Through 'Nature's Eyes'

Mel Cooke, Gleaner Writer

When Bridgett Anderson looks at a room or venue which she is about to decorate for a specific occasion, she sees it through 'Nature's Eyes'.

That is the name of the decorating - or dressing - aspect of her dual involvement in music, as Anderson also manages artistes. It is a combination of her approach to the art ("I don't use artificial flowers. I use only natural things. Stones from the sea, twigs, branches, it has to be natural," she said) and her personality. "I am a Reuben (of The Twelve Tribes of Israel) and I function with my eyes," Anderson said.

Anderson said her first decor job came from providing plants for a show Sharon Burke produced featuring United States rapper 50 Cent at the Constant Spring Golf Club. Jacqui Tyson, who was doing the decor, was pressed for time and asked Anderson to wrap the plants. The fabric was duly applied and Anderson was down a new path in music.

Anderson points out that "Because I am in the music business and they always need someone to decorate backstage, word got around that I do decoration. I began to get calls. I think Bev Davis from IRIE FM was instrumental in getting some early jobs in my capacity of doing decor."

Events under her belt

'Nature's Eyes' has looked at the press launches and backstage areas of Western Consciousness and St Mary Me Come From, as well as backstage at GT Extravaganza and Reggae Sumfest. Among the album launches which Anderson has done are for Carol Gonzalez and Kings of Kings. She also does a number of IRIE FM events and also decorated its founder Karl Young's funeral. Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) press conferences, the hospitality room and Royal Box for Reggae Boyz National Stadium matches, and last year's Premier League awards ceremony at the National Stadium have all fallen under her watch.

Naturally, Anderson does a number of Twelve Tribes' events and also did decor for the funeral of the Prophet Gad. In addition, Anderson does weddings, baby showers and other such smaller, private events. "Because of my involvement in the music business work comes from all angles. My jobs vary from the shower to the big events," she said. "It is nice to work and be paid for something that you like to do, that you get gratification from doing."

Budgets

Recently, Anderson did her father's 80th birthday, working with a blue and white theme. She chose blue because his colour is blue, according to The Twelve Tribes of Israel, and it is an approach that Anderson often uses when she is not given a specific directive by the client. She points out that before the recession really hit she would provide a budget based on her recommendations, but more and more she is given a set figure to work with.

The business was named some six or seven years ago and is an extension of her love for plants. "From ever since I have loved to decorate and have plants around me. I live in an oasis in the middle of the city," she said, describing her home. "Then I found I could earn by doing this and I enjoyed doing it."

Fabric is sourced from stores, while Anderson culls rivers and a farm in the district of Cavaliers for other components of her decor. "Tropical blooms are a signature to my decorations," she said.

Anderson acknowledges that "there are many great decorators out there. I have seen good work". However, differentiating herself from the pack, she says "For me, I put my spirit into what I do, so there's a difference. And I am a Reuben, excellence of dignity."

Personal reward

She is committed to that excellence and gets much of her personal reward from the results. "When you look and you see it finished and people come in and say 'wow!', I am tempted to say that money cannot give you what you feel when people appreciate what you do. It is a different feeling, a sense of accomplishment," she said.

If Anderson has her way, 'Nature's Eyes' will be focused more on the formal business sector in the future. "I would like to get into corporate Jamaica, to do more corporate jobs," Anderson said.

Looking back, she says, "I did not know it would have reached this far and I don't know where it is going to go. But I am working. I am in the music business and I do decor. It is two things I really enjoy doing.

"And I give thanks to the Most High," Anderson said, 'Nature's Eyes' trained on the spiritual source.