Handcraft, Trinidad

Trinidad has a large outdoor craft market that goes on for blocks. Primary items seemed to be wood carvings, jewelry, knitted garments, dolls and toys.

What to buy: Some of the vendors are really creative—I was laughing at a camera made from beer cans (flattened metal covered a small block of wood, and the top half of a beer can stuck out from the front of it.) The vendor came over and picked it up, pushed a lever on the back, and a little Jack-in-the-box face popped out of the can lid! Naturally, I had to buy it for my grandson.

I also indulged in several pairs of beautiful mother of pearl earrings.

What to pay: Prices were quite reasonable, and vendors were willing to negotiate, especially if you bought more than one. I think the most expensive earrings I bought were 6 CUC. The funny toy camera was 3 CUC.

1 more image

The ceramists house,belongs to one of the most traditional pottery familys in Trinidad.
It has a factory at the back of the property, which you can watch the process of clay being turned into beautiful shapes, and finally into peices of art.
After the demonstration, tourists are encouraged to come forwards and try out the art for themselves.
The goods are then baked and painted in traditional designs.
These can be purchased for a reasonable price.

What to buy: Pottery,all kinds of vases,trinket boxes with lids, plates, candle holders ect..with traditional, contempory and Che designs.

Several of Trinidad's atmospheric, cobblestone streets are converted into street markets featuring artisanal handicrafts, lace, and clothing items. The street with the most variety tends to be Peña, near the Museo Municipal de Historia tower, while most of the lace and textile merchants, who occasionally have good guayabera shirts, tend to cluster on the small streets just east of the Plaza Mayor.Fantastic place to buy local crafts. For a nice necles I paid only 1 peso

There is a viewpoint called Mirador in the Valley with a bar and a gift shop. There is a nice view and some of the crafts are interesting: masks made of natural seeds and various wood carvings .

What to pay: Depends on the item, but a mask was less than 10 USD

Nice embroidered clothes are sold in a little street next to Plaza Mayor

What to buy: Embroidered tablecloths, probably made by hand (but even if they are not handmade, I liked them and my mum was happy to receive one as a gift)

What to pay: I paid 10 USD for a large white tablecloth, the first price was 17 USD

Handicraft markets are not hard to find. There are many streets where you can buy jewelery, musical instruments, beautiful hand embrodered tablecloths etc.

Take a tour of this pottery factory and end up in a lovely little shop where you can buy beautiful pottery for good value.

you can find these bead shops in lots of locations in trinidad. the big black ones are apparently the same seeds as the revoulutionaries would use to commit suicide if they were captured.

These textiles -the same kind as in Trinidad - were sale in Manaca Iznaga.

What to pay: Depending on the size and the pattern, but about 10-20 USD