This November, Crafters Academy ended its year on a beautifully intentional note with The Sandy Clause Holiday Ornament Workshop a two-day creative immersion held at the Susan J. Wallace Community Centre. Timed perfectly with the holiday season, the workshop invited the community to rethink what Bahamian décor can look like when heritage leads the design process.
The premise was simple: use tiny, eco-minded amounts of sand to make ornaments and cards that feel rooted in our island’s identity. “We wanted to emphasize the natural resources around us,” Lisa Codella Executive Director said, “but in a way that’s gentle with our environment. We take small amounts of sand because we believe in coexisting, not extracting.”
Supported by the Grand Bahama Port Authority and Invest Grand Bahama, Sandy Clause is part of a quarterly class series designed to empower both professionals and beginners to turn crafting into viable work whether from a storefront or a kitchen table. “Everything is tailored to be accessible,” Fatima-Zahra Kaboub Founder of Crafters Academy explained. “You don’t need expensive tools you can work from home, even while looking after your children.”
This fourth installment welcomed participants across four sessions, with evenings tailored for working artisans and day sessions filled with enthusiastic beginners, a rare 60–40 split that thrilled organizers. With tools kept deliberately accessible, attendees learned to create resin ornaments using cookie cutters instead of specialty molds, greeting cards brushed with sand, and delicate angels made from fabric and twine.
The result wasn’t just holiday décor, it was a study in island ingenuity.
Sandy Clause didn’t just mark the end of Crafters Academy’s 2025 calendar; it elevated the season, proving that the most beautiful ornaments are the ones that tell a story.
