Crafting pleasures

To top it off, the man behind the genius is the calm Norlan Bobb, who is eager to explain every single piece of work to his curious customers.

The creations are mainly wire-based but the artist uses other materials like shells, leather and copper as well as imported beads on his unique pieces.

Having taught himself by trial and error, Norlan has been in the craft business for the past fifteen years and started out plying his trade to tourists at some of the more popular beaches like Turtle Beach, Grafton and Mt Irvine.

He eventually moved to Scarborough, where he worked out of a craft booth at Market Square in the downtown area.

When that booth closed several years later, Bobb refused to give up and ended up at his present location on the ground floor of E&M Building on Wilson Road.

He explained that some of his best works were done at those beaches where there was personal interaction and he was able to draw inspiration from customers.

“This is something that is inside of me naturally that I just need to put out,” he said in an interview. “All my creations are self-inspired, I don’t make any copy-cat art and always believe in trying out new things.”

He noted that unlike the tourists who would visit the island seasonally, he catered more for locals who made up the majority of his present clientele and who support him throughout the year.

“I would say that this business is more sustainable than profitable because Tobagonians are a bit hard to please sometimes,” he said, noting that “to unlock the door in this business you have to keep on coming up with new ideas.”

For two years, Bobb has shown off his craft at the Caribbean Craft and Gift Show in Barbados and, as a reault, customers seek him out when they visit the island. But this is the closest he has come to getting his goods off Tobago.

He said years ago he was involved in exporting but found that move difficult and suggested that the Government implement the necessary steps to make it easier for craft vendors to export. In Tobago, he said, where tourism is a major foreign exchange earner more emphasis should be placed on showcasing the local craft and talent.

He further suggested that as an incentive and to sustain the market, the Government should find a way to attract tourists to the craft areas.

Bobb expressed his interest in conducting a craft school to pass on his knowledge and skills to persons who were interested. So far, only one or two persons have sought his expertise, he said.

“By the next five years I would like to see craft becoming a big business in Tobago,” he said.

He recognises though that if something is not done, the trade is going to die.

“The younger population is not seeing the need or benefits of getting into it but this is not all about money, you have to have a love for it and I am not seeing that,” he said.