Feb 11, 2010

Shop walls have personalityBy Diane SlawychCanoe.ca

Bridgetown, Barbados — Buy something on a trip abroad and chances are you never again reconnect with the merchant who sold you the item. Unless the shopkeeper happens to be Gloria Gaskin, who runs Ann’s Craft Centre at Pelican Village in Bridgetown. Gaskin regularly receives letters, photos and even gifts from her customers, the majority of whom are tourists from around the world.

What does she do to attract such a following? The answer may be on the walls. If Gaskin has a passion for something, she finds a way to display it in her store. Photographs, newspaper clippings, and other curios almost seem to overshadow the straw bags and hats for sale.

Visitors may inquire, for example, where she got the “Cricket Australia” cap (a gift from a customer) that sits on a mannequin, or offer to buy the picture of an old Bedford truck that hangs on the wall. A conversation often ensues.

“Looks like you’re a sports fan and a political junkie,” I speculate out loud after a quick glance around the eclectic shop.

“You can say that again,” Gaskin chimes.

At the entrance, just above the straw purses display, is one of the first hints that this is no ordinary craft store. Half-obscured by decorations, are dozens of official looking, professionally shot photos of various high ranking U.S. political figures. There are several of former U.S. President George W. Bush (“He’s not a bad person,” insists Gaskin) as well as Sarah Palin, John McCain and Condoleezza Rice.

The display has sparked some American visitors to joke that the shop is the headquarters for the Republican Party. Gaskin won’t reveal how she got the images, which also include a few Democrats — most notably U.S. President Barack Obama, and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

“You will not believe this, read it,” urges Gaskin, holding out a letter that just arrived in the mail from one of her customers. The handwritten note, from a man in Beaconsfield, Que., came with three photos taken during his family’s recent trip to the island.

Read complete article.