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In the three decades going to the islands, we have brought back many beautiful tapa artworks in various sizes and shapes, from an intricate square 3inches x 3inches to an elaborate 6ft x 8ft, plus a few rectangular and round ones to fill in the gap.
Although the technique of beating bark to make a vegetal fabric was practiced throughout Central and South America, Central Africa, some parts of Asia, and all the islands in South Pacific, the tapa made in French Polynesia is above all in quality.
Making tapa is a long and arduous process that begins with the planting of the breadfruit and the mulberry trees. When the stalks of the breadfruit grow to 3 inches in diameter and the mulberry to 1inch, they are cut down and slit lengthwise so the bark can be removed. After being soaked for a few days, the bark becomes supple, the outer layer is scratched off, the inner layer is hammered until thin and then laid out to dry.
Tapa cloth's colour is dark beige if it comes from breadfruit tree, and almost white if from the mulberry. Tree saps are used to dye the cloth before using for clothing, but for artworks, most artists keep the original color intact.
To find a quality tapa cloth, you need to leave the tourist path. Going to small villages and asking the locals is the best way, but we found ours while circling the outer islands on Le Truck or a motorcycle, by reading small signs and posters, and stopping at co-ops.
The price of tapa varies greatly with the size and intricacy of the work, starting from under $50 and go up to several hundreds. Leave a Comment Theme: Art
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Tahitian pearl is the elegant choice of jewelry wearers, an investment that can be passed down to the next generation, but the cost of a single high quality pearl starts off at over $1000, a shock on the budget to most of us. Many places advertise high quality pearl at costume jewelry price; buy them at your own risk. I strongly believe that diamond and Tahitian pearl are the spokespersons for the tenet "you get what you pay for."
Every Tahitian we have met has several pearls of different quality to serve different purposes and fit different occasions. They also have trusted family members or friends who are in the pearl industry and who sometimes can find affordable prices on a good pearl. Unlike the locals, you do not have that luxury. There is a good chance that the Tahitian pearl you buy would be the only one you own, therefore, I do not recommend buying a pearl that fits your budget, but one that fits your expectation of quality, one that gives you pride and joy for a lifetime. Leave a Comment Theme: Jewelry
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Tiki is a human rendition of an ancient divinity, believed to be either the god of fertility or the god of protection.
Originally, tiki is sculpted in wood or green stone and ceremonial displayed in places of worship or burial grounds. The miniature tikis you find in the island shops today are commercially made in various materials: coral, lava stone, wood, or even gold and silver to use as jewelry.
Beware of the ones carved in "jade"; the material is actually a cheap hollow green stone, as far from jade as soap from ivory. Many of these tikis come from Asia and very few achieve the intricacy of the traditional Polynesian artists. Leave a Comment Theme: Local Craft
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Shopping in French Polynesia is a joy for all budgets.
I have written a long shopping tip on what to buy on the islands to please most people on your gift-giving list including yourself, but the tip exceeds the maximum words allowance on VT. Therefore, I have to break it into several sub-categories and post separately as individual tips, as the following. Leave a Comment Theme: Other
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Buying Tahitian pearls is not an easy task, although it should be one of the most pleasant experiences if you do your homework ahead of time and arm yourself with enough knowledge before making a decision. Below is a glance at pearl facts:
Tahitian pearls are natural in the sense that they are not laboratory-created, but they *do* develop with the aid of man. Man selects the best black-lipped oyster, puts a grain of sand inside, watches over it like a mother hen, and moves it around in the lagoon when there is a change in the weather. After two years of pampering, man removes the pearl from the oyster, and that's when he sees its shape, size, color, overtone, lustre, surface quality, and nacre thickness.
Pearls have five shapes: round, semi-round, baroque, semi-baroque, and ring. Shape is a matter of personal preference; there is no right or wrong choice.
The majority of pearls come within the range of 8 to 14mm in diameter, although there are some that are larger.
The colors of Tahitian pearls are black, grey, green, blue, and brown. Generally speaking, the darker the color the higher the value, but a solid black or muddy color pearl is worth very little.
Tahitian pearls are called black pearls, but they are not truly black. The overtone (pink, blue, gold, silver and aubergine, or any combination) gives it a different tint. A peacock green overtone is the most desirable and thus the most expensive.
Lustre (the quality of light reflections on the pearl's surface) is just as important as overtone. A pearl with very high lustre will reflect everything sharply and radiantly.
