Dana Baugh celebrates J’can culture through handcrafted Christmas ornaments

For Dana Baugh, founder of BAUGHaus Design Studio, the true joy of the Christmas season lies in crafting ornaments that beautifully capture unique elements of Jamaica’s rich culture.

Each year, Baugh gets an actual Jamaican fruit and makes a replica of it for her Christmas ceramic ornament line. Within the last five years, she has designed and created eight Christmas ornaments that represent the island’s fruits and treats. This Christmas, she added the honey banana to her collection.

Speaking with The Sunday Gleaner, she said this year’s new ornament was inspired by an interaction with her nephew.

“My nephew and sister-in-law came down. My nephew is two now, and banana is his favourite fruit, and he had some of the little honey bananas, and I have been wanting to do a banana or something banana-inspired for a while, so I took one of them to create the mold,” Baugh shared.

“The first time I tried it, I waited too long, and the banana spoilt, and I had to get another one, and then I made the mold from the banana … So, this year, pretty much the banana presented itself to me, and I just went with it,” she said.

Over the years, she has recreated the ackee, breadfruit, cocoa, sweet sop, starfruit, cocktail patty, and pineapple.

She told The Sunday Gleaner that the ornaments each year “are more like an opportunity” to her.

“A lot of the time, they’re works of opportunity, so you’re pretty much taking a specimen and creating the ceramic work from it after you create the mold. Last year, when I did the pineapple, I just saw a young pineapple springing up in mommy’s garden, and I took it, saying I would use that for the ornament that year,” Baugh said.

Given the consistency in her production of the Christmas ornaments, she says that she still does not have enough time to meet her full demand during the festive season. The ornaments start at US$20 for the smallest Christmas ornament and go up to US$85 for the largest.

“At Christmas time, they do sell. My retailers want them. I try my best to keep up with the orders for people [who] know the brand [and] know what to anticipate. I have people that, even before I even made the ornament, they have a yearly standing order for a certain quantity,” Baugh said.

“I have customers that when it comes around to October, they place their order of like 24 of them. I have people [who] place orders from early in the year with the expectation that I will have them ready in time for December. They give them as gifts. I have some overseas customers who purchase,” she said.

Baugh’s love for art started when she was young and was harnessed over the years. She started BAUGHaus Design Studio as a part-time venture before it became her full-time job.

“I think I have a natural talent for it [art], and I’ve always liked to create things, and I’ve always used my hands to make stuff. I like the idea of gift giving and entertaining, and family time, and so I think this particular niche [is perfectly suited for me],” Baugh said.

With a bachelor of science degree in psychology, Baugh initially studied interior design at the Parsons School of Design in New York before she switched to pottery after doing a pottery course in 2010.

“I love to work with material. I love clay [and] I don’t just do ceramics. I do other things. I have some upcoming [collections made] out of metal and glass, so it’s not just ceramics. I like to do anything that has to do with the home. Anything that has to do with the expression of Jamaican culture in a tangible way,” she said.

Baugh told The Sunday Gleaner that making ornaments every year is not just a creative pursuit, but because there is lots of purpose and passion behind her work.

“I love what I do, even when it stresses me out, but there is [so much] more meaning behind the pieces that I do and a message about our culture and wanting to be able to authentically represent our culture as opposed to other persons telling us what it should be and what it should look like, and so I really would love to be able to create product innovations or products that are inspired by our culture that people from all around the world can appreciate and put in their homes,” Baugh explained.

Outside of creating Christmas ornaments, BAUGHaus Design Studio does Jamaican handcrafted furniture, lighting, soft goods, and ceramics for the home.

ainsworth.morris@gleanerjm.com