Young Professional, Karema S. Caines, is a Statistical Officer attached to the Royal Virgin Islands Police Force (RVIPF) by weekday and very much the bubbly and enthusiastic entrepreneur by weekend. Photo: VINO

Karema suggested that hard work, education and a strong push towards any goal was a sure path to becoming successful. Photo: supplied

Accessories available from Head 2 Toe - a bead stretch bracelet. Image: supplied

Accessories available from Head 2 Toe - a big knit beanie with visor. Image: supplied

Accessories available from Head 2 Toe - A chunky pearl necklace earring. Image: supplied

Accessories available from Head 2 Toe - a fedora. Image: supplied

Contact details for Karema's Head 2 Toe. Image: supplied

Virgin Islands News Online proudly presents Karema S. Caines.

Karema attended Althea Scatliffe Primary School and the then BVI High School before transitioning to the H. Lavity Stoutt Community College (HLSCC) where she earned an Associate Degree in Computer Studies. She then worked at Citco BVI for some two years before venturing to the US Virgin Islands to pursue studies in Business Administration at the University of the Virgin Islands.

She explained that a change of heart led her to pursue the field of business after initially being interested in Computer Science.

Karema, the third of six siblings, described one of her fondest and most enduring memories as taking long Sunday walks with her mother as a child and attending her father’s soccer games. She also recalls being very much a daddy’s girl but quickly amended this to say that she is very close to her mother as well.

Though she readily admits to being in love with the Virgin Islands lifestyle, Karema said she wants to experience more of what the world offers.

Before our Young Professional completed her college education in 2008, she started working as an Administrative Assistant in 2007 with the Virgin Islands Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (VI-EPSCoR), located in St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

She then moved over to the RVIPF in 2009 where she has worked for the past four years. Describing what led her to become a Statistical Officer, Karema said she completed the first part of her internship at college at the Statistical Unit of The Department of Labour in St. Thomas.

Apart from crime report and crime database maintenance, preparing and submitting weekly and year-to-date statistics, she prepares statistics and other reports upon request for members of the RVIPF and external sources in relation to crimes committed in the Territory. Karema disclosed that she also assists students with research on various occasions.

She gleefully described the birth of her business, Head 2 Toe, an accessories outlet that outfits both men and women with the latest and most fashionable designs one can think of.

“I love fashion,” she said, “and I always knew that I was going to do something of the sort.” In saying this, she explained that she always imagined herself as having her own business in the field of fashion one day.

It must have been a happy moment, after doing the necessary homework and research, when she was able to launch Head 2 Toe. “I realised that a lot of females who I spoke to would travel overseas to get accessories,” she related.

Karema said she would not imply that there were no accessories available in the Virgin Islands, but persons seemed to always be in the habit of going to St Thomas or Puerto Rico to find that perfect item to make their outfits ‘pop’ when they needed to go out. She also stated that accessories are key finishing touches to pull any look together. This is the reason she wanted to venture in this direction, Karema said.

The young entrepreneur said she wanted to carry trendy pieces, yet make them affordable and fashionable at the same time. “My mission basically, is to accessorize you from head to toe for all occasions,” she explained. “Our goal is to be the fashion authority in offering an eclectic mix of accessories and jewelry targeted to the lifestyles of men and women everywhere”.

For ladies, Karema carries fashionable jewelry, belts, clutches, handbags, purses, scarves, sunglasses and headbands; for men, there are cufflinks, caps, belts and sunglasses on offer.

Head 2 Toe began as a humble project in 2011 from the heart of her home, but the Young Professional said she decided to take things up a notch the following year.

At first, Karema disclosed, she would simply email friends about the products she had available, but she later made a decision that would essentially allow her to become more visible. “I needed to be out, I needed to be out there where persons can see the merchandise,” she said.

Karema moved to take up a position in the parking lot of BVI Cable TV on weekends which she feels has proven to be a wise decision. She is there each Saturday from 10AM to 7PM but stated that she is also actively seeking a fixed location for her products. It is a search that she described as being very hard, but starting somewhere was an important goal that she has already achieved.

Karema expressed that through her Facebook page and Twitter accounts, she has steadily tried to build her clientele to a position that is satisfactory. She can be reached on Facebook at facebook.com/Head2toeBVI and twitter at twitter.com/Head2toeBVI She has been able to garner much support from close friends and other supporters over the years and is grateful for this. She made special mention of her team, family and friends and DJ Turbo, who she described as an affiliate that would put the word out about Head 2 Toe on Saturdays on his Morning Ride Show when he is on air.

Although she felt the task of being an entrepreneur was difficult, Karema said that energy and persistence conquer all things. She encourages young persons who have a goal in mind to not let anyone deter them from their path.

“You need determination and you need drive; and you also need a good support team,” she counselled. Karema suggested that hard work, education and a strong push towards any goal was a sure path to becoming successful.

“I love putting smiles on my customers’ faces, everything is not going to be smooth sailing all the time,” she noted.

“You’re going to have some rough seas in between there, but you just have to keep going… don’t give up on yourself,” Karema advised.