EAST FLATBUSH, Brooklyn (WABC) — Inside Sesame Flyers International, a tiny storefront in East Flatbush, Caribbean sounds lead you to an explosion of creativity, down to every last feather.<\/p>\n
Vibrant costumes burst at the seams with culture and pride, but before the masqueraders wear them on the parade route, the laborious design process begins in the storefront, where they are fitted on mannequins.<\/p>\n
“Every piece here is done by hand,” says Tracey Clarke, the head costume designer.<\/p>\n
She began her journey in Jamaica and is now responsible for many of the elaborate costumes in what is considered the nation’s largest Caribbean cultural festival.<\/p>\n
“It means everything. Especially when I’m on the big truck and I look over and I’m seeing all these pieces and everyone having a good time, the pictures – everything is just – it gives me life,” Clarke says<\/p>\n
In the production workshop, employees are hard at work putting the finishing touches on costumes for Monday, a passionate labor of love.<\/p>\n
Clarke says she always feels great when she sees the finished product.<\/p>\n
“I feel great, and I know the people on the road will feel great too,” she added.<\/p>\n
Her dazzling, homemade pieces are crafted with a high level of detail to bring out the beauty in anyone.<\/p>\n
Clarke is so busy putting together the glamorous pieces that sometimes she forgets how to relax.<\/p>\n
“It’s so hard to breathe, it’s so hard to breathe. But at times I do,” she says.<\/p>\n
She never stops feeling grateful for the opportunity to craft for her culture and see it come to life at the New York Carnival Parade.<\/p>\n
“When you love what you do, it’s like a piece of candy,” says Clarke.<\/p>\n
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