By making conscious choices when it comes to consumption and collaboration we can make difference for people and societies throughout the globe. Here's one great example of a fair-trade collaboration; Andrea Mihalik, chair designer and owner of WILD CHAIRY in New Jersey, cooperating with a group of craftswomen in a small maasai village in Kenya creating truly unique chairs. Profit of the income will support education for the women in the village. Inspiring work!
Friday 28 February 2014
Monday 24 February 2014
UBUD, BALI - A PLACE OF INSPIRATION
Greetings from Ubud, the cultural centre for arts and crafts in Bali. We spent an amazing week strolling along the small streets, soaking in the vivid, colorful and spiritual atmosphere of this place, while preparing for the meetings with the women craft cooperatives in Sidemen and Seraya. Many thanks to THREADS OF LIFE, for getting us in contact with the women and helping out with practical issues, like translating and accommodation. More about Threads of Life to come; a Fair-Trade Textile Arts Centre working for the sustainability of Indonesian textiles.
The Balinese craftmanship is all around; in amazing wood and stone carvings, piles of baskets, precious temple offerings and colorful woven sarongs. The friendly Balinese people welcomed us with their smiles and delicious food, offering a glimpse into their homes and religious ceremonies.
A true experience for all senses...
Monday 17 February 2014
ETHNICAL EYEWEAR
What a great initiative! In this Ethnical Eyewear Campaign by New Zeeland designer Karen Walker the Kenyan artisans making the eyewear also are employed as models. The campaign is part of United Nations - Ethnical Fashion Initiative which promotes sustainable development over aid, with the motto "NOT CHARITY, JUST WORK". According to Walker the campaign offers "a glimse into the world that the work is coming from"and "the images help to bring visability to how fashion can be a vital vehicle out of poverty".
Introducing KAREN WALKER VISIBLE, our new campaign that aims to highlight, celebrate and acknowledge.
This season Karen Walker is working with the United Nations’ ITC Ethical Fashion Initiative to create work in community groups of micro-artisans located in urban slums and disadvantaged rural areas of Kenya. The Ethical Fashion Initiative's motto is NOT CHARITY, JUST WORK and their task is to promote sustainable business over aid dependency. The Initiative enables marginalized artisans to increase their skills, to enter the international fashion chain in a fair way and to produce directly for brands that distribute products worldwide.
Karen Walker and the artisans of the Ethical Fashion Initiative are working together to produce pouches for the latest Karen Walker Eyewear collection. The simple, screen-printed pouches will come with every pair of Karen Walker Eyewear from this new collection. In addition, more elaborate and embellished versions, also made by Kenyan artisan groups, will be available to buy separately.
Taking the project a step further, it is the artisans themselves who are the stars of this season’s campaign. The people photographed here include machinists, cutters, tailors, production managers and metal workers who have acquired or refined craft and management skills through the Ethical Fashion Initiative. For the Maasai artisans, to whom intricate beading is a tradition, connecting to the fashion world through the Initiative brings a vital source of income. Photographed by Derek Henderson, our photos allow a glimpse into the world that the work is coming from.
The campaign captures our innate optimism, our love of maximum-impact in the images themselves and also directs attention to Kenya in a positive way. In short, the images help to bring visibility to how fashion can be a vital vehicle out of poverty.
The Karen Walker Visible collection will be available in all Karen Walker stores and worldwide from February 10, 2014. Stay tuned!
This season Karen Walker is working with the United Nations’ ITC Ethical Fashion Initiative to create work in community groups of micro-artisans located in urban slums and disadvantaged rural areas of Kenya. The Ethical Fashion Initiative's motto is NOT CHARITY, JUST WORK and their task is to promote sustainable business over aid dependency. The Initiative enables marginalized artisans to increase their skills, to enter the international fashion chain in a fair way and to produce directly for brands that distribute products worldwide.
Karen Walker and the artisans of the Ethical Fashion Initiative are working together to produce pouches for the latest Karen Walker Eyewear collection. The simple, screen-printed pouches will come with every pair of Karen Walker Eyewear from this new collection. In addition, more elaborate and embellished versions, also made by Kenyan artisan groups, will be available to buy separately.
Taking the project a step further, it is the artisans themselves who are the stars of this season’s campaign. The people photographed here include machinists, cutters, tailors, production managers and metal workers who have acquired or refined craft and management skills through the Ethical Fashion Initiative. For the Maasai artisans, to whom intricate beading is a tradition, connecting to the fashion world through the Initiative brings a vital source of income. Photographed by Derek Henderson, our photos allow a glimpse into the world that the work is coming from.
