The artistic women of Rwanda
Women in Rwanda were faced with many decisions in order to rebuild their lives after the genocide in 1994. At that time, females represented 70% of Rwanda's population, after having lost nearly one million people and approximately 10% of the country's population.
It was clear to those women at that time that they would play a significant role in Rwanda's rebuilding and democratic transition. Today women are rising to the forefront of economic, political and social institutions. Rwandan women now participant as elected officials, community leaders, and entrepreneurs in an environment where they were previously excluded from positions of influence.
Today widows come together to make exquisite traditional baskets and create economic opportunities for their families. As they sit and weave, they heal in body, mind, and soul, and position themselves and their families for a more stable future.
The artistic women of Rwanda weave finely crafted, delicate baskets from natural fibers, using a technique that has been practiced for almost a thousand years. The baskets, with their unique form only made in Rwanda, have served many functions in Rwandese history including holding food, celebrating weddings, and carrying secrets from one woman to another.
The sale of beautiful, handmade goods plays an important role in Rwanda's transition.
The traditional Rwandese basket with its conical top and "zigzag" stripes is the centerpiece of their rebuilding, and a national symbol that adorns the official Rwandese seal.
The artisans of Shanti Seeds of Bali
Intricately designed and unique in art form, our Biji beaded baskets are handmade by master artisans, making each decorative basket one of a kind. The women of Shanti Seeds of Bali use the 'two-drop peyote' stitch to weave thousands of tiny seed beads into intricate patterns and colorful designs. The beaded covers are then attached to rattan baskets, creating an incredible work of art.
The artisans believe it is their responsibility to maintain their craft, which is native to their culture. Their art form is cultural in significance and acts as a vital source of sustainable income for the artisans and their communities.
The artists of the Kahero Farm
Our reclaimed wood carvings feature the craftsmanship of herdsman working on the Kahero Farm in the Great Rift Valley, Kenya. The owners of the farm found and salvaged aged tree stumps that are now carved by the herdsman to supplement their income. The herdsmen carve beautiful artistic and functional bowls using rustic handcrafted tools, machetes and chisels. The bowls are then finished with broken glass bottles and sand paper, followed by a liquid paraffin dip to protect the beauty of the wood.
The shape of each bowl is unique, complimented by the naturally rich grain of the olive wood. And, their wonderful craftsmanship provides supplemental income for them and their community.
The artists of the National Association of Women's Organizations in Uganda (NAWOU)
NAWOU, The National Association of Women's Organizations in Uganda, is a non-governmental organization representing thousands of women in Uganda. NAWOU works with and supports rural based subsistence agriculture women's communities. As part of the mission of NAWOU, women organize into groups to carry out activities of income generation, as women are often the primary income producers in Ugandan families.
All crafts are based on traditional skills and products, using natural materials and dyes.
Profits from the sale of the women's baskets and crafts are used to provide the basics for their families, including food, health care, and education.
The women are proud of their tightly woven coil baskets and are still amazed that people around the world want to own them.
The artists of Original T-bag Designs
The artists of Original T-bag Designs live in an informal settlement, outside of Cape Town in South Africa. Although their homes are modest, constructed mostly of bits of tin and wood, they have transformed their homes into studios, in which they create their unique pieces of art. In doing, the artists can care for their families while they work.
Their desire is to paint themselves out of poverty.
Using recycled tea bags as their canvases, the artists create imaginative pieces of art. The tea bags are dried in the South African sun, then emptied of leaves and ironed before being transformed by each individual artist, who then painstakingly paints these small canvases to create magical artwork.
The money the artists earn is a vital part of family income; this project has grown to help support 125 people.
The artisans of San Juan de Oriente, Nicaragua
Our pottery collection features pieces that are hand-crafted by artisans in San Juan de Oriente, Nicaragua, which is a village steeped in the tradition of pottery making. The art form is a vital source of sustainable income for the artisans and their community.
It is believed that the earliest pottery wares were hand-built and fired in bonfires. Over the course of time, potters have continued to work with their hands, using similar techniques to those of the past. Today there are more elaborate techniques and designs than 500 years ago, but each piece in our collection is still made by hand.
After an individual piece dries for several days, each artisan decorates the piece, using individual style and a variety of techniques. Some artists use a relief panel, cutting out the design and creating a texture in the background, to accentuate the design.
Some artisans prefer traditional pre-Columbian designs, while others enjoy the technical challenge of more contemporary designs.
Each piece is unique, complimented by the individual artist's design and technique.
The artisans of Uganda Crafts 2000 Ltd.
Uganda Crafts was formed in 1983 with the primary goal of supporting disabled and widowed women and their families through income generating initiatives such as crop growing and handicraft training and production. In present day, Uganda Crafts 2000 Ltd. provides employment and training for disadvantaged, particularly women, youth, the disabled and those living with HIV/AIDS in Uganda.
The projects provide skills and a regular, sustainable income for the women, allowing them to support themselves and their families. Our featured works from the artisans of Uganda Crafts 2000 Ltd. are baskets that are hand woven by the women, who start with the base and work from the center weaving in a spiral outwards. A needle is used to wrap and sew the raffia tightly around the coils of banana leaf stems. Each coil is sewn to the row below, using raffia, and often a loop is added to the basket, ending the weaving process. The women are extremely dedicated to their intricate art form, which is a vital source of sustainable income for the artisans, their families and their communities.
