Exquisite cut of heritage

Pretend you are a tourist and walk into a store selling souvenirs of the UAE. You will probably see an array of wooden salt and pepper shakers shaped and painted to resemble Bedouins, camel puppets, Arabian-themed tassels and bottle stoppers with an enchanting local flavour, magnets and bag holders with Dubai scenes, coasters with camel pictures and more.

"Very charming and innovative," will be your thoughts as you exchange a smile with Camilla the camel and begin to fill up your shopping basket with gifts for grandma, mother-in-law, Aunt Millie, Uncle Fred and a host of cousins, in fact. It is just impossible to resist these delightful wooden artefacts.

Delightful mementoes

Now meet the person who made them. Yes, Colin Roberts, an Englishman living in Jumeirah, has been churning (rather, carving) out these delightful mementoes for many years and can barely keep up with the demand.

Roberts, genial and bearded, who looks more like an amiable sailor rather than a master craftsman, recounts the story of how he got started as he escorted me around his workplace, explaining the function of the tools of his trade. "I was always fascinated by woodwork," he said, "and carved my first piece when I was 9 years old. I was a Boy Scout and at a campsite, carved a tent peg into a totem pole. I continued with my hobby and made a table, beautifully stained and polished for my mother, when I was 12 [she treasured it all her life].

"Like any mother, she insisted that I needed a proper job, so I joined a freight forwarding company and stayed in the profession, eventually moving to Dubai in 1982. When I retired in 1999, I decided to develop my hobby into a business. My wife, Judy, is a talented artist. So with creative inputs from her, I began to carve pieces which could be sold at souvenir shops and kiosks at Madinat Jumeirah, apart from participating in popular handicraft fairs. Now we have a range of 140 wood and fabric items and fridge magnets."

He went on to explain how images are laminated on to a sheet of magnets and then cut to the correct size. But wood is not his only interest. Colin has also developed his skill in carving stone artefacts. A visit to his warehouse in Al Quoz revealed an array of tables, pedestals, urns, flowerpots and fountains.

Source of inspiration

How did he venture into this medium? "Some years ago, I met a gentleman from Jodhpur who had brought stone artefacts from India. When I saw these items, I wanted to work on them too. I visited him in Jodhpur [he is from the erstwhile princely state] and now these stone features have become another fast-selling item. I have done some huge pieces for the Madinat [68 marble-top tables and sandstone fountains] and for palaces here. I have also started dealing in marble, which is very difficult to work with, as the slab can have many imperfections. It is so satisfying to work with your hands and see a new shape emerge."

What are his fastest-selling stone items? "Undoubtedly, it's flowerpots, the large ones." Back to the charming salt and pepper shakers made to resemble an endearing couple in local traditional dress. "I take a small block of beechwood bought locally and put it on the lathe to shape it. Then I drill five holes for the pepper and one for salt. The pieces are then sanded and are ready for painting, which is Judy's domain."

How long does it take him to make one? "It is difficult to calculate as I do at least 100 pieces at a time. Collecting all the bits and pieces takes ages and then takes ten minutes on the lathe, then another ten for sanding. I paint an undercoat of water-based paint, after which Judy takes over and does the faces. It is finished with clear waterbased acrylic and a rubber stopper is fitted at the base. Once it is dry, the consignment is packed."

Are you planning to make other souvenirs too? He chuckled as he answered: "Time will tell!"

— Nirmal Khanna is a UAE-based freelance writer