I’ve always been curious. And I talk way too much. Long before TTChatterbox existed, long before social media or brand strategy or even journalism, I was the chatty child in the grocery store pointing out new things on the shelves, asking questions, wanting to try what I hadn’t tasted before. That instinct was shaped early. A Welsh grandmother who baked mince pies and Welsh baking stones and a Chinese grandfather whose cooking went far beyond the narrow idea of what Trini Chinese food was supposed to be. My palate was adventurous before I had words for it. While other children ate what was familiar, I was tasting lamb, pork, shrimp, oysters and flavours layered with culture, memory and care. Looking back, that curiosity was never just about food. It was about discovery.
When I became a journalist at 19, that instinct followed me. I was never drawn to news or politics. I loved features and business writing. As well as opinion pieces. I loved walking through Port of Spain, stepping into shops, sitting with store owners and asking questions about how things began. I cared about people’s stories, especially the quieter ones. Over time, working across all three local newspapers and countless magazines, I heard the same thing repeatedly from my editors. This story is too small. Not big enough. Not newsworthy enough. People don’t want to read that. That stayed with me.
Living in England sharpened that feeling. People were fascinated by my accent and curious about Trinidad and Tobago but their understanding was often limited and reductive. There wasn’t one place I could point them to that showed my country as I knew it. Not just as a destination but as a place of creativity, entrepreneurship, food, culture, music and nuance. I knew then that I wanted to create such a place. When I came back home, I played with names and ideas, trying to make something click. 868 Life. Trinidad Life. It was my husband who said it simply. Why don’t you do a Chatterbox in Trinidad and Tobago? It made sense immediately. You see I had done something similar before when I created Clifton Chatterbox which was a blog all about Clifton Village in Bristol, UK when I lived there. This was the same instinct, I just brought it home.
TTChatterbox launched in 2014 with writing at its core. From the beginning, I respected the process of interviewing people properly, asking questions that pulled out nuance rather than soundbites. Editorial has always mattered to me. Even now, in a world dominated by video, I believe deeply in the power of words. There is something profound about seeing your story written back to you. Over the years, I’ve watched people pause when they read their features, realising how much they’ve achieved and feeling seen in a way they hadn’t expected. That moment of pride never gets old.
As TTChatterbox grew, so did my role as a brand strategist. The platform was always meant to be a window into my work, a way to show what I could do rather than simply say it. But somewhere along the way, I realised that what mattered most to me wasn’t managing social media accounts or chasing marketing campaigns. It was storytelling. It was curation. Stripping things back and letting my writing and photography do the work. That became my differentiator, especially as everyone else leaned harder into video. Words still have weight. Words still have power. Stories still matter.
For years, I toyed with the idea of a subscription box. I loved the concept. Discovery in physical form. But every time I thought it through, it felt heavy. Inventory, logistics, delivery, systems. It wasn’t aligned with how I work or how I want to live. I value simplicity. I’ve learned, sometimes the hard way, that big ideas only work when they respect your strengths. And I knew mine. I’ve launched things before that were exciting but exhausting, including a brand magazine that taught me just how unforgiving logistics can be. I took that lesson seriously.
What I kept coming back to was my community. The people who have been here since the early days and those who have joined along the way. Especially the ladies who are juggling work, motherhood, study, ambition, care, entrepreneurship and everything in between. I didn’t want a once-off, end-of-year giveaway like some international influencers do. That felt performative. I wanted something continuous. Something that felt like appreciation rather than promotion. Something that said thank you without asking for anything in return.
BrandBox grew out of that space.
It isn’t about selling, at least not right now. It’s about access. It’s about recognition. For the community, it’s the joy of the winner opening a box at the end of the month and discovering something new, something thoughtful, something chosen with care. For the brands, it’s the quiet power of being selected. Of being trusted. Of being placed in someone’s hands with context and intention. Every BrandBox will include a card that tells the story of the brands inside, because education and storytelling matter just as much as the product itself.
BrandBox also reflects what TTChatterbox has always been. A mix of local and international brands that exist here in Trinidad and Tobago. I’ve never believed in pretending we live in isolation. I promote what I like. What I believe in. What we can be proud of. Quality matters. Story matters. Surprise matters. That moment when someone says, I didn’t know we had this here, is everything to me.
At this stage of my life and career, BrandBox represents something very personal. A way to build without burning out. A way to grow without losing myself. A way to turn years of trust into something tangible. It allows me to enter retail and product in a way that feels aligned, without becoming something I’m not. It’s slow by design. Intentional. Themed. Considered. It will evolve, but it will do so on my terms.
At its heart, BrandBox is a thank you. To you the readers who have been here with since 2014 and to those who’ve joined along the way. To the entrepreneurs who pour themselves into what they create and to the women who keep showing up, curious, supportive and open to discovery. This isn’t about hype or scale. It’s about care.
I don’t know exactly where BrandBox will go yet and I’m comfortable with that. What I do know is that it feels right. It feels like a natural extension of everything TTChatterbox has been building quietly for years. It feels like me. And sometimes, that’s enough to begin.
