Christmas gift givers urged to patronise local craftspeople

Jamaicans are being encouraged to consider purchasing the variety of handcrafted items made by local artisans when shopping for presents this Christmas.

With less than a week left for those scouting for the perfect gift idea, you might want to consider purchasing authentic Jamaican items, many of which can be uniquely designed upon request.

According to Christine Reid, production manager at Frazer’s Ceramics, the business employs a variety of people including painters, potters, and artists who create the designs for the products. Candle holders, vases, cups, water jugs, and other practical and decorative souvenir items are some of the things that are marketed.

“Each work is unique in its own way; you won’t see no two pieces alike. Because it is hand done, you will get similarity but not identical,” she said.

The painters mixed the colours as they worked, which produced the variations, rather than having a batch of colours manufactured to regularly paint in the same precise tones.

She said that this was a perfect example of why patrons should purchase crafted items this Christmas as they are more likely to get “authentic, Jamaican work”.

Reid who is tasked with creating figurines of women, stated that ever since she learned how to manipulate clay some 20 years ago, she has grown to appreciate the craft.

“Everything is done by hand, it’s time-consuming,” she said of each feature of the figurine.

Apart from the noticeable change in climate and the cool ‘Christmas breeze’ that brushes across the island, Reid stated that Christmastime was particularly special because of a change in the mood of individuals and that people continue to decorate and enjoy the festivities of the season. On the flip side, she said that the businesses were overloaded with orders that needed to be filled before Christmas Day, making things at work quite chaotic.

Frazer’s Ceramics was one of more than 60 shops on display at the Tourism Product Development Company’s (TPDCo) ‘Crafting for Christmas – Give a Craft that Counts’ fair held on the south lawns of Devon House last Friday.

The fair provided an opportunity for patrons to do their Christmas shopping while giving the artisans an outlet to sell their wide range of Jamaican products such as paintings, carvings, jewellery, body care products, books, straw and leather items and clothing.

Damian Cunningham, a realism artist who has been painting for 19 years, told The Gleaner that he embraced this line of work because, as a child, he enjoyed gazing at nature, which, in his opinion, reflected Jamaica’s rich culture.

Regarding the complexity of how long it takes to create artwork, he said, “It’s not just a quick rush thing,” and added that there are several steps he goes through to get to the finished product.

“Everything is a work of art to me,” he declared, adding that he wakes from as early as 5 a.m. to appreciate his surroundings, including watching the sun rise, listening to chirping birds and to watch as the children play on their way to school.

He also enjoys the Yuletide season as he puts out more work during this time.

However, as the market becomes more competitive, artisans, traders, and members of the tourism sector want to see more genuine Jamaican artwork and crafts produced for sale, thereby reducing the number of trinkets and woodwork items that are made in China and are being passed off as Jamaican.

Huntley Rowe and his wife, Tricia, have been in the business for more than 25 years, operating Rowe’s almost free craft store in Harbour Street craft market in Montego Bay, St James. They have expressed concern about the proliferation of these items which have easily lulled both tourists and citizens into believing they have purchased genuine Jamaican items.

The couple sell items inclusive of wood carvings such as bowls, cups, and sculptures along with wicker chairs, straw mats, jewellery, clothing, sandals, leather purses and paintings.

Huntley told The Gleaner that he is drawn to this line of work because he loves and is passionate about it; as he displayed the overworked state of his calloused hands which serve as testament to this.

He continued that he especially loved it because it offers much profit and it contributed to the authentic works being produced out of Jamaica.

Jamaicans should shop Jamaican for Christmas, Tricia said, because of the better-quality products.

“Buy Jamaican from Jamaicans is the best quality ever and you getting authentic and good stuff, not like made in China stuff that by the time you start using it you just see it falling apart,” she said.

She added that tradesmen had to ensure that this practice was ‘nipped in the bud’ and cease from importing these items.

His also said that some of the wood works imported have later been founded to be termite infested after a period of time has passed.

Wade Mars, executive director of TPDCo, spoke to this issue during the opening ceremony.

“We hear the cry [of] the proliferation of goods made in China and the sameness of offerings in our craft markets. So, what we want of course, is a Jamaicaness to the items that are being sold right across the craft markets,” he said.

He noted that TPDCO is committed to working with the sector in ensuring that “our tourism product shines and is top of mind and our craft sector is not left behind”.

Similarly, chief technical director in the ministry of tourism, David Dobson, noted that Jamaica’s craftspeople continued to help the nation maintain a competitive edge by producing “timeless pieces” which reflected and captured the spirit of Jamaica and illustrated its story of being a “melting pot” of innovation and diversity.