and Party floral course to which I enrolled and completed as well. It was during the Wedding and Party Course that the Designer recognized my strength and talent in flowers and encouraged me to attend the American Institute of Floral Designers Symposium (AIFD).

By February, 2016, I registered for the AIFD Symposium and in July I flew to Orange County, California. In California I was amazed at how BIG the Floral Artistry Industry was, but what struck me the most was that most of the Floral Designers were men. I met Designers from all over the world who encouraged me to pursue my dream and learn as much as I could.

I reflected on my repeated academic failure and I realized I was in the right place at the right time and was so glad that I had listened to the advice that I’d got when I was told that I did not need the degree.

I was overwhelmed by my experience in California and I was encouraged to continue with my training in Floral Design. On my return to Trinidad & Tobago I kept practicing what I was taught.

In 2017 I registered to attend the 2017 AIFD Symposium in Seattle, Washington. This time I did more courses than in 2016 and had the opportunity to work in the workroom with other Designers learning new skills and techniques.

While reading the newspapers one afternoon, I came across an article about the Savile Row Bespoke Certificate Course, and decided to research the Savile Row Academy online and from what I’d read, I knew I wanted to do the Certificate Course.

I submitted my application online through Fashion TT and I was accepted at the Savile Row Academy. I started my training in March 2018 and concluded in March 2019 with a fashion show.

In November 2019 I started the Train the Trainers Programme in Ultra Bespoke Tailoring which was my second year at the Savile Row Academy at MIC in Macoya, Trinidad. My training was funded by my mother, and a Grant from the Department of Advanced Training and Advisory Services (DATAS) at the Division of Education, Research and Technology, Tobago House of Assembly.

Additionally, my siblings and friends encouraged me along especially when they saw my first three-piece suit after completing my first year of training.

I’ve faced challenges during my training as I’d never done tailoring before. I had to learn the professional tailoring terms, about 20 hand stitches, pocket styles, figuration. The mathematical part of the pattern drafting was the most challenging part of my training.

Being born with Dyslexia & Dyscalculia there was no Student Aide to help me along the way during my training. It was my determination and refusal to lose that carried me through. Many of my classmates thought that I would have dropped out in the first year of training.

Professor Andrew Ramroop OBE, CMTT encouraged me and I worked right next to him as he guided me step by step with the various challenges that I would have encountered. One evening while working next to Professor Ramroop, I said to him “Sir this is like doing Art in school” and he said, “Paul this is Art, it’s Sartorial Art”. It was the first time hearing that there was something called Sartorial Art so I did some research and was amazed.

Having been trained as a Sartorial Artist has been a rewarding experience. For those interested in becoming a Bespoke Tailor, it requires dedication, commitment and very long hours. You must really be interested in Sartorial Art. DO YOUR RESEARCH! I will be delighted to share my experience with anyone who is interested.

Dyslexia is a gift and has its advantages and disadvantages. Each Dyslexic person is different and gifted in different ways.

“If you survived childhood dyslexia, it is a very good business boot camp. It fostered risk taking, problem solving and resilience. School was just a chess game that required tactical brilliance”.

You never know where the arts can take you. I will continue to pursue my Sartorial Art training to a higher level so that I can teach especially children who are Dyslexic and those with special education needs, and share my experiences with my fellow Tobagonians.

Always remember, the best revenge, is massive success!

Have a look at his Video Highlight here

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