Just 41 years ago The Bahamas became an independent nation and with that came the ability for Bahamians to express themselves through music, art, dance and various other forms of art and culture.

Of course during the month of July each year, many use this time to show their Bahamian pride and creativity by creating authentically Bahamian paraphernalia from t-shirts, hair accessories, jewellery and most recently tennis shoes.

Standing out are two budding enterprises both who say their designs are only the base designs of their companies.

Makel Bonamy, founder of 809 Sneakers said along with Arnold Forbes they both saw the need in the market for something different and more unique for Bahamians to showcase their pride on July 10.

“We decided to take paraphernalia to another level by completing the wardrobe with the sneakers,” he said.

The name 809 Sneakers, Mr. Bonamy said came from the fact that The Bahamas’ first area code was 809 and they wanted to stand out from the widely 242 tag line.

“We figure that having something unique as the 809 would allow us to stand out beyond the usual and I think we got a lot of feedback on that and a lot of people were happy that we chose a brand that was different from everything else.”

Along with shoes, the 809 Sneaker creators provide polo t-shirts, a new design baseball tee, bracelets, necklaces and even shades.

T-shirts are usually the trinket of choice for Bahamians wanting to wear their pride, but this year a new company sought to pump up the volume and create a more bold version of these popular independence day t-shirt.

Bahari Creative Director Morgan Fernander has created the first ever of its kind, a 41st independence collection t-shirt that isn’t just your run of the mill shirt.

The 25-year old, Grand Bahama native said the aim was for Bahari to stand out as more than just another independence t-shirt.

“We wanted to create a brand that Bahamians can appreciate and value,” he said

The t-shirt combines synthetic fabric of a sport’s jersey with bright colors, an enlarged Bahamian coat of arms, a signature metal and leather emblem and Bahamas 73 on the back.

For this designer the Bahari name originated from earlier settlers on islands of the Bahamas who were known as Lucayans.

The term “bajari” in their language meant a title of high regard and distinction.