It was a hot and humid Sunday afternoon in Kingston on the East lawn of historic Devon House. The event, Market at the lawn, an annual trade show held at Devon House in mid December.
This was my first time attending. I had no idea about this event, it was purely by accident that I was in attendance. As I was driving past Devon House, I saw numerous large white tents on the lawn so I stopped to take a closer look.
This trade show gives locals and visitors the opportunity to purchase those last minute Christmas gift items for family or friends.
There were several items for sale: clothing, handcrafted sandals, art, craft, jewellery and handbags just to name a few. The items were all locally made.
I was really impressed with the quality of the items and products on display.
I had the opportunity to visit at least three tents during my time at market at the lawn Devon House.
My first stop was at an art display tent which featured papier mache art. These were framed pictures made from recycled paper.
The artist Mr. Richard Atkinson has been doing this type of art for the past 30 years. These art pieces were unique and depicted sugar cane harvesting, cricket, music and nature scenes. I was so intrigued by the papier mache art pieces, because I had not seen this type of artwork before.
Richard spoke passionately about his work. This included the length of time needed to make a particular piece, his inspiration to create the pieces and how he promoted his artwork. To see more of Mr. Atkinson’s papier mache art go to skelesha.com
First Tent | Market at the lawn Devon House
Second Tent | Tricia
The next tent I visited was managed by Tricia, who was very friendly and jovial. She owns a craft shop located at the craft market in Montego Bay. On display were handcrafted sandals, clothing, several varieties of beaded jewelry, paintings and wood carved art and stools. The wood carved art at her tent was an eye catcher. These wood carvings were colorfully painted or varnished and very detailed depicting crocodiles, turtles, elephants. These beautifully created wood carvings were made by Tricia’s husband.
Third Tent
As I made my way around the venue, I chatted with more of the artisans.
Kehs Kenitra’s tent which had an array of ladies’ handbags was my next stop. The artisan was Ms. Khess Anderson, a young entrepreneur and lead designer of her line of chic and classy handbags which were all made from vegan leather. Many different colours and styles of bags were on display. The pyramid bags especially caught my attention as they had a very unique shape, as the name suggested they were shaped like a pyramid.
To see the wide array of products made by Ms. Anderson see her Instagram account kehskenitra.
In conclusion, this annual event is definitely worth attending to support the local artisans, see their work or buy Christmas gifts for friends, family or loved ones. Check out Market at the lawn- Devon House.
