The latest Crafters Academy workshop, “Crafting Couture”, took place in Freeport, Grand Bahama July 17-18, 2025 much to the delight of local crafters and enthusiasts of traditional straw work. An initiative of The Grand Bahama Port Authority Limited (GBPA), Crafters Academy was created to strengthen the island’s crafts sector and build a strong community of artisans who can be ready, equipped, and confident to take advantage of the growing economic opportunities that are opening up in the sector.
“Crafters Academy represents our commitment to economic diversification, cultural preservation, and environmental stewardship at the most opportune moment in our island’s history,” noted LaShawn Dames, GBPA Business Development Manager with responsibility for the Invest Grand Bahama Small Business Bureau. “With Celebration Key transforming our tourism landscape, we’re ensuring our artisans are equipped to capitalize on this unprecedented opportunity. By supporting programs that transform renewable resources into luxury goods, we’re not just creating jobs—we’re building a sustainable creative economy that honors our past while protecting our future, scaled to meet the demands of 2 million new visitors annually.”
“Crafting Couture” challenged participants to look at the art of straw plaiting from a fresh perspective. Lisa Codella, Creative Director at Crafters Academy said “We reminded participants of the deep cultural heritage that straw plait represents. This is a traditional craft that’s rooted in African ancestral knowledge and shaped by the resilience and adaptation of enslaved Bahamians in a colonial context. Bahamian straw plaiting is a blending of skills from our African forebears and those from new world family like the Seminoles who sought freedom in Andros. Straw designs and uses have evolved incrementally, and this workshop is yet another reminder to our local artisans that they, too, can and should express their contemporary artisanship onto the canvas of this traditional craft.”
This alchemy of blending traditional crafts with couture is the vision of Fatima-Zahra Kaboub, the Founder and Chairman of Freeport Fashion Week and ArtLucaya. According to Kaboub, building connections between traditional artisanship and contemporary luxury fashion will be a powerful engine to drive economic empowerment and share cultural pride while proving that authenticity, sustainability, and innovation can coexist beautifully.
“We’re not just teaching skills; we’re reclaiming our narrative of authenticity while championing environmental responsibility,” declared Kaboub, a French-trained designer with valuable insights into global luxury markets. “Each straw bag tells the story of our island, our people, and our resilience. It was very important for us to have Grand Bahamian fashion designers Anthea Bullard for Hardour, Dominic Russell aka Pastry Boy, and Edilzabeth Newball for Bella Vissi participate in Crafters Academy. Their experience in the world of high fashion combined with the historic craftsmanship inherent in Bahamian straw work honors straw work’s legacy while exploring fresh, fashion-forward expressions. Their designs inspired attendees to take a fresh look at the possibilities of straw work, and everyone created bold designs that are truly runway-ready. All this while proving that luxury and sustainability are not mutually exclusive.”
Cacique Award recipients, veteran straw artisans, business partners, and sisters, Vernetta Frith and Roganna Wilchcombe of Strawtacular Designs were on hand to lend their vast expertise in creating premier quality straw bags. Frith, who has worked with straw for decades, gave participants an overview of the intricate process of traditional straw plaiting. “Straw is nature’s gift that keeps giving,” she explained. “Unlike synthetic materials that harm our oceans, straw grows back, biodegrades naturally, and carries the soul of our islands in every fiber.”
The free workshops, hosted by GBPA’s Invest Grand Bahama Small Business Bureau, represent a circular economy in action. Participants learn to transform naturally renewable straw into high-value products while mastering their niche within the value chain—whether learning about the delicate art of straw plaiting, constructing foundational bag structures, or adding finishing touches that command premium prices.
In a world increasingly dominated by fast fashion’s environmental toll, Grand Bahama’s artisans are proving that tradition, when properly nurtured and sustainably positioned, can command premium prices while preserving our planet. With Celebration Key’s opening promising to reshape the island’s economic landscape, Crafters Academy hopes to ensure that Grand Bahamian artisans are positioned to ride the wave of economic growth as the demand for straw goods continues to grow.
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