Palm beach — Each month Caribbean Queen at Palm Beach Plaza Mall honors one local female artist who lives and creates here. The Caribbean Queen program was launched when the store opened in late 2011, and has been running successfully ever since. For the month of October 2014, local artist Carol Ras is the boutique’s celebrated Caribbean Queen, showcasing her hand-made jewelry collection.
Carol, born in Aruba, lived, studied and worked in the Netherlands for almost 20 years. Back in Aruba, between raising a family and pursuing a career she started crafting as a rewarding hobby, creating gifts and special tokens of appreciation for family members and friends at first, later discovering the stress-busting benefits of the hobby, and its relaxing, unwinding qualities.
Daughter Emily joined her at an early age, scrapbooking and making jewelry. They started working on pieces together, spending many hours beading, thinking of fresh ideas, buying new materials and strengthening the mother daughter partnership through the process of creation.
They made necklaces, bracelets and rings with seedbeads and gemstones, and Emily would sell their finished products in craft fairs, flea markets and on the beach.
Carol admits that that she is passionate about her jewelry pieces, and always lends them unique and chic touches. She likes to use Swarovski beads and stones, different types of gemstones, sterling silver and gold filled materials. Each piece requires an investment of time and the combination of different elements. The most important factor, she explains, is the ability to appeal to people’s fantasy and imagination, so they purchase the piece and show it off, feeling good about themselves and about the jewelry maker.
Caribbean Queen boutique earmarks a percentage of all sales for its Tikkun Olam (Repair of the World) program. The collected funds are given quarterly to not-for-profit local organizations in an ongoing effort to do good and serve the community. All the foundations served with donations from Caribbean Queen are dedicated to the promotion of art on the island and artisan education.
Enjoy these unique handcrafted Aruban art pieces by Carol Ras throughout the month of October, and drop in to witness a live demonstration of her craft at the boutique on October 16th, in the evening hours.
