‘Yaad’ or ‘Home’ is special to Jamaicans. As a structure, it stores the key memories of their lives. But the country has become a special place to the world, and many want a piece of it – experienced through its vibrant culture – whether it be food, fashion, music, literature, aromatherapy, or craft. Things Jamaican is calling everyone ‘home’ to the best of what the island has to offer, created by Jamaicans. The campaign, 5 Reasons to Come ‘Home’ this Christmas, has been launched at a time when the spirit of Jamaica has been tested.
Fortuitously, the campaign was conceptualised long before Hurricane Melissa. But in the aftermath of the disaster, the message carries even more weight. As the Government of Jamaica rallies the rebuilding theme, the Jamaica Business Development Corporation (JBDC), is tasked with focused effort on the recovery of Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs). The agency which operates the Things Jamaican retail store chain, believes that one of the most direct ways to help rebuild is to buy local. Every Jamaican-made product purchased keeps a business going, secures a family’s income, and strengthens the local economy.
Over the past few weeks, the agency has been active on the ground participating in recovery efforts for MSMEs being spearheaded by the Ministry of Industry, Investment & Commerce (MIIC). In a post-hurricane message, Harold Davis, Acting CEO of the JBDC, reminded MSMEs of their own grit. “You [Jamaican entrepreneurs] are among the most innovative and creative people in the world… while Hurricane Melissa has tested us, it has not broken us.”
As the agency’s market access conduit, Things Jamaican is a home where creators, artisans, and small business owners gather under one roof to share their work with the world. With over 500 brands represented islandwide, the store is one of the largest promoters of quality local products. From handcrafted décor to gourmet sauces, aromatherapy, fashion, and specialty gifts, the “TJ” home is Jamaica at every corner.
What’s A Real Jamaican Christmas Without the Things That Make Us Feel at Home?
For Janine Fletcher-Taylor, Manager of the Marketing Services Unit at the JBDC, the idea of “coming home” to Things Jamaican is a representation of the store’s tagline ‘Home of Authentic Jamaican Brands’.
“Home is the favourite place to be at Christmas,” she says. “It’s when families gather, families come home to a central place and so on. And Things Jamaican being the home of authentic Jamaican brands (over 500 brands), we are also saying, when you come home for Christmas and you are having your meal, your parties and your feasts, exchanging of gifts, and you’re dressing up to go out and all of that – come home to ‘TJ’ means partake of the products and the brands that we represent. Do these festivities and make it about Jamaican brands this year. So basically, come home to ‘TJ’ is about coming home to Jamaican brands.”
She explains that the call to “come home” has taken on new meaning after the hurricane. “People keep asking how they can help with restoration and rebuilding. One way is to buy local. If you’re satisfied with the product or service, you’re helping keep that business sustainable.”
5 Reasons to Come ‘Home’ To ‘TJ’ This Christmas:
- The place where Jamaican brands are born
According to Fletcher-Taylor, this is rooted in the JBDC’s long-standing role in nurturing entrepreneurs. “The campaign is built on the five key things that we want to say,” she explains. “Things Jamaican is a beautiful vehicle that JBDC uses and over the last 20-odd years we would have given birth to numerous brands. When you talk about home, this is the birthplace of a number of those brands, and we would have seen them evolve.”
2. Home of over 500 authentic Jamaican brands
Fletcher-Taylor notes, “Within the chain we are representing over 500 brands which represent over 500 companies… and the brands showcase the height of Jamaican creativity and innovation.” For JBDC, the ‘TJ’ store’s shelves reflect Jamaica’s diversity.
This includes everything from sauces to handcrafted home decor, making Things Jamaican one of the most comprehensive showcases of local innovation.
3. Showcasing the best of Jamaican creativity in food, aromatherapy, fashion, gift and craft and more…
Food remains the heart of Jamaican Christmas traditions. Fletcher-Taylor explains how local brands have innovated to support holiday traditions: “We have clients who have innovated and created Christmas cake mix that take a quarter of the time and produce the same finished product,” she says. “We have bottled rum punch… bottled seasonings… dried cereal… chutney.”
