As Jamaica continues to draw world consideration for vacation spot weddings, cultural gatherings, and high-profile celebrations, a quiet shift is underway in how these experiences are designed and delivered. More and more, probably the most compelling occasions will not be people who import worldwide traits, however people who permit Jamaica itself to guide.
On the heart of that shift is Shikima Hinds, a Jamaican-born and Kingston-based event producer and concierge whose work spans luxurious weddings, milestone celebrations, and a number of the island’s most recognizable cultural and life-style occasions.
As founder and CEO of Shikima Hinds Occasions & Concierge, Hinds operates at a luxurious commonplace, however one rooted firmly in Jamaican tradition, atmosphere, and sensibility.
Born and raised in Kingston, Hinds’ connection to hospitality started early, from designing handwritten invites for household gatherings to later refining her abilities in luxurious service throughout her time on the Ritz-Carlton Rose Corridor. What started as a easy vendor referral platform, Island Bride Jamaica, regularly developed into Shikima Hinds Occasions & Concierge, now one of many island’s most revered occasion planning and concierge companies.
Designing with Jamaica on the Forefront
Hinds’ strategy is formed by lived expertise. She designs with an intuitive understanding of the atmosphere, supplies, and social codes she works inside.
“I don’t impose themes,” she says. “I give attention to creating a sense that displays the consumer whereas respecting Jamaica and the atmosphere we’re working in.”
That philosophy interprets into design selections that really feel elevated but acquainted. Imported décor is commonly changed or softened with domestically sourced greenery and indigenous supplies. Jamaican parts resembling coconuts, native foliage, and natural textures are integrated thoughtfully quite than as novelty.
“These are issues we reside with day-after-day in Jamaica,” Hinds explains. “When they’re used deliberately, the design feels trustworthy.”
The result’s work that meets worldwide expectations for refinement whereas remaining grounded in Jamaican identification.
Tradition as Expertise, Not Ornament
For Hinds, tradition shouldn’t be one thing to be displayed. It’s one thing to be felt. Music and meals, each central to Jamaican life, form the emotional move of her occasions.
From reside musicians welcoming visitors to reggae, jazz, or dancehall guiding the night, sound turns into a delicate however highly effective sign of place. “Music carries feeling,” Hinds says. “It tells you instantly that you’re in Jamaica.”
Meals performs an identical function. Whereas many purchasers go for fusion menus, Jamaican flavors stay current, reflecting how Jamaica itself blends custom with evolution. For diaspora purchasers particularly, these particulars typically reconnect them to reminiscence, household, and residential.
A Jamaican Definition of Luxurious
Whereas Hinds’ work is definitely luxurious, she resists extra. Her occasions are refined, composed, and intentional, mirroring Jamaica’s personal steadiness of confidence and ease.
“Luxurious doesn’t must be loud,” she says.
By prioritizing move, consolation, and high quality execution, she creates experiences that really feel elevated with out being heavy-handed. Considerate lighting, layered textures, and regarded layouts permit Jamaica itself to stay the focus. As an authorized concierge, her function typically extends past planning occasions to managing the complete expertise for abroad purchasers, lots of whom depend on her to navigate Jamaica from afar.
Trusted with Jamaica’s Most Seen Moments
Hinds’ popularity extends past non-public celebrations. She has been a key lead group member within the manufacturing of a few of Jamaica’s most influential cultural and life-style occasions, together with the Frenchmen get together collection, the Jamaica Observer Meals Awards, the Misplaced in Time Pageant, and the Jamaica Food and Drink Festival.
These occasions, extensively attended by native tastemakers, creatives, and members of the diaspora, require a excessive degree of precision, cultural fluency, and belief. Her involvement alerts not solely scale, however credibility inside Jamaica’s occasion and hospitality ecosystem.
Her work has additionally been trusted by worldwide and celeb purchasers, together with Sheryl Lee Ralph’s household, Dwyane Wade, Gabrielle Union, and Cynthia Bailey, typically underneath advanced or time-sensitive situations, together with executing high-profile celebrations within the quick aftermath of pure disruptions.
Why Her Work Issues
Past particular person occasions, Hinds’ strategy contributes to a bigger dialog about how Jamaica is represented on the worldwide stage. By prioritizing native distributors, creatives, musicians, cooks, and artisans, she ensures that worldwide demand strengthens Jamaica’s inventive economic system quite than bypassing it.
“I imagine in supporting native,” she says. “Hospitality is about integrity.”
Now in a extra reflective part of her profession, Hinds can be targeted on mentorship, encouraging younger girls getting into the trade to pursue the craft with ardour, endurance, and integrity.
At a time when locations around the globe danger changing into interchangeable, Shikima Hinds’ work reinforces Jamaica’s distinct voice. It’s assured, culturally grounded, and able to assembly world luxurious requirements with out compromise.
For Jamaicans at house, the diaspora returning to rejoice, and guests encountering the island at its most significant moments, her work provides a transparent reminder. Jamaica doesn’t must be diluted to be world-class. It merely must be led by those that comprehend it finest.
