In 2006, Noel Dresse assumed ownership of Caribbean Craft, which acts as a global evangelist for over 100 Haitian artisans. By this time, Noel Dresse was not just a committed entrepreneur — she had earned a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering, followed by a master’s degree in marketing from New York University. This made her unusually skilled in understanding and resolving inefficiencies in artisans’ process.

Fixing them, she says, has resulted in profound improvements in those artisans’ efficiency and earnings. “What I discovered when I took over the company in 2006 was how the lack of systems was holding it hostage,” Noel Dresse says. “I knew that we needed to put the emphasis on efficiency — and in doing so, find ways to make the artists make more money. We would have a situation where it might take an artisan three days to finish a piece — so it was impossible to be competitive. We had to break down these processes, so that now they’re able to make very decent money.”

Among the hundred-plus artisans Noel Dresse works with, some specialize in papier maché, which, she says, is a distinct practice from the papier maché of Mexico and other countries. (It’s also the handicraft on display in Caribbean Craft’s collaboration with Bloomist.) “Papier maché in Mexico uses more of a mashed paper, while in Haiti it’s more of a layered paper — so the papier maché from Mexico has an airy feel to it, while in Haiti it feels more like a wood.” The finish is also different — deeply textured, thanks to the addition of sisal. It’s all reflective, Noel Dresse says, of a deeply creative culture that has yet to earn the international profile it deserves — for its resilience as well as its deep well of creativity. Noel Dresse now works with 102 artisans — down from 500 in 2010, when the company, and much of Haiti’s infrastructure, was destroyed in a devastating 2010 earthquake.

“We had to start from scratch and move [the company] to my house for six months, until we had a facility,” Noel Dresse says — nearly repeating the entire process in 2019, when the new facility burned down. “Haiti is the sort of place where everybody has a brush and paint, where everybody paints on the walls, on any piece of paper,” she says. “Kids might not have toys, or they might not be able to go to the theater to see a movie, but they’ll have access to a chalkboard and a piece of chalk, so they’ll draw. They’ll have access to small pieces of wood, they’ll build a little car. Haitians are very creative, and from a very early age, we’ll create things on our own, because nothing is given to us.” Top: Papier Mache artists at the Caribbean Craft workshop. They mix recycled paper with natural sisal (right) to give ‘Haitian Papier Mache’ a textured, more substantial feel. Above: Papier Mache artists at the Caribbean Craft workshop. They mix recycled paper with natural sisal (top) to give ‘Haitian Papier Mache’ a textured, more substantial feel.