With the 2018 tourism season now in full swing, the Anguilla Tourist Board is this week hosting a display of local, indigenous craft and souvenir items at ATB facility in The Valley.
According to Mr. Jameel Rochester, ATB’s Assistant Manager for Destination Experience, “The motive for hosting the craft display was to sensitize our tourists to the availability of such crafts and souvenirs on the island. In recent times, feedback from our guests indicated that they did not see the kind of souvenirs and keepsakes they were expecting to meet in Anguilla.
“We therefore invited our local crafters, and souvenir producing folk to come together at the ATB so that they could showcase their wares. We also invited our industry partners to come and see what we have to offer in terms of local arts and crafting. In addition, we invited hotels to send their guests so that they can witness these displays and interact with our local crafters in a friendly environment.
The Anguillian spoke with a few of the souvenir producers. We first spoke with Ms. Christobell Daniel who said: “Welcome to Caribella. My line consists of artisan soaps. We do activated charcoal soaps, we do moringa, we also make bath scrubs and body scrubs, as well as body oils and hair treatments. We have been receiving some great feedback from customers and, seeing that we are here in Anguilla for just under one year, we think the response is great. People do like our brand.”
Next, we met with Mr. Louise Brooks of the Alak Art Gallery. She said that she creates her pieces in stages. She explained that the background to her paintings are always the easiest but, of course, the details and finishing take most of her time, usually two days, or so. When asked whether all of her paintings are visionary, or by created imagination, she said that she usually takes local pictures, but then she sometimes combines the scenes for greater creativity. She added, “I also do pottery, using my own kiln, and I craft wooden houses as well.”
We then spoke with Carrol Shannon, proprietor of Caribbean Soaps and Sundries. She said: “ I have been making my products since the late nineties, and started business in Anguilla around 2000. Since then, I have expanded to the making of fragranced candles, diffusers, and natural insect repellants. The demand for my products is very high. We cater to both tourists and locals. We are located in many of the boutiques at the hotels, and we sell from home as well.”
Mr. Leopold Davis of Blowing Point is an avid craftsman who has been making wood carvings ever since he was a boy growing up. He said his mother’s house was always abuzz with the village boys who came there to carve out special wooden toys like tops and banjoes, and since then he had never given up on his carving trade which gets great reviews from tourists who have fallen in love with his crafting skills.
Then there was the popular “Iwassie-I” who displayed his uniquely polished conch shell crafts. He said the only tool he uses for polishing his shells so smoothly is a fine wire brush. His conch shells are a beauty to behold.
Mr. Rochester said that the vendors who exhibited their craft and souvenirs at the ATB would be displaying them at The Valley Street Festival on Saturday, December 8th.
