Honoree for 2009
CARLTON PHILLIP
Carlton Phillip is a Master Tailor. He is, as well, president of the Diabetes Association of Trinidad and Tobago (DATT).
Recipient of a National Award, the Humming Bird Medal (Silver), in 2006 for his contribution to education and community service, Carlton may be best known for the tailoring school and business, Apparel Institute, he operates on the Western Main Road in Cocorite, and his 30-plus years teaching his trade at the John S Donaldson Technical Institute.
In addition, however, he was instrumental in establishing the St James Medical Employees Credit Union at the St James Medical Complex, is a lay preacher at the Church of the Nazarene located at the corner of Mooneram and Angelina Streets, and is responsible for introducing tailoring classes at the Carerra Island Prison. As well, he is an associate member of several international Diabetes Associations.
Long ago the art and science of tailoring was a highly specialised and guarded craft, but today tailors are a dying breed of professionals.
"It is due to the modern, ready-made clothes," Carlton states, but still advises those willing to enter the trade to read and develop a sense of business acumen.
"You must have a flair for fashion, and you must be your own critic. If you start off with that attitude of getting it perfect, it will happen. You have to read a lot. I have 150 books on tailoring. It takes a lot of brains to sew, especially if you want to interpret fashion."
Carlton's entry into his chosen profession began with his apprenticeship to Ramudath Maharaj at Miller's Tailor Shop on Frederick Street in 1954. On completion of his internship he sat and passed the City and Guilds tailoring examination at the Royal Victoria Institute on Keate Street. He then taught at that institution for three years before taking up a similar appointment at the John S Donaldson Technical Institute on Wrightson Road, Port-of-Spain where he remained for the next 30 years.
"I was fortunate to work everyday," he recalls. "I always had a 95 per cent pass rate. Every year one of my students won the National Examinations Council (NEC) President's Medal for Craft."
To further develop the skills of his profession, Carlton travelled overseas to observe tailoring methods at world-renowned establishments on Saville Row in London, England, as well as others in Bangkok, Thailand, and Hong Kong.
"They have more advanced methods, especially with their systems of drafting," he says. "But I noticed they still had flaws, so I extracted a bit from each and put together a system with which I was satisfied."
In 1993 Carlton reached out to inmates of the Carrera Island Prison by offering to conduct voluntary tailoring classes each Wednesday at the facility. In 1995 he was overjoyed when one of his students from the prison obtained the highest marks in the NEC examination. During the period 1993-2006, 72 inmates passed the examination.
"It is my way of giving back to the community," he states. "I believe we should be kind, and do unto others as we would have them do unto us. I can't see someone standing with a baby in their arms at the side of the road and pass them by. I help people in little ways, and it brings me satisfaction."
Carlton still maintains a busy schedule, serving as a part-time NEC moderator, external validator for the Community Development Ministry and YTEPP, and as a SERVOL examiner. He is responsible for creating 95 per cent of the NEC's teaching syllabus.
Himself a diabetic, Carlton has held the office of president of DATT for over 20 years, and travels throughout Trinidad and Tobago delivering lectures and holding one-on-one meetings with persons affected by the condition.