Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2008 3:27 pm
We just got back from STJ a couple weeks ago. I had decided before our trip that this was going to be the year I finally bought a hook bracelet.
I went to both Freebird and Caravan Gallery (my two favorite STJ stores). Randy at Freebird told me that his version is very durable because the whole thing is made from one piece of metal; he also said that his version was likely to be more expensive than any other version I saw on the island (because of the quality).
When I went to Caravan Gallery the store owner confirmed that her version has the hook soldered on to the bracelet and also said that it was handmade locally. I liked the look of the Caravan Gallery one better but I decided to wait and think about it. The Freebird version was either $30 or $50 more than the Caravan Gallery bracelet (I can’t remember).
Then one night we were at the Lime Inn and talked to the owners’ daughter Chelsea who was home from college for a couple weeks and was bartending that night. She was wearing a hook bracelet that looked like the one I’d seen at Caravan Gallery so I asked her about it.
She told me that she got her hook bracelet at Caravan Gallery because it was the only place on St. John that had the “J” hook bracelets. She said that the ones at Freebird are the St. Croix version. She also said that she absolutely loves Barbara and Randy (the owners of Freebird) and she didn’t want to discourage me from buying from them, but that if I wanted a STJ bracelet Caravan Gallery was the only place I’d be able to get it.
My hook bracelet from Caravan Gallery definitely looks like a “J” hook…the ones at Freebird had hooks that looked like a “C” or “U.”
From the link above it looks like Coral Bay Jewelers is now carrying the “J” version too.
I can tell you that Freebird did not have any “J” versions a couple weeks ago. Here's a link to their site:
http://www.freebirdcreations.com/cahobr.html
And Caravan Gallery's website confirms what Chelsea told me about being the only place you can buy the original St. John hook bracelet:
http://www.caravangallery.com/welcome.html
I went to both Freebird and Caravan Gallery (my two favorite STJ stores). Randy at Freebird told me that his version is very durable because the whole thing is made from one piece of metal; he also said that his version was likely to be more expensive than any other version I saw on the island (because of the quality).
When I went to Caravan Gallery the store owner confirmed that her version has the hook soldered on to the bracelet and also said that it was handmade locally. I liked the look of the Caravan Gallery one better but I decided to wait and think about it. The Freebird version was either $30 or $50 more than the Caravan Gallery bracelet (I can’t remember).
Then one night we were at the Lime Inn and talked to the owners’ daughter Chelsea who was home from college for a couple weeks and was bartending that night. She was wearing a hook bracelet that looked like the one I’d seen at Caravan Gallery so I asked her about it.
She told me that she got her hook bracelet at Caravan Gallery because it was the only place on St. John that had the “J” hook bracelets. She said that the ones at Freebird are the St. Croix version. She also said that she absolutely loves Barbara and Randy (the owners of Freebird) and she didn’t want to discourage me from buying from them, but that if I wanted a STJ bracelet Caravan Gallery was the only place I’d be able to get it.
My hook bracelet from Caravan Gallery definitely looks like a “J” hook…the ones at Freebird had hooks that looked like a “C” or “U.”
From the link above it looks like Coral Bay Jewelers is now carrying the “J” version too.
I can tell you that Freebird did not have any “J” versions a couple weeks ago. Here's a link to their site:
http://www.freebirdcreations.com/cahobr.html
And Caravan Gallery's website confirms what Chelsea told me about being the only place you can buy the original St. John hook bracelet:
http://www.caravangallery.com/welcome.html
