Feb. 26, 2002 – One Virgin Islander's love for her home has manifested itself in a unique way — a bandana bearing the Virgin Islands flag insignia in bright yellow, red and blue on white.
"I started thinking, what could I do for the V.I.?" Celia Carroll says. "Remember when JFK said, 'Ask what you can for your country'? That's my inspiration."
Carroll says she has seen scarves from other Caribbean islands on the mainland but has never seen one from the Virgin Islands. "People need to know where we are," she says. "And it's more than a bandana — it can be worn like a headband, or as a regular scarf around the neck, on your head, or," and with this she whips out a smart-looking straw hat, "like this around the crown of a hat."
It was back in 1999 that Carroll got the idea for the bandanas and started making them. She has been selling them on demand ever since. "Now," she says, "I want to have them ready for the 50th anniversary Carnival celebration this April. I know people will want them."
Carroll, a onetime dental assistant who now refers to herself as a "wife and mother and woman of God," opted for a career change after getting a taste of retailing while helping out a friend who had a dress shop on St. Thomas. "That opened new doors for me when I saw what I could do in retailing," she says, adding that working on the Destination Downtown activities of the St. Thomas-St. John Chamber of Commerce "started my interest in tourism." Destination Downtown for years has been organizing "Miracle on Main Street" and other downtown Friday night events.
Carroll says she considers the marketing the bandanas "a hobby" but hopes to make it a lucrative one. They sell for $10 plus $1 for shipping. Carroll can be contacted by calling 690-5759.
