Alicia Roache, Staff Reporter 
A model presents one of Nerissa's designs featuring the unusual colour combinations orange and green. The designs were shown at 'Spunky Fashions on the Catwalk 2k4' staged by La Face International Modeling Agency, on Sunday December 19, 2004 at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel.
"THE CLOTH is
just cloth", says Nerissa Swaby. "But when you do it in crochet, when you start out and when you finish, it's just different.
"Many designers aim to be
'different', but when you do crochet, not that we are experts, but we think there are just so many ways and no more to weave thread."
The 'difference' in Nerissa's designs is not in the number of ways it is woven, but in the
variety of items and styles that she makes using crochet. Her styles are unusual, for crochet, and we know this from personal observation.
Unlike the typical bathing suits, hats, mini-skirts and tops (and she makes these too), Nerissa also weaves
'regular clothes' in crochet. Regular here means just about anything that cloth can make and that includes your pants, or a version of that cute blouse you just saw in the store window.
Perhaps the most appropriate example of how different her pieces are, however, is the crocheted gown she made for her daughter's graduation ball. A purple, off-shoulder, semi-backless gown with a flared hemline, it took her "six weeks of staying up really late nights" to complete the outfit. She also made a
handbag and other accessories in crochet, of course to
match the dress.
UNUSUAL COLOUR SELECTIONS
But style is not the only
difference Nerissa highlights in her designs. There is the matter of the unusual colour selections and combinations that go into creating her pieces. "I try to match colours that you don't
necessarily see every day," she says. Colours such as orange and green, aqua and black and pumpkin yellow and green are often used on items to surprising and pleasing effect. "I want to stay away from the everyday look, because people like to see difference," she says.
"I don't crochet from a book," she says. "I can, but I don't find nice styles in the book." Nerissa says most of her styles come from her imagination and other wise from her inspiration, her daughter, Sujani. Because of this, she says, creating is easy. "Fashion itself is inside me, because I love fashion," she says. And she obviously loves her daughter too.
Her love for fashion and her muse have informed her selection of the name for her designs, Risuji. The 'Ris' is taken from Nerissa, while 'Suji' is from her daughter's name. "I call her Suji," Nerissa says. Suji helps in forming ideas for the designs, gives input in the creation of those designs, helps to crochet and sometimes acts as a mannequin.
But Nerissa wants to extend her little industry to others interested in the art. She is in the initial stages of forming a school for teaching others to crochet and design. This plan is in response to the many requests she says she has had from persons interested in her designs and learning her skill. "I've had people coming up to find out how to do that," she says.
In addition, her muse will soon depart for school overseas. "I have to get another daughter," Nerissa joked.
Taken from the Friday Gleaner, Friday, February 11, 2005