The pearl's surface needs to be clear of spotting (blemishes). The highest surface quality is rated A; the lowest is D.
Nacre is the last factor, but still important. Nacre should be thick in order for the pearl to enjoy a long life. Thin nacre will wear away over time and expose the nucleus. The minimum nacre thickness of a Tahitian pearl is 0.8mm; pearls with lower nacre thickness are destroyed. Leave a Comment Theme: Jewelry
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Whatever your taste and budget, there is a Tahitian souvenir for you.
In Papeete, Le March? is the ideal place to find the typical Tahitian arts, crafts, and souvenirs. On outer islands, village shops and hotel boutiques provide just about everything you can think of, although the offers are identical everywhere: pareos, perfumed soaps, body oil, vanilla beans, woodcarvings, woven baskets, mother-of-pearl, etc.
Pareo is the most popular purchase. It is a versatile piece of fabric that can be used as a halter dress or a skirt, and then as a tablecloth or beach towel when you are tired of wrapping and knotting fabric around your body. Not all pareos are equal, however. Besides the designs that range from exotic flora and fauna to abstract art, the fabric can be natural or synthetic, and the price reflects the difference.
Reva de Tahiti is a good name in perfume, soap and body oil. The perfume is made from tiare. Although the heady fragrance suits the tropical climate well, beware that it may be too strong in the environment of your home or workplace, so use it lightly lest you offend people with allergy problem. Reva tanning aids are lightly perfumed with gardenia, plumeria or coconut and rich with moisturizer from monoi oil, which tan skin while preventing it from turning into tough and dry leather.
Tahitian vanilla is famous the world over, chefs and experts cannot heap enough praise on the island's vanilla.
Woodcarvings can be found in all shapes and size, the two most popular forms are Tiki and boats.
Beware that many Tahitian products are not made on the islands but come from Asia. If you do not care about the origination, then buy to your heart's content, but if you were as fussy as I am, inspecting the merchandise and asking questions before the purchase would not be a bad idea. Leave a Comment Theme: Local Craft
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There are many jewellers where you can buy Tahitian pearls throughout the islands, but the concentration of shops in Papeete makes it the best and most convenient place to compare price and quality.
After much comparison and a few purchases, we found Sibani the winner overall. Their selection is quite large, although not the largest. What they really have is high to excellent quality. Their prices are on par with everyone else and they are very professional in the handling of business transactions.
Sibani Perles Joaillerie consists of a dozen shops, either on their own independent sites or in the premises of high-end hotels. The one we like the most is in Vaima Shopping Center in Papeete.
A quality pearl demands a high price, so make sure you spend your money wisely for your investment. Leave a Comment Theme: JewelryAddress: Vaima Center, PapeetePhone: +689 54.24.30
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If you have seen Pirates of the Caribbean, you may have thought that the curse of the Black Pearl was just a name right? No, in French Polynesia, some of the pearls are actually blackish in appearance.
As all things are in extremely expensive in Moorea, you could end up re-mortgage your house to buy one (well OK, that is a bit of an exaggeration, especially if you buy a poor quality one), but almost everything in French Polynesia is seriously expensive. People expect you to haggle, so try your luck in several places to see what price you can get.
As French Polynesia is so expensive, it may be advisable to buy the pearl unmounted, and get it mounted when you get home. I didn't actually buy one, but they are pretty to look at!
Probably down to your skill at haggling... Leave a Comment Theme: JewelryDirections: Shops all over the island - in a lot of cases, even if you aren't looking, they will find you!
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These colourful Batiks are sold all over the island. They are very colourful and look great blowing in the breeze.
As with all things Polynesian, never pay the first price you are told, always haggle hard!
This picture shows a Batik on the right that has a Paul Gauguin design on. He is a famous artist who lived in Polynesia for 4 years from 1897 to 1901 and painted a lot of 'Polynesian' art.
Note:- Being English, I use the correct English spelling for colour, and not the corrupted American spelling of it ;-) Leave a Comment Theme: Local Craft
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Generally if you are planning to buy something in French Polynesia, it is best to haggle with a local market trader than try and buy something in a shop.
Haggling is very much the word though. Never pay the original price.
The other nice thing about market traders is you tend to be able to have more of a conversation with them than with a shop worker. In this case, you can see the father looking after his daughter, and you get to see a bit more of Polynesian life.
Carvings, necklaces hats etc
It will not be cheap! Leave a Comment Theme: Local Craft
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on April 7, 2006
on April 22, 2005
