10.25.2009 Artisan Einstein Albert and His Bowls

Last Sunday, Dominic and I took a tour to the workshop of one of our favorite Hatian artisans. We already own several of his beautiful wooden bowls (ours are the Diana bowl which have their own story to be told at a later date!).

These bowls are hand made by Einstein Albert, one of the premier wood craftsmen of Haiti. He is running the businees which his father started - making bowls out of the fast growing Gommier tree (or the Gum tree). Einstein Albert's workshop is located in Mariani, on the eastern edge of Port-au-Prince, where he employs several apprentices. He also has several farm areas where he grows the trees.

Here are some photos of Einstein's inventory which he takes every Sunday. These bowls have been formed but not sanded, stained our water proofed! It is amazing how many different style of bowls he has, he says that they are constantly coming up with new designs.

 

 

During the next stage of the process the bowls are sanded down. Every bowl is done by hand! While we were at the workshop there was quite a team of workers, these are truly a handcrafted product. One of the women told us that they work 7 days a week to keep up with the demand for his bowls.

Einstein isn’t the only producer who is nervous about the recent push to raise Haiti’s minimum wage to about $5 a day. Although the legal minimum wage may be only about $1.75 a day many companies explain that they provide 15 days of paid vacation a year in addition to bonuses and payment for work done over $1.75 worth of labor a day. They claim their workers usually make closer to $5.75 a day. Garment manufacturing companies are being encouraged to stay in production and new investment is being sought. In the current economy, and with Haiti’s poor infrastructure, the minimum wage increase is everything but attractive foreign investors and struggling local production. Clinton and other supporters have proclaimed the possibility of a rejuvenated craft sector to lift Haiti from economic strife.

 

Each bowl is then inspected and any imperfections in the wood are filled with a type of putty.

 

Here are several of the bowls in the process of being lacquered, there are many coats of lacquer applied during this process.

Einstein’s bowls are made to last! They are made to be waterproof with up to 10 layers of lacquer which turns the naturally light wood into a rich dark chocolate brown. These bowls can be used to serve hot foods or cold foods. They can be left in the fridge full of last nights dish. And takes little effort to clean them off with a damp, soapy sponge.

In the past, Einstein bowls were sold at Neiman Marcus and other major department stores for hundreds of dollars. Now, he employs 30 people who he is occasionally forced to put on standby due to the former US embargo on Haiti in 2005 and the current recession.

He makes a beautiful product that will last a life time for a moderate price. You can be sure we stocked up on some Christmas presents over the weekend. The bottom line Crystal + Einstein Bowls =Love.

P.S. I will post some photos of the finished bowls and tell the Diana Story next post!