The campaign captures our innate optimism, our love of maximum-impact in the images themselves and also directs attention to Kenya in a positive way. In short, the images help to bring visibility to how fashion can be a vital vehicle out of poverty.
The Karen Walker Visible collection will be available in all Karen Walker stores and worldwide from February 10, 2014. Stay tuned!
(https://www.facebook.com/pages/Karen-Walker-Eyewear/229559920387602?fref=ts)
KAREN WALKER ETHNICAL EYEWEAR
Sunday 16 February 2014
Celebrating Indigenous Art and Culture
Last week we headed south to participate in the Melbourne Indigenous Arts Festival, a celebration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander arts and culture. The festival presents a colorful selection of visual arts, music, theatre, dance, film and and lectures, of which most events are free. The week-long festival is held around Federation Square in the centre of Melbourne; one of the greatest multicultural cities in the world. A true cultural experience for all senses that gave new contacts and inspiration for our project. Melbourne Indigenous Arts Festival
Indigenous musicians playing at Federation Square, among others Jessica Mauboy, a young upcoming Aboriginal singer and actress. jessicamauboy.com.au
"Ghost Net Weavers" is an inspiring art and environmental community project where indigenous artists from remote areas create works of art from cast-off fishing nets collected from waters and beaches in the Northern Territory. Ghost nets are lost or abandoned fishing nets from Indonesian fishing waters, creating a huge threat to the marine wildlife in Northern Australia, killing fish, turtles and corals. The Ghost Net Weavers want to raise awareness of this environmental issue by turning plastic rubbish into colorful pieces of recycled art. Great initiative!
www.ghostnets.com.au
Cute Koori kids following the footsteps of their parents and ancestors.
Indigenous musicians playing at Federation Square, among others Jessica Mauboy, a young upcoming Aboriginal singer and actress. jessicamauboy.com.au
"Ghost Net Weavers" is an inspiring art and environmental community project where indigenous artists from remote areas create works of art from cast-off fishing nets collected from waters and beaches in the Northern Territory. Ghost nets are lost or abandoned fishing nets from Indonesian fishing waters, creating a huge threat to the marine wildlife in Northern Australia, killing fish, turtles and corals. The Ghost Net Weavers want to raise awareness of this environmental issue by turning plastic rubbish into colorful pieces of recycled art. Great initiative!
www.ghostnets.com.au
KOORIOBOREE presented traditional dances and storytelling from the Koorie culture around Victoria. An amazing experience of aboriginal culture right in the centre of Melbourne - the land of their ancestors.
Cute Koori kids following the footsteps of their parents and ancestors.
Wednesday 5 February 2014
Sisters of Matemwe
The challenge in a project like this one, is that plans change and ideas develop, but that's also what makes it all so exciting.
SISTERS OF CRAFT started with a work scholar ship from the Swedish Cultural Foundation in Finland with a project trip to Tanzania to compare textile craft manship among Finnish and African women. But thanks to the people we have met and the opportunities that have arisen along the way, we realized that the project could be so much wider by including several cultures and women craft cooperatives. And we're still on that journey, letting our interest for woman craftmanship lead the project in the direction it's evolving. And by doing so the work becomes even more meaningful and exciting than we ever imagined.
Let's begin with Tanzania where it all started...
In the historical town 'Stown Town' in Zanzibar, Khamis Rashid and his Finnish wife Aino Tanhua run COLORS OF ZANZIBAR, a small and personal tourism company offering customized tours and holidays in Zanzibar and surroundings. They are working for sustainable and ecological tourism (low impact on the environment, high income to the locals). By offering ecological accommodation, cultural visits to villages, working with local guides, companies and organizations supporting sustainable tourism they want to make sure local communities get a fair share of the tourism business.
To help improve the Zanzibari womens' situation, Colors of Zanzibar started ZEDIO (Zanzibar Educational Improvement Organisation) and are now running a pilot project about women craftmanship in a small fishing village in northern Zanzibar. The aim of the project is to help a group of young women develop their craft products and skills in business and English. Working together with Farouque Abdela, one of the most well-known fashion designers in East Africa, the aim is to develop unique ukili-products as an alternative to the traditional woven baskets and interior products. And that's how we came in contact with the Sisters of Matemwe.
