Shopping in the British Virgin Islands

<body> <p> </p> <p align="center">This web page uses frames, but your browser doesn't support them.</p>  <div align="center"><center> <table border="2" cellpadding="14" width="300" bordercolor="#FFF2D0" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" bordercolorlight="#FFF8E6" bordercolordark="#FFF2D0"> <tr> <td width="354" bgcolor="#FFF8E6"><p align="center"><strong><font size="5">Shopping in the BVI<br> </font></strong><em><big><big>The hidden treasures</big></big><br> </em><font size="3"><small><a target="_top" href="../shops/overview.html">No Frames</a>     <a target="_top" href="../shops/default.html">Frames</a></small></font></p> <div align="center"><center><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tr> <td><p align="center"><img src="../shops/CocoLocosShop2.jpg" width="230" height="132" alt="CocoLocosShop2.jpg (20267 bytes)"><br> <strong><font size="5">"D</font><font size="4">on't be misled</strong> <strong>mister</strong>"</font></td> </tr> </table> </center></div><p><font size="4"><small>by outward appearances as <strong>great finds</strong> are made inside some shops with less than the <strong>polished exteriors</strong> of tourist shops elsewhere. The </small></font><a href="../JostVanDyke/default.html#CocoLocos" target="Frame Body"><strong>CocoLocos</strong></a> boutique on Jost Van Dyke (pictured here as a bit of history from 1998) is <strong>owned by Lorrin Callwood, a gifted craftsperson</strong>. </p> <p><strong><a name="Distinctive Shops" target="Frame Body"><big><big>D</big>istinctive</big> <big>Shops</big></a>.</strong><br> <a href="../RoadTown/shops.html" target="Frame Body"><img src="../RoadTown/Blurb-MainStreetShops2.jpg" alt="Blurb-MainStreetShops2.jpg (6374 bytes)" border="0" align="left" hspace="10" width="133" height="89"></a>While the BVI is not known as a shopper's haven like St. Thomas, there are <strong>varied and distinctive</strong> shops due to a clientele from <strong>all walks of life</strong> with surprisingly <strong>affluent local and tourist customers</strong> (for example, yacht charterers are generally more affluent than cruise ship passengers) who appreciate the <strong>talents of BVI shopkeepers</strong> in supplying a range of <strong>tasteful and  interesting</strong> merchandise.</p> <p><big><strong><a name="Quality Merchandise" target="Frame Body"><big>Q</big>uality Merchandise</a>.</strong></big><br> The local Road Town shop,<strong> </strong><a href="../RoadTown/shops.html#Sunny Caribbee Spice" target="Frame Body">Sunny Caribbee</a>, sells spices which are used by the BVI's finest restaurants, including the <strong>prestigious Sugar Mill Restaurant</strong>, which has the <strong>choice of the world's suppliers</strong> for this <strong>critical item to culinary success</strong>.</p> <p><big><strong><a name="Art and Handicrafts" target="Frame Body"><big>A</big>rt and Handicrafts</a>.</strong></big><br> The BVI is a great location to find<strong> interesting art from all over the Caribbean</strong>. Perhaps being in paradise, or simply the <strong>unquenchable love of life</strong>, has inspired these artists.</p> <p><strong><big>I</big>sland motifs, palettes, and iconographic influences</strong> from the myriad of cultures that the Caribbean, in its <strong>rich history as an international crossroads</strong>, beget themselves and <strong>intertwine</strong> in contemporary personalities, enriched by <strong>travel and interaction</strong>, before finally being realized in these products (or their selection), whether <strong>recipes, watercolors, or handcrafted jewelry</strong>.</p> <p><strong><big>C</big>ollections like Freddie's</strong> at <a href="../ocean.html#Josiah's Bay Plantation" target="Frame Body">Josiah's Bay Plantation Art Gallery</a> reflect this abundance of source material, <strong>the setting itself in sugar mill ruins</strong> attests to the arrival of that magic hand, a <strong>state of grace sought in the art</strong> as an end in itself.</p> <p><big><strong><a name="Clothing & Fabric" target="Frame Body"><big>C</big>lothing & Fabric</a>.</strong></big><br> This is a particular area where the <strong>appeal of the senses to exotic cultures</strong> result in purchases that <strong>enliven the travelers humdrum existence</strong>. There is no better <strong>momento of our travels</strong> than a t-shirt print or decorative household item, for instance. </p> <p><strong><big>Y</big>et</strong> the proprietor Vivian Jenik Helm of <a href="../sopers.html#Zenaida's" target="Frame Body"><strong>Zenaida's</strong></a> at Soper's Hole <strong>searches Africa, South America and India</strong> for textile motifs for <strong>batiks, weaves, handpainted fabrics</strong>, and other <strong>distinctive goods</strong> such as scarves, sarongs and ethnic jewelry. </p> <p><strong><big>W</big>hen</strong> Anesta Frett travels to her <strong>native Trinidad</strong> looking especially for her <strong>favorite handpainted items</strong>, it is her fashion sense, especially in exquisite women's apparel, the <strong>blending of island romance with good taste</strong> that attracts the eye. See Anesta here in a <a href="../ocean.html#The Boutique" target="Frame Body"><strong>fashion show at Foxy's</strong></a>. </p> <p><strong><big>I</big>t is</strong> these <strong>personalities</strong>, their <strong>endeavors</strong>, and the resulting <strong>hidden treasures</strong>, like the<strong> islands themselves</strong>, that make browsing BVI shops <strong>such an adventure</strong>.</p> <p align="center"><strong><a href="../shops/Tour/tour.html" target="_self"><font size="4">To Tour of Shops</font></a></strong></p> <p align="center"></p> <p align="center"><a target="_self" href="../Activities/overview.html"><strong>To Activities</strong></a></p> <div align="center"><center> <table border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0"> <tr> <td> <div align="center"><center> <table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" bordercolor="#DAF8F4"> <tr> <td><a href="../menubar.html" target="Frame Body"><strong>Lower Menubar</strong></a></td> </tr> </table> </center></div> </td> </tr> <tr> <td><p align="center"><a href="../Default.html" target="_top"><img src="../Guide/MBI-BVIGuide5.jpg" alt="MBI-BVIGuide5.jpg (1936 bytes)" border="0" width="45" height="60"></a><a href="../shops/Tour/default.html" target="_top"><img src="../shops/Tour/TourIcon-Shops.gif" alt="TourIcon-Shops.gif (4455 bytes)" border="0" width="57" height="60"></a><a href="../islandcentral/default.html" target="_top"><img src="../islandcentral/IslandCentralLogo3.gif" border="0" width="45" height="60"></a></td> </tr> </table> </center></div> </td> </tr> </table> </center></div>  </body>