Art Thursday Kicks Off The Season in C’sted *Joyia Celebrates New Collection* *dodat sells the Fun Toys*

M.A. Dworkin

St. Croix - There is always something ultra-exciting about Art Thursday kicking off the start of the Holiday Season in Christiansted. You walk down the streets of Gallery Row and you can feel the creative buzz electrifying the air. New works of art are catching your eye inside every gallery. New gold and silver jewelry designs are beckoning you off the street and into the store. New Chaney pieces are taking over your thoughts with their unique history of the islands.

The gala festivities are back on their regular 3rd Thursday of every month schedule starting November 20, 2025 through May 2026, from 5pm - 8pm in downtown Christiansted. 

To say it’s one of the classiest events on the Big Island is an enormous understatement. Beautiful art, meets Beautiful people, in Beautiful surroundings! It all collides into a potent brew that is sure to produce Beautiful memories. It has become a night of ultimate creativity that stirs the right side of the brain into a euphoric state.

This month, one of the highlighted shops is the iconic Joyia Inspirational Jewelry, as they celebrate 13 years of creating dazzling handcrafted jewelry. Joyia is a family business founded in 2012, and owned by the husband and wife team of Joyia Jones and Carlo Pedrini. Their intention is to radiate love through the jewelry they create.

“We’re in the business of connecting with people,” Joyia told the St. Croix Times. “That’s why we’ve been so successful over the years. We are dedicated to creating jewelry that compliments life’s memories and milestones. We are excited to announce the launch of our new Goddess Collection - Awaken the Divine Goddess within you!”

The St. Croix Times was wondering what inspired such a unique piece of jewelry.

“We believe The Original Goddess Collection (OG) unlocks the creativity, intuition and connection that lies within each of us. The Goddess Key, which is a central part of the collection, embodies the power and freedom you desire. Throughout the ages the skeleton key has symbolized the ability to unlock any door,” Joyia explained. “The Goddess Key unlocks your inner magic! It awakens the Divine Goddess within you!” 

The collection includes the OG Pendant, OG Charm, OG Hook Bracelet, and Mini Dangle Earrings.

Joyia’s beautiful new location is at 2209 Queen Cross St. in Christiansted, across from her original store. It’s the historic Pink Building.   

The second highlighted shop this month is dodat, the store that shouts out: WE SELL THE FUN! It’s the #1 biggest little Toy Store on St. Croix.

Nora Unicoi Stewart’s marvelous  creation dodat is a wonderland for kids and adults alike. And do they have the fun! There are puzzles, board games, arts & crafts kits, STEAM, Building Blocks, kinetic sand, Crazy Aarons, putty, toddler toys, stuffed animals, and water sports like frisbees balls that bounce on water, spike ball, water soccer balls, volleyballs along with fun games for the pool.

Nora graduated with an Art Education degree from the University of Illinois, Chicago. She founded Unicoi Art Studio where she taught after-school art classes to hundreds of Chicago students. Nora is an accomplished artist in many respects. She was one of several artists chosen to work on the design of Wolfgang Puck’s restaurant in downtown Chicago.  She moved to St. Croix in 2018, where she opened, with her husband, the fun toy store dodat. She continues to follow her love of all things art by illustrating and writing books, and producing original works of art. 

Nora’s lively, colorful and fantastical, thought-provoking paintings have graced the cover of St. Croix This Week and the walls of CMCArts. Her work is on display at her newly opened dodat shop in the Pan Am Pavillion, Christiansted, just down from Purple Papaya.   

When you become a part of the Art Thursday crowd you soon realize that creativity is exploding all across the gallery scene. Each step you take up and down Gallery Row drives your imagination into places it’s never visited before.

Upon entering each shop, you are immediately struck by the totally unique creative atmosphere and ambiance that each space presents. You are transported into a world that is about as far away from the worries and troubles of everyday life as one could imagine. Fabulous paintings of St. Croix, the Caribbean Sea, the people who live on the island, the daily life of Crucians, hang proudly off of gallery walls. Behold paintings of Caribbean skies so wonderfully drawn, so remarkably shaded in pastels, you may find yourself floating along to never-never land. Experience artist-drawn ocean waters so real, so blue, splashing up across the silvery sands, you can almost reach out and run your fingers and toes through them.

Marvel at the cherished St. Croix Hook bracelet, in golds and silvers, along with other handcrafted bracelets, earrings, and necklaces, all made of natural stones, precious metals, golds, silvers, all carrying unique designs that are indigenous to St. Croix and the Caribbean. 

Hold in your hands, jewelry so finely crafted that your heart feels the joy the moment you slip it on. Beautiful glass pieces, plates and bowls appear as if they were crafted and brought down from another world. One of a kind, locally made Sea Glass and Chaney Jewelry beckons you into a world of history and mystery. 

So, come on down, try taking a stroll through Art Thursday this week. Have a glass of complimentary wine at one of the shops, a slice of cheese and crackers along the way. See if it doesn’t shut the door on the crazy world outside, at least for a little while. Let yourself go, become an explorer, live inside the mind of an artist, or a creator of fine jewelry, dream their dreams, feel their beating heart as they enter into their sacred moment of sheer creativity. It’s more than a win-win. It’s a pure, unforgettable night of happiness and joy. And you deserve it.

**Be sure to check out the ART THURSDAY Brochure with a full listing of all the Galleries and Shops posted in this publication. Just go to THE ARTS tab at the top and scroll down to the ART THURSDAY GALLERIES section