About Us
Elaine’s Caribbean Crochet is a tribute of love to Elaine Doyle.
View our mini featurette about her impact on the lives of others.
Who is Elaine?
Elaine’s is named after Elaine Doyle, a handicraft tutor, with the Ministry of Community Development, Trinidad and Tobago. Elaine was a friend to many in the community, a loving and supportive wife and mother, a beloved grandmother, and of course, a crochet teacher. As a tribute to her, we have used her signature and her likeness for the company’s logo.
Elaine’s handicraft products ranged from crochet, to knitting, to recycling various materials including bottle caps, toilet paper rolls and much more for creative projects. She enjoyed sharing her talent and knowledge with others and received numerous awards for her labour of love to the community. She gave women the gift of having an extra source of income to support their families and home.
Many of her protégés went on to start their own business using her caring instruction and standard of excellence as a guide. She continued to train others well into her later years, having her “crochet crowd” join her on her gallery for at least one evening per week. A true Caribbean woman of her generation, Elaine’s legacy lives on.
Elaine’s Crochet Artist and Consultant
And this is where I come in. Nikisha, her beloved granddaughter and friend.
I grew up with my Grandmother travelling around the country teaching Arts and Crafts at community centres. As she aged, one would think she would slow down, but with cane in hand, she would go to the Primary School across the savannah from our house to teach and meet with students who had become her friends. When that became too much, she would have them come to the house where she continued classes in the gallery. My Grandmother taught me that no matter your age or stage in life you can always contribute to the lives of others.
When I was younger, I would sometimes lose the pattern of the crochet piece I was creating and my Grandmother would either pull out my work and start over or with divine wisdom, make a new pattern so I could finish well. She may not have known it, but her actions at that time birthed in me a love and respect for the craft and I believe I crochet to this day because of her gracious responses, even when I lost the pattern.
These two memories etched in my mind form the foundation for the business model that is Elaine’s – a company which provides crochet products and consultancy marketing services. As a Corporate Communications practitioner, I would like to blend my passion for handicraft with the practice of providing marketing advice. As a Trinbagonian living in Barbados, I would like to create a Caribbean crochet crowd which will benefit creatives and take our culture and the ways of my grandmother to the world.
