TPDCo promoting craft for Christmas
Published:Wednesday | December 25, 2019 | 12:13 AM
Paul H. Williams/Gleaner Writer
The space around the fountain in Emancipation Park, New Kingston, was transformed into a hub of commercial activity as the Tourism Product Development Company (TPDCo) hosted a free-admission fair.
Themed ‘Crafting for Christmas: Give a Craft That Counts’, the event was conceived to give patrons an opportunity to buy locally produced craft items as holiday gifts, as “a move by TPDCo’s craft team to give craft producers and traders recognition and support”, and to “generate awareness and appreciation for the local craft industry”.
The fair has, over the years, provided training and development sessions for artists and artisans alike, allowing them to showcase products and grow brands.
“As guardians of the product, TPDCo is involved in promoting the viability of authentic Jamaican products. We have been aiding craft traders/artisans for many years, and the craft will guarantee exposure for our many talented artisans and traders. We want to show our locals and guests that we have many talented individuals who deserve our support,” Sheryll Lewis, TPDCo’s craft coordinator, said.
“We are also working to reduce the importation of mass-produced craft items and by putting artisans on show.” she added.
About 25 artists/artisans were expected to be in the pop-up village. Clothes, headwear, footwear, accessories, home decor, skincare and body products were also available.
This year is the fourth in which TPDCo is facilitating a Christmas fair. The first was held in Kingston in 2016. Montego Bay was added as a venue in 2017, and so was Ocho Rios last year. There was only one this year, at Emancipation Park.
“Kingston, as the capital and business hub of Jamaica, will give us the opportunity to reach even more people. The impact that we foresee from having the fair in our major city will be even greater,” Lewis, prior to the event, had said.
There were indeed artisans/vendors from as far away as Treasure Beach in St Elizabeth with a range of items made mostly by hand, and of natural materials. They drew the admiration of Minister of Tourism Edmund Bartlett, who visited several of the booths.
“What I saw just walking around tells me about the richness of the potential of our people to produce really valuable items, and also it tells me how wide the creative horizon is, and how much they are tapping into it to come up with new products and new designs,” Bartlett told The Gleaner.
While advocating for more fairs, Bartlett said that the quality of such items must be high if people are to support such ventures.
“People will buy if the quality is high,” he said.
He also told The Gleaner that the artisan village in Falmouth, on which just “a little over $600 million” was spent, is 95 per cent complete.
“The idea,” Bartlett said, “is to bring to the public and visitors the best that Jamaica can provide, not only in terms of the final output, but to bring the creative process to them, so you could come in and see an artesan in situ, doing his thing, taking a piece of design and executing on that design and give you a finished product that is satisfying to your eyes.”