'Chunnie' - the pillow salesman

Mark Titus, Gleaner Writer

WESTERN BUREAU:

"Pillow! Pillow!" His voice pierces the noise from the constant tooting of car horns from a line of impatient motorists along the congested streets of Santa Cruz in St Elizabeth.

With his products hanging from his body, a man slides through the line of traffic and continues shouting the obvious: "Pillow mi a sell."

Seeking an opportunity to rid himself of another of his comfort items, he beckons to everyone and is not deterred by the angry faces in the bumper-to-bumper traffic.

"Ten years, me selling over 10 years now. Everybody call me 'Chunnie'," he offers. " ... but mi real name a Eric Hamilton."

Hamilton hails from St Catherine, but seeing neighbours and friends whom he grew up with losing their lives to crime and violence, and faced with the fact that employers will not readily hire individuals from his community, he decided to start his own business.

The pillowman says he is known all over the country where he trades on both a retail and wholesale basis.

"I sell everywhere. MoBay, Port Antonio, Ocho Rios, Mandeville ... everywhere, I can't name a place that me never sell yet," he said. "Is $700 for a pair (of pillows) retail, but you can get it wholesale for as low as $400 but you have to buy 10 pairs or more."

Boyish grin

The 34-year-old makes all his pillows, and while reluctant to give away all his trade secrets, he said he purchases raw material in Old Harbour, St Catherine.

Pillows are not only his speciality offering, as he has moved into selling artificial flowers as well.

"It makes me survive. Me can live," said Chunnie as he flashed a boyish grin.

Survival is about being able to see his only child through high school. Even though he has plans to make his pillow business even bigger, for now it's all about another sale for Chunnie, he said as he ran off to a beckoning hand in a car a few metres away.