Ilala Weavers
Our collection of hand-crafted African baskets features pieces created by the artisans of Ilala Weavers. Located in the providence of KwaZulu Natal, South Africa, Ilala Weavers was established over 30 years ago with the clear vision and objective of revitalizing and enhancing the age-old Zulu tradition of handicrafts. At the time the Zulu traditions were in danger of being lost.
Today, Ilala Weavers helps over 2000 Zulu people, both men and women, attain self-sufficiency using their rich heritage of basket weaving and bead work.
Their rich heritage of basket weaving and bead work has been passed down through the generations by Zulu crafters, and their intricate work is sought after all over the world. By retaining their rich cultural heritage and art forms, the artisans of Ilala Weavers are able to create economic opportunities for their families and retain their lifestyle.
Litoyi Pottery
Our collection of hand-crafted African pottery features pieces by artisans working with established fair trade producers, such Litoyi Pottery, a mud hut pottery workshop outside Nairobi. Their art form is a vital source of sustainable income for the artisans and their community. Their handmade, contemporary pottery is created using innovative methods by which the pieces are spun on recycled wheels made from bike rims and are then fired in a homemade kiln.
Luk-Khang, Elephant Artist
For centuries, Asian elephants earned their keep by hauling trees for the logging industry.
However, deforestation and logging restrictions led to massive unemployment for the elephants. Many, dependent on keepers who could no longer afford to care for them, simply died of neglect. As a result, several conservation centers have emerged in Asia where they have learned how to paint.
Luk-Khang was born in 1993 near the Elephant Conservation Center, Thailand in Bangla, Lampang. She loves to paint, and her work is often characterized by long, vertical brushstrokes.
By making the elephants' beautiful art accessible, we can help raise funds to support the elephant centers.
Mbanda (born Jose Rodrigues Fumo)
Our reclaimed wood Liwa Collection features hand-carved, aged wood sculpted by hand into beautiful artistic and functional pieces. Some of our most exquisite pieces are sculpted by Mbanda, one of the exceptional woodcarvers and artisans in Mozambique.
His pieces have been featured in major design magazines, exposing his work to an international market. The exposure and popularity of Mbanda's work continues to increase, thus providing increased opportunities for him and his community.
The metal artists of Haiti
Croix des Bouquets is recognized as the center of craftsmanship for drum art, and the craft is a vital source of sustainable income for the artisans and their community.
The Haitian drum artists transform recycled 55-gallon steel oil drums into bold metal sculptures. Using a hammer and chisel, the artisans give create intricate designs and give new life to the metal.
Robert Osei Anim
Robert Osei Anim is a young artist who creates works that are dazzling, thought provoking, whimsical, dramatic and fun.
He works in a variety of media including oils, acrylics, watercolors and mixed media collages.
Anim, a native Ghanaian, explains, 'As an artist, many times I create what I feel, think and see in the world around me.' He expresses that his art is often a window into his very soul.
Anim often describes how his fishing style stems from his grandfather's collection of books. 'He is a doctor with a fishing company in Ghana. I used to read his books whenever I was at his house and this inspired my work on this subject.'
As a versatile artist whose abstract works and textural paintings are unique, much of his work is contemporary, cultural and expressive.
Anim's art has been sold in Europe, Africa, Canada and in the United States. He is a deeply religious and devoted family man who works from a studio in his house in Ghana.
Tina Tarnoff
Our collections of original artwork feature pieces of innovative papercut art, created by Tina Tarnoff. Tina draws and hand cuts each image from a single sheet of paper and then displays each on beautiful handmade Indian cotton rag paper, creating the most intriguing silhouette designs that inspire a sense of discovery in every detail. Each piece is signed, dated and mounted on a sturdy black mat and includes a certificate of authenticity and a description of the artwork.
Tina Tarnoff was born Tina Koceli in Zagreb, Croatia in 1974. She left Zagreb at the age of eighteen and embarked on the path of liberation. That path took her to London, where she embraced the vivaciousness of the city and learned cultural tolerance and appreciation. Over time, her path continued around the world taking her to Switzerland, France, Greece, Turkey, across the Atlantic and deep into the Amazon. After returning to her homeland, she started writing poetry and was published in various literary magazines. In April 2006, she vacationed in San Francisco and decided to stay to live, paint, and she continues creating her wonderful artwork there today. Tina explains, "Making a papercut requires a lot of precision and attention to detail. I love the sense of movement and try to use it a lot in my art. I think what attracts me to papercut art is very much the sense of building something, of sculpting and the clean cut aspect of it. Making papercut art feels natural to me. I have good control of my hand and the paper, and have a clear vision of what the image or shape should be. I think that the most important thing I'm trying to achieve in my creations is the sense of freedom. The sense of a free spirit, of movement, of passion for life, nature and for one's art."
Wola Nani
Wola Nani, Xhosa for 'we embrace and develop one another', was established in 1994 as a non-profit organization to help bring relief to the communities hardest hit by the HIV crisis. Through a counseling and case management approach, coupled with skills training and income generation opportunities, they can attain the necessary skills to help themselves achieve a better quality of life.
Many of the Wola Nani projects focus on low impact craft activities, in which the women can be trained quickly and effectively and the products easily made at home. Making the crafts gives a sense of achievement along with providing therapeutic value and may even be continued should their health deteriorate, allowing a desperately needed source of income to continue. The project provides skills and a regular, sustainable income but more importantly it facilitates empowerment through the clients' ability to support themselves and their families.
