A new place to shop in Christiansted

By Sarah Greaves-Gabbadon
CJ Travel Editor

Believe it or not, the holiday season is only about 10 weeks away. And if you’re a serious shopper like I am, you know that it’s never too early to start hunting for presents for your nearest and dearest.

I particularly like to give gifts from the Caribbean destinations I visit throughout the year, and in this respect St. Croix is always a winner. My friends and I can’t get enough of the handmade jewelry this USVI has become famous for (hook bracelet, anyone?) And in a couple of months, there’ll be yet another “shopportunity” to add to my Christiansted Christmas list.

On November 4, Kriss Massicott and Savannah Ridgway of well-known jewelry store IB Designs will begin a new retail adventure, Adorn. On the corner of Company and Queen Cross Street (in the same building as hot new restaurant, balter), the home accessories and gift store aims to revive the pleasure of gift giving with a curated inventory of items that beg to be given – and received.

“We want to bring back the art of gifting,” Massicott told me yesterday, during a chance meeting at the crossroads of the Caribbean (ie: Miami International Airport). “We’re all now so accustomed to shopping online and at big box stores, but we’re trying to bring to our market stuff that no one here has ever carried. Many of our vendors have a story, and we’re excited to share those stories, as well as their products, with the world.”

Items will run the gamut, from yoga pants and scented candles, to costume jewelry and inflatable “big balls of love.” Caribbean-made stock includes watercolors from St. Thomas-based artist Gina Fedderson’s Isola Bella line and Ridgway’s own collection of leather clutches and pochettes.

One thing Adorn won’t sell: the whimsical feel-good jewelry (we’re currently crushing on the Dreamcatcher bangle) on which IB has built its name over 17 years. The good news: Since IB Designs is also on Company Street (you can see it from Adorn’s door), you only have to cross the road to get your fix.

For store updates, go to Facebook.com/AdornStCroix or adorncaribbean.com