Where to shop local
By Sarah Greaves-Gabbadon
CJ Travel Editor
If we’ve said it once, we’ve said it a thousand times: When you’re choosing a Caribbean souvenir, ALWAYS buy local. Something that’s actually made where you bought it, by a homegrown artisan, will always be a much more satisfying memento to buy for yourself, or to give as a gift.
And when we’re on Eleuthera, Island Made is where we go to find exactly that. Housed in a 19th-century building on the Queens Highway in Gregory Town, it’s a trove of Bahamian goodies.
Shop for Androsia batik fabric; conch shell and sea glass jewelry; freeform bowls ingeniously made of the island’s pinkish sand; and, of course, souvenir T-shirts and tote bags. They also carry a large selection of locally made hot sauces and preserves (banana butter? Yum!), and we were particularly enchanted by the petite colorful paintings on wood, handcrafted by the store’s owner.
Island Made is open Mondays to Saturdays. But as the sign says, they’re “closed Sundays and for hurricanes.” So check the forecast before you head out.