These products help families maintain cherished traditions, even at a time when markets and farms have been hard hit.
“One of the activities we would have normally been doing is the visit to the markets, and while those markets would have been significantly damaged, we had processors who had already started innovating,” she adds. Seasonings, spice blends and other pantry essentials are now available pre-packaged, providing substitutes “until farmers… restore their farms.”
4. The premier one-stop shop for all things authentically Jamaican
Gift giving is inseparable from the season, and the Things Jamaican stores are preparing for both consumers and corporate buyers.
“Christmas for us… is about giving,” Fletcher-Taylor says. “We ensure that we have solutions for gift giving for both corporate buyers and consumers… mother, father, children and so on.”
A key area this year is home décor, particularly as artisans who usually supply the hotel sector have lost a major market due to hurricane damage. “We’re talking about the wall hanging, the art, the ceramic piece… all handcrafted,” she notes. She encourages Jamaicans to support these master craftspeople “until those markets are re-established.”
For the diaspora, the online platform ensures that “once you are thinking about buying a gift, think about a home brand and we will ensure we have a solution.”
5. There’s no place like Things Jamaican
Holiday festivities mean gatherings, parties and social events, another space where Jamaican-made products shine. “You’re going to need your accessories, your jewellery, your clutch purse, your outfit, your sandals and so on,” Fletcher-Taylor says. “This year we’re saying adorn yourself in Jamaican brands… look for Jamaican statement pieces.”
She adds that the breadth of products available makes it possible to build an entire season around local goods. “Just about anything you’re going to be doing over the next few months… you will be able to identify a product and a brand in Jamaica that can add to that activity.”
A Sustainable Craft Sector
For some of the local brands featured in the 5 Reasons to Come ‘Home’ campaign, the message resonates beyond Christmas shopping. It reflects the reality of rebuilding livelihoods after Hurricane Melissa, and the significance of the ongoing implementation of MIIC’s National Craft Policy.
Coreen Smith, founder of Perfecting Savannah’s Craft, says the storm significantly disrupted her business, particularly through the loss of key customers in tourism-driven parishes. “Two of my major clients or customers who normally get from me, they have been impacted greatly,” Smith said. “Basically, everything has been demolished for them.”
Smith explained that many of her products were previously sold through outlets in tourist-dense areas such as Negril and Montego Bay, where bulk purchases by vendors and tourist sales provided steady income.
“That was a source of income for them, and for myself,” she said. “So two major ones who used to buy things from me, everything is just in disarray right now. That has stalled things for me, and it has stalled them from doing business.
The disruption, she said, placed her business in a difficult position, making alternative market access critical.
“So that put me in a kind of a bad situation,” Smith said. “A campaign like this would be a very helpful initiative.”
Perfecting Savannah’s Craft produces handmade jewellery and décor pieces, primarily using polymer clay. Smith describes her work as entirely handcrafted and hand-painted, spanning jewellery as well as home and office décor items such as trinket trays, jewellery boxes and pencil holders, many inspired by tropical themes.
While grateful for the exposure provided through platforms like Things Jamaican, Smith emphasised that sustainability comes from consistent consumer choice rather than one-off support. “Choose us,” she said. “Make us your choice, your first choice, your go-to, as opposed to just supporting.”
Her experience mirrors the broader challenge facing Jamaica’s creative sector in the post-hurricane period, particularly artisans who traditionally rely on tourism channels. Through its Christmas campaign, Things Jamaican has positioned its retail spaces as an alternative access point, allowing consumers to connect directly with local producers at a time when traditional markets remain disrupted.
Things Jamaica continues to champion the work of local MSMEs, positioning homegrown talent on shelves both locally and across international markets. An agency of the Ministry of Industry, Investment & Commerce, the JBDC is mandated to develop Jamaican MSMEs. The agency is inviting shoppers locally and worldwide to buy local products for Christmas. Things Jamaican has 3 retail outlets at Devon House, Norman Manley International Airport, the Corporate Store at 14 Camp Road, and an e-commerce store at www.thingsjamaicanshopping.com.
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