Jewels of the Virgin Isles is a feature series profiling Virgin Islanders in the diaspora who are excelling in their respective fields and/or positively representing the USVI abroad.
You should never judge a book by its cover. That is one of the statements to which E. Tishell Callwood-Warren can relate.
Growing up as a child on St. Thomas, Callwood-Warren recalls how she was teased or scorned on a daily basis because her school uniforms always featured a unique flair or accessory that was different than the other students’ attire. Little did anyone know how much she dreaded going to school for fear she would stick out, or that the stylish additions to her school shirts and skirts were her mother’s way of keeping her daughter “fashion-forward.”
On the outside, most people saw a confident, attractive, and self-assured young woman, but privately, Callwood-Warren would have preferred to go unnoticed and blend into the woodwork.
“As an adult, I eventually realized that my mom was only doing what she did best – setting me apart and raising a leader, but as a kid, man was it torture,” she reflected with a smile.
It would not be until later in life that Callwood-Warren would embrace her inner fashionista and find her true passion as a fashion entrepreneur.
Callwood-Warren was raised by her parents, J. Ingerborg Marrero and Lemuel F. Callwood, and her grandmother Ethanie Francis on St. Thomas, and said she was fortunate to have been exposed to many cultures and communities at a young age.
“As a student at Montessori and All Saints Cathedral Schools and a summer camper at Interlochen Center for the Arts, I had friends from various cultures and ethnicities,” she said of the Michigan-based performing arts camp that was a creative haven for students from all around the world, including many from the Virgin Islands.
She also credits an early study-abroad experience in Limón, Costa Rica, for her global outlook on life.
This well-rounded perspective proved to be a great asset for her as she entered government service following her graduation from the University of the Virgin Islands with a bachelor’s degree in business administration. After several years with the Virgin Islands and federal governments in the territory and Washington, D.C., Callwood-Warren relocated to the Atlanta area where she completed her masters degree in organizational management and decided to try her hand at real estate and later mortgage underwriting. This would be the catalyst that set her on a path to meeting her now-husband, Dontá Warren, and to realizing that her truest desire was to follow the entrepreneurial path blazed by so many in her family.
She tried her hand at other ventures, but her real purpose would be revealed in the 2012 debut of her clothing store, What I Wear Boutique, which allowed her to tap into her love of clothing and empowered her to become the woman she said she was meant to be. She said she now sees how destiny worked to connect the dots between her childhood fashion trends to her love of sewing and fine clothing.
“There’s something incredibly attractive about a well-dressed, polished woman who is confident in her appearance. It comes naturally to me to help women to look and feel their best,” Callwood-Warren said. “Prior to starting my business, women would walk up to me on the street and compliment my style, and with encouragement from loved ones, I initially began promoting clothing from a friend’s stateside boutique to women on St. Thomas."
Shortly after, it was clear to Callwood-Warren she was on to something special.
With the help of a strong social media presence and the limited retail outlets for women shoppers in the territory, Callwood-Warren has built her clientele in the islands, internationally and on the mainland, including establishing her own space to host her “pop-up” boutique whenever she is on-island.
Her husband, Dontá, whom she calls her “greatest inspiration,” is an integral part of the boutique’s operations and success.
“He views me as having unlimited intelligence and capabilities, and he forces me daily to see myself in that light. He has helped me to become a much stronger, confident and successful woman,” she said with the humility of someone who once struggled to love herself unconditionally.
Callwood-Warren is a woman with a vision and she is eager to share her passion for entrepreneurship and dreaming big with the younger generations of Virgin Islands children. She would like to see a resurgence of participation in the after-school programs such as Scouting, dance classes, foreign language programs, and gymnastics, which were so much more prevalent during her youth.
“These extracurricular activities really gave me an edge when I entered the workforce and made me more than a professional with a diploma,” she said. “I want to help sow seeds in Virgin Islands students at the elementary school level in order to plant ideas in fertile minds about successful ways of thinking.”
Callwood-Warren wants children to see firsthand that if they do what they love, they will never work a day in their lives.
“I truly love what I do. It brings me joy and fulfillment every single day,” she said. Judging from the smile on her face as she wraps up another successful day of sales in paradise, she was sharing that love one outfit at a time.
A Nugget for VI Youth: You shouldn’t be defeated in spirit at such an early age. Identify a career path that most interests you and pursue it relentlessly. Life is too short to waste time on professional endeavors that bring you little joy or fulfillment.
Little Known Fact(s): On a serious note, I’m a classically trained flautist having studied the flute since the age of six. On a more hilarious tone, although I tend to have a very serious demeanor, I truly have the soul of a circus clown. To know me is to love me!
Loán Sewer is a marketing and tourism consultant and proud Virgin Islander who resides in Washington, D.C. She is also a founding member of the USVI Alliance Inc., an organization focused on reconnecting the Virgin Islands diaspora with the local community and host of the USVI Economic Development Summit on the U.S. mainland. Follow her on Twitter @LoTalksTourism or e-mail her at info@Lotalkstourism.com. Read all of the Jewels of the Virgin Islands articles on Facebook.
