The Jamaica Business Development Corporation’s Incubator & Resource Centre (IRC) Friday, July 18, was transformed into an open-gallery-style exhibition. On display: a stunning collection of handcrafted jewellery, elegant and deeply Jamaican.
Each piece was forged from river stone and sterling silver by the hands of artisans during The Perfect Finish: The Merge of Nature, a four-week jewellery-making workshop hosted by the JBDC.
Designed for intermediate to advanced creators, the workshop ran on Saturdays from June 7–28, and brought together hobbyists, artists, and small business owners eager to elevate their skill and transform creativity into commerce.
And that they did. The workshop saw 14 persons trained.
The journey began with a field trip to Hector’s River, St. Mary. There, participants sifted through the riverbed, searching for stones that called to them – choosing raw, uncut fragments shaped over thousands of years by water and time.
Back at the IRC’s Craft Incubator in Kingston, the real alchemy began. Hammers met metal. Torches melted silver. Stones were cut, sanded, and set with steady hands. Under the expert instruction of Product Development Officer Donna-Gay Uter-Campbell, participants learned to mill, melt, saw, and solder, transforming their chosen river stones into refined pieces of wearable art.
“This was the first time I worked with silver,” said Joanna Hemmings, an art teacher who now sees jewellery-making as a future business. “But the process, it just opened something in me.”
Hemmings’ piece, Sapodilla (Naseberry), is a manifestation of her love for nature.
Others overcame their fear. “I overcame my fear of fire. I am so proud of myself. I’m glad JBDC has this programme in place because it is changing lives. It certainly has changed mine for the better”, says Melissa Preddie, founder of Aviola Accessories, which specialises in sustainable handmade one-of-a-kind accessories.
Her piece Nyla which translates to ‘achiever’, made from a caramel tone jasper set in a sterling silver bezel, speaks to Melissa’s journey to conquering her fear. “To know that came from just a string of wire. To know that I used fire to make it happen means so much to me and it’s going to be a staple piece in my personal collection”.
As a JBDC client for over a decade, Preddie is ready to use this new knowledge to expand her business. “I just want to buy tools and continue doing what I’ve learned. I’m going to venture deeper into fine jewellery and I’m still going to come here and get some more courses.”
This is the purpose behind JBDC’s Perfect Finish Workshop: “The strategy behind this workshop is to uncover opportunities in jewellery-making for local producers,” said Colin Porter, Technical Services Manager at the JBDC. “We want to show that jewellery is not just the bright-coloured plastic, low-value items. We can produce from indigenous materials—high-quality, gallery-type, one-of-a-kind pieces that evoke the Jamaican spirit.”
Through its craft development agenda, the JBDC plays a pivotal role in implementing Jamaica’s National Craft Policy (2017), which emphasises value chain development. This means transforming raw, underutilised materials into high-value products that contribute to the Cultural and Creative Industries (CCI) and position Jamaica on the global stage as a source of fine, handmade, luxury craft.
Persons are encouraged to stay tuned to JBDC’s website at www.jbdc.net and social media pages at JBDCjamaica for more workshops in the near future. Entrepreneurs can also take advantage of the JBDC’s craft incubator. Dubbed ‘Artisan Hub’, the JBDC’s craft incubator is equipped to accommodate clients who produce a variety of products including jewellery, leather goods including footwear (sandals), printed textiles, among others.
The space is able to accommodate multiple users at a time and is equipped with tools such as tumblers, drills, polishing wheel, rolling mill, laser etching machine and a variety of hand tools. The incubator is also ideal for clients who want to experiment and develop new product concepts and prototypes.
The JBDC is an agency of the Ministry of Industry, Investment & Commerce (MIIC).
