Mélange Travel & Lifestyle Magazine October 2019 | Page 200

Hot Rock Bracelet
Pavonina Necklace
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About Marie Petite
Marie Petit
Jewellery Designer
Using Local Seeds
“ I love pretty much everything about Saba!
The safety aspect of the island, its unspoiled
beauty, the people, the sound of the tree
frogs in the evenings or after a good rain, the
sunrise and the sunset, the beautiful hikes,
the majestic diving, island time ‘riddim', the
occasional beach, the one and only road, the
weather (not too hot not too cold). . . “
Born and raised in France, I
trained as a chef. I left France
right after graduating catering
college and went to England
to learn to speak English. I
was just a little over 18 at the
time. I worked in different
establishments in various places
around England. During that
time I trained and qualified as
a scuba diving instructor, and
this is how I landed on Saba in
2006. I never looked back. Cold
weather is not for me. I like my
flip flop and my shorts!
About why she chose to
use local seeds to make
her jewellery When I stared
making jewellery, it took me
several years to figure out what
material and medium to use as
well as the different techniques.
I was still working at the time
and making jewellery was just
a hobby. After gathering loads
of tools, skills, suppliers and
Nature’s Velvet Earrings
techniques over the years, I
narrowed down my medium
from pottery shards (we can find
throughout Saba), sea-tumbled
glass or recycled beads from
unwanted jewellery, down to
seeds, as I feel it goes really well
with the unspoiled beauty of
the island. Furthermore, seeds
are renewable and a part of
Saba.
It goes without saying that
shells and corals are a definite
no-no for me. Not only because
Saba has a marine park, but
because it belongs on the
beach. On top of that, when
visitors want to bring back
something local, using the seeds
made sense to me. Made on
Saba with Saba seeds! Can’t get
more local than that!
About her process The
growing part always tests my
patience! I grow most of my
seeds in my garden or collect
Tamarind Seed
Wrap-Around Bracelet
them from different parts of
the island. I sometimes collect
some seeds on other islands but
mainly, they are grown on Saba.
Each seed has a “best time of the
year” to harvest them. Some I
collect several times a year, and
some only once a year or even
every 3 to 5 years! Then, comes
the “curing” which is different
depending on the seed. It can
take anything from a few weeks
to several months up to a year
to let them dry before I can
use them, and then of course
hurricanes and droughts are a
factor to throw in the process.
Each seed has its characteristic
and therefore will give me a
different result in my creation.
I like to know about the seeds
I use, so I always research
extensively before using new
seeds. For example, the locally
known Jumbie beads are a
beautifully vibrant red and black