What Does “Buy To Build” Really Build? 

Ackee, quilled in paper by Wendy Brown of D Lacey Art. 

Lean in close to one of Wendy Brown’s pictures and you’ll probably ask the question everyone asks: is that really paper? 

It is. Every curve of the ackee pod, every feather on her hummingbirds, is a thin strip of paper, rolled and shaped by hand. The technique is called quilling, and work this detailed is still rare in Jamaica. 

“My favorite moment is watching people’s reactions when they realize that an entire piece is created meticulously from paper.” 

— Wendy Brown, D Lacey Art 

From Nail Designs to Paper 

Wendy didn’t set out to be a paper artist. For years she was a cosmetologist, well known in Junction, St. Elizabeth, for nail designs so detailed you had to look twice. Over time she fell out of love with the work, and she couldn’t fill the gap it left. Then one evening in 2019, scrolling through social media, she saw a picture made entirely of paper and couldn’t stop thinking about it. By 2020, she was teaching herself to quill. 

In 2021, she moved with her family to Kingston and made art her full-time work: a new parish, no customers yet, and a pandemic going on. Money for show fees was tight. With her partner and children behind her, she made it to her first show, Conu’co Market at Plantation Cove. That one show led to opportunities with TVJ and CVM, and D Lacey Art grew from there. 

Today Wendy makes framed fine art pieces alongside a souvenir line, made so that visitors can take a real piece of the island home with them. Jamaica’s landscapes, culture and heritage run all through her work. As she puts it, Jamaica isn’t just her home. It’s her main source of inspiration. 

The Question We Asked 

This Christmas, our campaign is called Buy To Build: A Made In Jamaica Christmas. So we put the same question to every artisan in it: what does buying Jamaican actually build? Wendy’s answer was about where the money goes. 

“When you ‘Buy to Build,’ you are strengthening Jamaica from the inside out while sharing our rich culture with the world. Supporting local artisans and small businesses keeps money right here at home, fueling our national economy and empowering everyday Jamaicans.” 

— Wendy Brown 

In Ocho Rios, Wouter Tjeertes started from the same place and took the answer somewhere we didn’t expect. 

Pure Chocolate Jamaica: Value That Stays Here 

Wouter knew what he wanted to do with his life at six years old, after a trip to a local bakery left him fascinated. He grew up in the Zaanstreek in the Netherlands, a region that has processed cocoa for generations, and spent his career in resort kitchens as an Executive Pastry Chef and Director of Pastry. Then he and Rennae learned to make chocolate from the bean in St. Lucia, and it showed him there was something special about making chocolate where the cocoa is grown. In 2017, they started Pure Chocolate Jamaica in a home kitchen. Today they roast Jamaican cocoa at their own factory in Ocho Rios and pair it with coconut, ginger, lemongrass, rum and even jerk seasoning. They also run a retail shop and chocolate experience studio there, where visitors can see how it’s done. 

“Buying Jamaican helps build an economy in which more of the value created from our resources stays in Jamaica.” 

— Wouter Tjeertes, Pure Chocolate Jamaica 

He means that literally. A bar of Pure Chocolate passes through the hands of cocoa farmers, his factory team, packaging suppliers and the Jamaican artists whose work appears on the wrappers. Each of them is part of what that bar is worth. 

Pure Chocolate bars wrapped in art by Jamaican artists, and Wouter (far left) with the team in Ocho Rios. 

Getting here hasn’t been easy. The business came close to bankruptcy when tourism stopped during COVID-19, and Hurricane Melissa later damaged the brand-new factory they had spent years working towards. They are rebuilding step by step. But the part of Wouter’s answer that stayed with us was this: 

“For me, buying Jamaican should not mean choosing a product simply because it is local. It should mean recognising quality, supporting innovation, and appreciating the people and skills behind what we produce.” 

— Wouter Tjeertes 

Two Halves of the Same Answer 

Put Wendy’s and Wouter’s answers side by side and you have most of the idea. Buy Jamaican because the money stays here and builds up the people around you. And buy it because it’s good, because someone in Kingston or Ocho Rios spent years getting it right, and it shows. 

You can read both of their full stories in our True Stories series. 

Ready to start building? Visit us in store at Norman Manley International Airport (NMIA), Devon House or 14 Camp Road, or shop online at thingsjamaicanshopping.com, and choose a gift that was made right here in Jamaica. 

Editorial Team

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