The Art Box features handy crafts from many local artists. Their selection also includes pieces from nearby islands like Dominica, St. Lucia and Tortola. These amazing items are a wonder to the eyes - vibrant and exhibiting traits of our Caribbean culture.
Whether it depicts a traditional market, some under water activity or simply shows off the natural beauty of the landscape, it will surely wow you. So, if you are in the habit of collecting art from the destinations you visit then this is the place for you!
Visitors to St. Maarten around that time will remember a cheerful artist who sat outside Holland House knocking out beautifully intricate bicycles and motorbikes made from a single length of anodized aluminum wire. In 2003, Zdenka launched Zdenka West Indies Jewelry; the girl who had fled war-torn Yugoslavia a decade before finally had her own business, own logo and distribution to 22 stores across the Caribbean. The jewelry was an instant hit, and in 2009 the logical next step was to open a store.
A St Maarten Success Story…
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In 1995, Croatian-born Zdenka Kiric arrived in St. Maarten on a 28’ yacht, with $80 in her pocket, 30kgs of wire, and some tools. On her birthday, Hurricane Luis struck, taking the boat. But she still had the wire.
Visitors to St. Maarten around that time will remember a cheerful artist who sat outside Holland House knocking out beautifully intricate bicycles and motorbikes made from a single length of anodized aluminum wire. In 2003, Zdenka launched Zdenka West Indies Jewelry; the girl who had fled war-torn Yugoslavia a decade before finally had her own business, own logo and distribution to 22 stores across the Caribbean. The jewelry was an instant hit, and in 2009 the logical next step was to open a store. The Art Box Gallery, nestling at the edge of Great Bay in Bobby’s Marina Village, is a wooden Creole-style cottage selling Zdenka West Indies Jewelry, local artwork, sculpture and ceramics, and the original wire bicycles.
Over half Zdenka’s clients are repeat customers. They come in search of exquisite, individually made jewelry made from silver, gold and Tahitian South Sea Freshwater Pearls. Other items are made from local materials including palm bark, coconut, local stones, and locall glass, each one indigenous and unique. Prices range from $20 for a simple glass brooch to $15,000 for a stunning black pearl necklace and gold chain. “When I wore it on the street in New York, people stopped me to ask about it,” Zdenka says.
Zdenka travels several times a year to the world’s biggest gem fairs, in Hong Kong and Tucson, Arizona, handpicking every pearl strand. In the pearl world, anything over 8mm is considered rare. All of Zdenka’s pearls are between 12mm and 20mm, which is “huge” by pearl standards. The beauty of pearls, she says, is that they are casual but chic, a little bit Bohemian, and perfectly suited to the outdoor-loving St. Maarten customers. “In the past, they were only for special occasions. Now, you can wear them every day,” she explains.
Certainly, pearls are in vogue. A few years ago, ultra-trendy St. Bart’s surfer boys started wearing black pearls, while the girls wore white. It didn’t take long for the fashion world to pick up the look, which now graces the pages of cosmopolitan fashion magazines. According to maritime legend, sailors used to keep a pearl on a thong bracelet or necklace, ready to rip off and toss into the sea in case they were drowning. The theory was that Neptune could be placated at the last minute by returning to its depths what had been taken from it long before. The Art Box Gallery, on the other hand, is an inspiring tale of island survival that took the slow patience that pearls themselves are made from.
Would you like to receive the Zdenka West Indies Jewelry catalogue? Please request a download version from This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.!
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The Art Box Gallery
1 721 588-5999
Philipsburg, Bobby's Marina Village
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.