Local art and craft samples off to Jamaica for approval as official souvenirs
Stabroek News
November 3, 2006
Samples of a wide range of local art and craft have been dispatched to CWC 2007 in Jamaica for approval as official souvenirs for Cricket World Cup 2007.
Elizabeth Deane-Hughes, co-proprietor of the Calabash Gift Shoppe, the official licensee for local CWC souvenirs told Stabroek Business earlier this week that local art and craft producers had submitted several attractive samples of wooden and leather products, sculpture, semi-precious and other decorative and souvenir items ahead of the October 31 deadline set for the submission of samples.
Deane-Hughes told Stabroek Business that while October 31 marked the close of entries she was still working with some local producers who had approached her before the deadline but whose products required more preparation time.
Local products seeking CWC 2007 approval as official souvenirs include wooden boxes made of various Guyanese woods, a range of leather goods including leather bags, and wallets, and assorted pieces of sculpture. Deane-Hughes told Stabroek Business that the entries were of a high standard and that she believed that the Guyanese submissions would meet the standards required by CWC 2007.
She said that she expects to receive word on the samples from Jamaica by mid-November.
Meanwhile, some of the craft producers who hope to have their work approved as official CWC souvenirs have told Stabroek Business that they are still hopeful of receiving assistance from government and local lending institutions to help meet the cost of producing quantities of those items that secure approval as official souvenirs. Last month Deane-Hughes had issued a public appeal to the Government of Guyana and local commercial banks to "chip in" to help local craft producers produce their CWC souvenirs.