BASSETERRE St.Kitts, July 25th 2011 - An accomplished Nevisian designer, Marie Sutton Mason, who has settled on the island after living in Canada is proud of her home island’s heritage and rich culture and has produced unique indigenous products to showcase during the 2011 Nevis Culturama Festival.
She will showcase material culture in form of quality products manufactured in Nevis and many of the products are made from Nevis raw materials.
A major attraction to visitors will be her indigenous dolls that depict masquerades, macajombies and the clowns. The dolls depicting the woodcutter, she says has an interesting story that she will love to tell visitors. Her authentic store, Osina Designs and gift shop is located next to Digicel Charlestown office near the Charlestown water front.
Marie owes her skills in soap production to a workshop she attended in Nevis six years ago when she was a training officer with Nevis Island Administration (NIA). She says one of her popular soap is the one she makes with mango seed extracts. She explained that the mango seed extracts has properties that heal blemishes and acne on the skin.
Marie also makes soaps with extracts from cucumber, aloe vera and lemon grass. She said in an interview lemon grass soap is good for hair. She said the workshop at which she learnt soap making skills was facilitated by a lady from Florida who owns a company called Florida soaps.
She regrets that those trained alongside her did not utilize the skill to make products that they can sell. She has continued to do research on soap making and has discovered that she can make excellent soap with goat milk. She buys goat milk from Best Buy and wishes she had goats to milk.
Many who have had the privilege to visit Marie’s store will have noticed her specialized skills in interior design furnishings, production of ceramics, clothing designs, jewelry making and a host of many other skills.
“We have a lot to offer in Nevis. You can grow practically anything in Nevis. I use some herbs on my yard such as pepper mint. I have also made ginger soap. And I use local seeds to make jewelry,” Marie said.
She enjoys transferring her skills to local Nevisians and has already done so at several workshops. She has done a trainer of trainer’s workshop for teachers in Nevis which was sponsored by UNESCO. She has facilitated a skill training workshop off island sponsored by Caribbean Development Bank
Marie’s ancestral home is Gingerland but was born in St. Kitts as her father, a headmaster at the time had been transferred to St. Kitts.. She relocated to Canada at the age of 19. She attained majority of her specialized skills in interior decorating, upholstery, ceramic/pottery making, craft, soaps and candle making while in Canada. She also has specialized skills in fashion design.
Marie said during an interview that she relocated to Nevis to transfer skills to her own people. She has made in-roads but there are challenges. “Some people are interested in learning new skills and utilizing them but others do not carry on due to lack of staying power and short attention span. We are losing our skills and not teaching children at an early stage, TV is taking over and mothers are working away from home to earn incomes.”
She regretted the declining interest in creative skills. Children, she says, prefer to spend time on modern gadgets such as computers and black berries. She added that children as well as adults find skill training time consuming. But Marie is not the type to give up. She is set to popularize Nevis made products and she feels Nevis Culturama Festival offers a great opportunity.
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