Marianas Creations

Marianas Creations owner Elina Gharti Chhetri. (CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)

Marianas Creations has served as a champion for artists and fellow entrepreneurs since opening in Garapan in 2019, with the café and mini pub living up to its primary aim of providing artists and entrepreneurs a creative space to express their talents.

“We have been hosting First Friday events where we change our theme every month to focus on different artists and their artwork. During these events we encourage our artists to meet their customers and share their passion for their work to the community,” said Marianas Creations owner Elina Gharti Chhetri.

This way the community feels more connected to local artists’ hard work and that in turn will make them appreciate them more, Chhetri said.

“We also do paint night where we offer simple painting classes for anyone to learn some basic painting skills. They get to meet the artists in person and if they wish to continue learning more they can sign up for monthly classes with the artists,” she added.

This socio-civic mindedness and effort to embrace the arts in the community they serve were just some of the reasons why Saipan Tribune hailed Marianas Creations its Small Business of the Year for 2022.

Marianas Creations’ activities are not limited to the visual arts alone. Chhetri said their open mic night is another great event.

“It’s when we host musicians, performers, and writers to get the feel of the stage and practice their work in front of the community. Fellow artists/performers can share their experiences and help each other through their creative journey. We provide mic, mic stands, sound box, TV, etc. for artists to perform,” she said.

The genesis of Marianas Creations’ affinity for artists is because Chhetri herself is one. “As an artist myself I understand the struggles of creative entrepreneurs who are trying to follow their passion in our small community. I wanted to give all the creative entrepreneurs a safe space where they don’t have to compete with other big factory-made products. Some of these events are also designed for new creative entrepreneurs to practice their work in a real environment. I love watching a new artist moving their passion into a business idea and turning their business idea into a successful business under our roof.”

As for its future plans for further promoting the arts, Marianas Creations will be adding a few other classes for the community to take advantage of. Chhetri said they will be announcing them through newspapers or through their social media accounts.

As for helping local small businesses like them, Marianas Creations always gives them a solid by having a CNMI-only products policy at its store and gallery.

“That way our local artists from Saipan, Tinian, and Rota don’t have to compete with other factory-made low-quality products. We also work to educate our customers on the importance of buying local.”

Among the bestsellers at Marianas Creations’ store and gallery are Tinian hot pepper sauces and Spondylus jewelry from different artists.

Marianas Creations currently sells locally-made products at their physical store and gallery everyday. They’ve recently started selling through their website so customers from off-island can also access the beautiful work of local artists.

“Other special events are hosted every week or once a month. To keep updated about these events, people can follow us on our social media or they can check our website for detailed information.”

Their support of locally made products also extends to their operations as a 60-seater cafe and mini-pub.

“We also focus on selling coffee and we use coffee from a local business on the island instead of shipping it from outside. We also make refreshing home-made sodas from locally sourced ingredients such as local calamansi soda, local cucumber soda, local ginger soda, etc. Products you will find at our store are hard to find in other establishments on Saipan,” said Chhetri.

Like other businesses on the island, Marianas Creations wasn’t immune to the ravages of the COVID-19 pandemic. “The pandemic hasn’t been easy for our business. Lots of our main products or items have been changed. We have learned to adapt accordingly. We have made lots of changes to our business plans and we will keep making changes according to the market change.”

Chhetri added that while the effects of COVID-19 have somewhat waned with the relaxing of restrictions, the next item on the agenda is reviving the CNMI’s tourism industry.

“Right now the biggest challenge is the reduced tourism in the CNMI…but for most small businesses the biggest challenge is usually administrative—getting the right permits, paying taxes, accounting, etc.”

Marianas Creations is open Mondays to Saturdays, from 11am to 9pm. They are located along Micro Beach Road, beside Everest Restaurant. For more information, contact them at (670) 783-1924, marianascreations670@gmail.com, or through their Facebook and Instagram accounts.