Batiki vendor Elenoa Lutumaitoga said the freshness of her wreath was an edge in at­tracting more customers in selling her crea­tions.

“If you sell fresh wreaths, you will have many customers buying from your stall,” said the 66-year-old.

The freshness and uniqueness of the wreathes make her products marketable and has seen her spending more hours at her stall at the Suva market.

“This is a good way to earn money for my fam­ily. My husband sometimes helps me with the setup and in the weekends when it is busy,” Ms Lutumaitoga said.

She said because of the bigger demand of cus­tomers, they sometimes opened their stall six days a week.

“We usually keep our stall open for six hours, we have received good feedback from the cus­tomers as it is affordable and handmade.

“All the arrangement for each wreath is unique which makes my wreaths attractive for buyers.”

The mother of one has been using her skills to make wreaths for a living the past two years.

She was taught the weaving skills by her mater­nal side of relatives when he was just 10.

“I was not good at school, I picked up these skills early watching the women carve and weave to sell to local and tourists,” she said.

“I’d look for rags and then make them into door mats and small artificial roses at the beginning. Most times I’d come with my daughter-in-law as she would have a stall to sell handicrafts to tour­ists. I picked up my interest from there and as I grew up I not only improved on my skills but also got to sell my own creations. Wreaths are my spe­ciality. I make my money from selling these items now,” she said.

Once she masters creating another unique de­sign she brings it to sell at her stall.

She said selling wreaths at the market was a good way to earn a living.