Craft vendors hopeful for profitable season

As the festive Yuletide season approaches, vendors at the Kingston Craft Market are preparing to meet the increased demand from customers.

Since the beginning of November, Beverly Currie has been stocking up on baskets in anticipation of the seasonal rush.

"If baskets don't sell any other time of the year, this is when they sell the most because everyone is making gift baskets. Just last week, I sold nine hamper baskets to one customer who needed them for a harvest," Currie explained. She charges $300 for her small baskets and $9,000 for the larger hamper baskets. Some vendors like Marcelino Chang are also seeing a greater demand for souvenirs. However, the peak for souvenir sales isn't during the Christmas season itself, but rather after the holidays, when visitors are preparing to return home.

"Most people come and buy like gifts and souvenir fi dem friends abroad, suh dem more into like key rings, bracelets. People who dem maybe check for that much, dem will grab like a T-shirt, and for a female them will get a Jamaican dress," Chang explained.

Similarly, craft vendor who goes by the moniker Aunty Joan, who has been in the business for 30 years, finds that her greatest demand comes after the Christmas season, but her customers often seek souvenirs like Jamaica-branded shot glasses. Camille Green, who has been a craft vendor for 15 years, particularly enjoys the Christmas season due to the high demand for her signature items - tams.

"Mi love Christmas time because the tourist buy out the crochet tams because the time cold. Sometimes after them done buy, mi nuh have none leff back," said Green, whose crochet tams are priced at $2,500 each.