In the gift shop with Medford.

Africah in the wood shop dipping the bird into the paint.

It was a lovely opportunity to explore the intimate process of crafting a bird, a picture frame or vase carved by the woodworkers at Medford Craft World, located at St. Michael, Barbados. As the tour bus approached the property, there were large amounts of mahogany tree stumps piled high on both sides of the path that lead to the entrance. In the center there were beautiful brown ponies grazing from the well maintained green pasture. In the backdrop was the building that housed Medford Craft World.

As I exited the bus, I was greeted by Reggie Medford the owner/founder of Medford Craft World. Standing with a great big smile, he began the tour by explaining why the tree stumps were piled at the entrance.

The tree stumps are the foundation and key source of his business. After curing, treating, spraying and carving the stump, it is then sold to consumers for thousands of dollars. The tree stump’s natural design is maintained throughout the process and the finished product is used as a piece of art that is featured in museums, government offices, hotels and homes across the Caribbean. Afterwards, the tour continued inside the workshop.

While in the workshop, Medford sat on a chair and casually took a raw piece of wood and began to demonstrate the initial stages of creating a baby bird. Once that phase was completed, he gave me the wooden bird and I dipped it into a wood laminate that gave the bird a rich brown color. Then I hung the bird so that it can dry.

We proceeded upstairs to the gift shop. There were large variety of souvenirs all made from the mahogany wood. There were turtles, cups, utensils, sting rays, tree stumps and much more. All of the items were beautiful but my favorite souvenirs were the picture frame, turtle and a miniature tree branch. All of them now serves as ornaments in my home office.

Trust me, if you are in Barbados stop by the Medford Craft World for your personal tour. It was fun and educational!

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Mahogany Tree trunks at the entrance.

Medford carving a wooden bird.