Man is supposed to be the maker of his destiny. It is only partly true. He can make his destiny, only in so far as he is allowed by the Great Power.” – Mahatma Gandhi
My name is Decima Joseph. I live in the beautiful village of Marquis, St. Andrew, but originally from Mt. Carmel, St. Andrew. I am a past student of the Holy Cross R. C School, Munich, The St. Joseph’s Convent, Grenville, The T. A Marryshow Community College and The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad.
Presently, I am a Mathematics and Agricultural Science teacher at my alma mater, the St. Joseph’s Convent. I’ve been a teacher for almost 7 years, for the first three years I was at The Anglican High School then at The St. Joseph’s Convent after completing my studies at UWI.
I grew up as an ordinary average Grenadian girl. My parents, Cyril Joseph and Marva Harford, both teachers at the time, raised my siblings and I in the simplest way possible, teaching us to appreciate everything in life, work hard to earn our life’s desires and placed much emphasis on education being of paramount importance to our existence. I am the first of four very active children, who were never encouraged to be lazy. As a child, I was exposed to farming, fishing, hunting, boat building, construction and furniture making at my father’s workshop which were key in molding the person I am today.
After I earned my degree in Environmental & Natural Resource Management and Agricultural Science (double major) from UWI in 2011, I was unemployed for almost a year, so I started sewing. During that year, I did most of my sewing by hand. Several of my close friends and family members were so impressed with what I was doing they encouraged me to keep at it. I took their advice and started working towards improving my skills. YouTube was my greatest teacher and one of my main sources for improving my skills, together with my friends who were seamstresses. The following year I received a sewing machine as a gift, and the rest was history.
To date, I am a teacher and an entrepreneur! How! You may ask? I never imagined in my lifetime I would be a business owner. My journey as an entrepreneur began when I saw an Ad on television for the Annual Courts Fashionista Competition 2015. The competition was centered around designers creating a piece of clothing depicting one of their furniture pieces at their store. The grand prize of the competition was $2500. I immediately started considering it just because of the money involved. Yes the money! I saw it as an opportunity to purchase a Serger machine and a mannequin to enhance the little talent I discovered I had. I consulted with my boyfriend, Samuel Phillip, who has been extremely instrumental in the budding stages of my talent, who said to me “go for it”. I entered the competition and was chosen as a finalist. I was given $200 by Courts to purchase material for the design. It wasn’t an easy task at first, I took quite a long time to decide on the fabric to be used. I remember sitting in the fabric store for almost 5 hours, contemplating on what I had gotten myself into and just asking God to show me the right piece of fabric. Upon much deliberation, I choose two pieces of upholstery fabric to complete my design, which in time became the winning piece of the 2015 competition. Most would think I did this, because it was Decima’s design, but it was solely the work of my God leading me to what he wanted me to get out of my life. I can certainly testify to the verse which says “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
Since then I have grown tremendously within the fashion industry. I have been designing pieces for several persons both locally and abroad. Now, I am the proud owner of DeciStyles, an upcoming brand created to provide clients with fashionable clothing designed and sewn to suit their individual tastes, needs and wants. It is something I am growing to enjoy and love more and more every day. There are days when I just have to make something new, it is an addiction!
It is my firm belief that we are placed on this earth not just to exist but to be the best we can be. We are responsible for what or who we become, but it is only through God’s grace, mercy and direction that are we able to be EXCEPTIONAL! We were all blessed with some kind of ability within our natural capacity as human beings, it is on you to embrace your destiny, ask God’s direction and be a shining star.
My name is Decima Joseph, I am what God says I AM, a Grenadian, a teacher and a fashion designer.#IamGrenadian
