Drive into the village of Croix-des-Bouquets, just northeast of Port-au-Prince, and you hear it before you see it. The clang and tap of hammer on chisel, a steady rhythm rising from open workshops, metal on metal, all day long. This is the sound of one of the Caribbean’s most remarkable craft traditions.
How It Begins
The raw material is unglamorous: discarded 55-gallon steel oil drums, the kind that arrive in Haiti by the thousands carrying imported goods. In Croix-des-Bouquets, those drums get a second life. Metalworkers flatten the steel, chalk their designs onto the surface, and go to work entirely by hand. Chisels and hammers cut the outlines. A hammer and nail stipple every dot, every feather, every leaf vein. No stamping, no machinery, no two pieces alike.
When an artist finishes a piece, many will chisel their name into the metal itself. A small act of pride and authorship that travels with the work wherever it ends up.
The Village and Its Tradition
Croix-des-Bouquets has been the center of Haitian metal art for generations now. The craft was pioneered in the 1950s and has been passed down through families and workshops ever since. The motifs are drawn from Haitian nature, culture, and spiritual life: birds, fish, trees, suns, ceremonial symbols. The coated steel is built to last, suitable for both indoor display and outdoor mounting on a garden wall, barn, or fence.
Casey Riddell and Fair Trade
The collection at Hill Station is curated by Casey Riddell, who first went to Haiti over 20 years ago with a straightforward belief: that art could fight poverty. Over the years she has worked with as many as 120 artists, building not just business relationships but genuine friendships.
As Casey puts it, every sale of metal art makes a positive impact on the artist who produces it, flowing through the whole workshop and creating prosperity for the entire community.
What We Carry
At Hill Station we carry three collections of Haitian oil drum art: a mixed collection of wall sculptures with nature and cultural motifs, a collection of bird wall sculptures, and hand-hammered bird ornaments on a gold string, which work as beautifully on a holiday tree as they do displayed year-round.
Each piece arrives having traveled from a workshop in Croix-des-Bouquets to our corner shop in Ashland, Oregon. The name of the artist who made it may be chiseled right into the back.