SOUVENIRS, SOUVENIRS ... handicraft

       

 

Wood carving

Kunie art is mostly practical, as is seen in the construction of their thatched huts and outriggers, and it’s true, the local people produce little in the way of commercial souvenirs.

A few Kunie however, carve sandalwood and other woods to turn out small huts and miniature outriggers. They also carve bigger, more detailed and consequently more expensive works, such as totems for the tops of huts or to enhance doorways.
 
 
Hand-painted beach-wear

A Swiss, Albert Thoma, settled on Isle of Pines in 1970 to share setting up a scuba-diving business. Then, in 1988 he converted to designing, sewing and painting beach-wear. He established Créations Ile des Pins, a studio and boutique, in Kuto to which he joyfully devoted the next three decades.


 
   Albert Thoma workshop Kuto  
 
 
  Since January 2018, Gina, a Kunie woman brimming with talent, has continued painting beach-wear creations in Albert’s studio.
 
 
 
  Gina Kunie woman
 
 
 



You can find pareos (sarongs) and t-shirts as well as post-cards and books about the island, in the adjacent boutique, Creations Ile des Pins.
 
Opening hours : 1.30 pm - 5.30 pm and all day from 8 am during a cruise ship call.

Phone : + (687) 46 12 68


Leather work





 
A leather worker and intrepid traveller, Gabriel Lazo-Salazar, set out from his native Ecuador and settled in Isle of Pines at the end of the '80s.
This craftsman works at home in one of the tribes, but his products can be found in the little boutiques attached to the various hotels. It can also happen, on a day when a cruise ship calls, you'll find 'Gaby' sharing the stand with Creations Ile des Pins, on the Kuto peninsula, near the Gendarmerie (police station). There, for an extra 100 francs or a dollar, he's happy to personalize your leather bracelet purchase by stamping your name on it.

Gaby shop Kuto


Note: these handicraft places accept cash only.
 
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04/09