We had a two day inspiring workshop with the women, learning about their craft culture and ways of living as well as the basic skills of ukili-weaving. Weaving is a natural part of their daily lives and the skills are passed down from mother to daughter. Through their craft they get a small but significant income. The women, all in their 20's were muslim, and fasting at the time since it was Ramadan. This meant for example no food or drinks between sunrise and sunset, which was a challenge in it self in 30+ degrees. They were curious about us and our countries having many questions, like how come I was not married by the age of 36! By showing them images of Finnish craft, they got a glimpse into an other world, so completely different. Very proud they showed us their village and introduced us to their families. More than ever we wished we'd studied some swahili before we arrived. When we asked to take their portraits, they shyly posed in front of the camera and giggled when they saw themselves on the camera screen. In return we sent them a photo album showcasing their work and products, to use when marketing their craft.
The meeting with the women left a big impression, making us realize the challenges these women meet. But at the same time their dedication to the work and willingness to learn, gave us hope and inspiration to take our project further. The women are now learning English and business skills thanks to a group of Finnish volunteers. ZEDIO is open for volunteers within handicraft, design, and product marketing to participate in the project. More information about Colors of Zanzibar and Zedio can be found at http://www.colorsofzanzibar.com/.
Since a few months we're based in Darwin, northern Australia, where Dieter has been living on and of for the last 9 years, working as a nurse in the operating theatre along with pursuing his passion for photography. It's here that we've come in contact with Aboriginal and Balinese women craft cooperatives which we are working with right now. Currently we're in Melbourne participating in the Melbourne Indigenous Arts Festival - mainly showcasing aboriginal art and culture. But more about that to come...
SISTERS OF CRAFT started with a work scholar ship from the Swedish Cultural Foundation in Finland with a project trip to Tanzania to compare textile craft manship among Finnish and African women. But thanks to the people we have met and the opportunities that have arisen along the way, we realized that the project could be so much wider by including several cultures and women craft cooperatives. And we're still on that journey, letting our interest for woman craftmanship lead the project in the direction it's evolving. And by doing so the work becomes even more meaningful and exciting than we ever imagined.
Let's begin with Tanzania where it all started...
In the historical town 'Stown Town' in Zanzibar, Khamis Rashid and his Finnish wife Aino Tanhua run COLORS OF ZANZIBAR, a small and personal tourism company offering customized tours and holidays in Zanzibar and surroundings. They are working for sustainable and ecological tourism (low impact on the environment, high income to the locals). By offering ecological accommodation, cultural visits to villages, working with local guides, companies and organizations supporting sustainable tourism they want to make sure local communities get a fair share of the tourism business.
To help improve the Zanzibari womens' situation, Colors of Zanzibar started ZEDIO (Zanzibar Educational Improvement Organisation) and are now running a pilot project about women craftmanship in a small fishing village in northern Zanzibar. The aim of the project is to help a group of young women develop their craft products and skills in business and English. Working together with Farouque Abdela, one of the most well-known fashion designers in East Africa, the aim is to develop unique ukili-products as an alternative to the traditional woven baskets and interior products. And that's how we came in contact with the Sisters of Matemwe.
We had a two day inspiring workshop with the women, learning about their craft culture and ways of living as well as the basic skills of ukili-weaving. Weaving is a natural part of their daily lives and the skills are passed down from mother to daughter. Through their craft they get a small but significant income. The women, all in their 20's were muslim, and fasting at the time since it was Ramadan. This meant for example no food or drinks between sunrise and sunset, which was a challenge in it self in 30+ degrees. They were curious about us and our countries having many questions, like how come I was not married by the age of 36! By showing them images of Finnish craft, they got a glimpse into an other world, so completely different. Very proud they showed us their village and introduced us to their families. More than ever we wished we'd studied some swahili before we arrived. When we asked to take their portraits, they shyly posed in front of the camera and giggled when they saw themselves on the camera screen. In return we sent them a photo album showcasing their work and products, to use when marketing their craft.
The meeting with the women left a big impression, making us realize the challenges these women meet. But at the same time their dedication to the work and willingness to learn, gave us hope and inspiration to take our project further. The women are now learning English and business skills thanks to a group of Finnish volunteers. ZEDIO is open for volunteers within handicraft, design, and product marketing to participate in the project. More information about Colors of Zanzibar and Zedio can be found at http://www.colorsofzanzibar.com/.
Since a few months we're based in Darwin, northern Australia, where Dieter has been living on and of for the last 9 years, working as a nurse in the operating theatre along with pursuing his passion for photography. It's here that we've come in contact with Aboriginal and Balinese women craft cooperatives which we are working with right now. Currently we're in Melbourne participating in the Melbourne Indigenous Arts Festival - mainly showcasing aboriginal art and culture. But more about that to come...
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