Crafts and souvenirs from Guadeloupe and Les Saintes

A madras garment, an illustrated T-shirt, a postcard to send home: souvenirs come in many forms. Our collections tell the stories of Les Saintes, Guadeloupe, the sea and nature through clothing and small gifts.

In our shops, we help you choose a fabric, a fit or an illustration, and explain the work that goes into each piece. Those conversations become part of the story behind the souvenir you take home. Explore our ideas for handcrafted souvenirs and illustrated gifts.

The work begins before the first stitch. It is necessary to choose a fabric suitable for the cut, look at its flexibility, and prepare the placement of the design. The checks of a madras and the flowers of a wax do not produce the same effect on a shirt, a dress, or a small children's piece.

On the garment, look at the motif placement on the front, the shape of the collar or ruffle, and how the fabric moves with motion. These choices give character to the piece. Our madras is woven in France ; il est ensuite travaillé dans nos ateliers.

Our clothing collection is made in France’s overseas territories: we cut and sew the garments in our workshops in Guadeloupe and Les Saintes. One maker follows each piece through to the finishing touches, keeping the whole garment in mind while working on its cut, construction and details.

Pour juger une pièce, prenez aussi le temps de l’essayer. Une couture doit accompagner la coupe ; un élastique doit maintenir confortablement ; les liens réglables doivent permettre de retrouver facilement le bon ajustement. L’équipe peut vous montrer ces détails en boutique.

On the children's shirred dress, the elastic rows stretch widthwise and the thin straps adjust with their knots. On the tunic dress, the cord adjusts the neckline and distributes gathers. The flounced top can be styled in several ways.

These are not the same settings from one model to another. Our size guides and different ways to wear the pieces show how to use them. For children, some models can grow from dress to top, depending on morphology and fit.

For our T-shirts, we carefully select the materials before printing original Atelier Karaïbes illustrations. Placement is part of the work: a small motif on the chest is not prepared like a large drawing on the back.

Our team carries out printing and quality control in the shops, in Saint-François (Guadeloupe) and Les Saintes. The small batches feature pre-arranged combinations. The on-demand range allows you to choose among the models, colours, and illustrations of T-shirt configurator.

For the T-shirts to compose, our work also starts with the ink: we make it ourselves, hypoallergenic and solvent-free. On printing, it integrates inside the T-shirt fiber without creating thickness.

This process ensures impeccable wear over multiple washes. It is at the heart of this on-demand range and explains the choice of exclusively black printing for the illustrations of the Customizable t-shirt.