National Honour for Manufacturing Industry Stalwart

Managing Director of Designs by Marc Limited, Marcia Nicely McCalla, will be conferred with the Order of Distinction in the Rank of Officer (OD) this year, for over 30 years contribution to Jamaica’s manufacturing sector.

She is among the 150 Jamaicans being recognised with honours and awards by the Government for outstanding service in various fields.

Designs by Marc is a trailblazer in the garment manufacturing industry that has contributed to the standard of corporate wear now seen in Jamaica.

Mrs. Nicely McCalla, who has earned multiple awards for her track record of excellence, is a first-time national honouree.

She tells JIS News that she is “humbled” and “honoured” to be selected for the award and looks forward to its conferment by Governor-General, His Excellency the Most Hon. Sir Patrick Allen, during the investiture ceremony at King’s House on National Heroes Day, Monday, October 21.

Mrs. Nicely McCalla credits her mother, who was a teacher of Clothing and Textiles at Guy’s Hill Secondary School, now Guy’s Hill High School, in St. Catherine, with exposing her to dressmaking and engendering her entrepreneurial spirit.

At an early age, she learnt different techniques while helping her mother with various aspects of sewing, such as pattern making and free-hand cutting.

“I was brought up in a home where… my mother did a lot of sewing back in those days… and I used to make a little money from hemming the garments of mainly school uniforms before she branched out to making other clothing for people in the district,” Mrs. Nicely McCalla recounts.

Dressmaking was, however, not deemed to be among the esteemed professions during the 1960s. So, after leaving high school at age 16, she declined her mother’s proposal for them to elevate their sewing engagements to a more formal and structured enterprise.

“All the friends that I had were going to teachers’ college, CAST (College of Arts, Science and Technology, now University of Technology), UWI (University of the West Indies), and I felt a little way not wanting to do [sewing] because in my [younger] days… nobody really [wanted] to be a dressmaker for a profession,” Mrs. Nicely McCalla tells JIS News.

With her father’s assistance, she, instead, applied to St. Joseph’s Teachers’ College, where she pursued and completed studies in teaching.

A chance encounter with an insurance agent while teaching, provided the opportunity that became a catalyst for her return to her roots.

After unsuccessfully trying to sell insurance to Mrs. Nicely McCalla, the agent, impressed by her unrelenting querying, connected her with his manager, with a view to recruiting her.

The compensation package offered was attractive enough to lure her from the classroom to the company to work as an insurance agent.

While working in her new profession, Mrs. Nicely McCalla found herself wanting to improve her wardrobe, hence she commenced sewing corporate wear for herself.

“If you have to interact with insurance salespersons, they look good. So, while I was selling [insurance], every day I [wanted] something nice to dress up in. I would go home in the evenings and make something to have it to wear the next day,” she shares.

Mrs. Nicely McCalla also solicited the assistance of her mother in the country on weekends to make clothes for her.

“One day [my mother jokingly] said to me, ‘Lord have mercy, you have too many things here to be made… and remember that you’re not paying’,” she tells JIS News.

At that point, it dawned on Mrs. Nicely McCalla that she could make a business out of what she was doing.

This realisation was further fuelled by compliments she received from persons about the quality and designs of her clothing, all of which led to the establishment of Designs by Marc Limited in 1989, which was named after her first son – Marc.

The hands-on Managing Director is the establishment’s main designer, and her input is integrated into the designs of their clients – even with the design studio’s team.

“I think my company has changed the way uniforms look, into something exciting; and because most of these companies change uniforms every 12 months, we make sure even a small change over the period makes [the outfit] look exciting,” she tells JIS News.

Mrs. Nicely McCalla points out that her company is well known for its designs and quality of garment construction.

For more than 20 years, Designs by Marc has created uniforms for many companies, including banks and department stores.

Mrs. Nicely McCalla tells JIS News that the most enjoyable part of her work is creating unique, sophisticated and timeless uniforms for each company that are flattering on all body types.

“Some people would think, ‘your figure is smaller, this design will look good on you, but it may not look good on me because I`m way bigger’. We take that into consideration a lot, to make sure the styles we’re designing, there’s that uniqueness in it so that it will fit a wide cross-section of persons, and also it will be timeless,” she adds.

Mrs. Nicely McCalla says her greatest accomplishment is the positive impact the company has had on its employees, noting that the entity has consistently employed about 150 persons over the years.

“I feel very attached to this accomplishment. People come to the factory, they didn’t know how to sew [and] they learn how to sew,” she shares.

Noting that the company has a low staff turnover rate, Mrs. Nicely McCalla proudly states that, “I am very honoured that the very first person I employed is still with Designs by Marc.”