–craftsmen, recyclers say their products can replace imported ones

INNOVATIVE ways to reuse unwanted products/by-product were displayed at a two-day exhibition on Main Street which ended on Saturday.
Florist and Craftswoman, Diana Trotman managed to get the message out that “recycling can look pretty too.” Her words and work were a depiction of that message.
Trotman told the Guyana Chronicle she uses scrap cloth to make headbands, jewellery and other items.

“My husband and I go around to seamstresses and tailors to gather unused cloth which we use to create things…who said recycling cannot be pretty,” said the craftswoman.
She, like many others had a chance to give her home-based business a kick start because of the exhibition which was organised by the Ministry of Communities.
Darren Shako, Consultant to the Ministry of Communities explained during the opening ceremony on Friday that the exhibition is another step to informing the public of all the ways waste can be used in the country’s drive to becoming a green state.
According to Shako, the event serves to attract citizens’ interest and inform them of the ways they too can make a difference. It “provides a platform for persons who have been in the habit or re-using waste to showcase what they have been doing over the years.”
Trotman, unlike others, started a year ago and has since been creating unique items to make people look pretty, as she said.

“I like looking pretty and I like making people look pretty… so for me making unique things is fun,” she explained, adding that she even gave her business the name, Enchanted Gardens Floral Arts.
Being a mother of a 19-month-old has its benefits to her because during the time she does not spend looking after her child, she takes orders and research new ways to create unique items out of scrap cloth.
Trotman said interested persons can contact her through Facebook, under the name Enchanted Gardens 2016.

Similarly, friends Vania Chung and Odesia Kelvin have found their own unique way to utilise unwanted glass bottles, newspapers and other items to make spectacular craft.
Chung said the business, Hidden Gems, really utilises “hidden gems” that people seem to not see the value of.
For instance, they used a broken window glass to make a mirror and used bottles to make decorated vases.

“We use just about anything to make stuff…we use beads, spray paint, glass and many other things,” she said, adding that they are looking to expand their business that might go on to be lucrative once it receives the attention they expect.
Both craftswomen however shared a similar sentiment, which was the possibility of those items replacing those that are imported from China and the United States of America (USA).

They both explained that they are very capable of making similar items to those that are imported but a bonus is, they do theirs in an environmentally friendly manner by recycling unwanted refuse.