handcrafted

Madam Adwoa shares her mother's teachings with the extraordinary design of this kente cloth. The cotton blend fabric is woven on a traditional loom in blue, red, yellow, black, white, and green. Each strip of kente cloth requires considerable effort, and the looms are worked with both hands and feet. Madam Adwoa calls her design "Makomaso Adeae," which in Akan means "My Heart's Desire."

Meaning "basket", kente features interwoven strips of cloth, and was once reserved for the sole use of kings. It is a textile tradition of the Akan people, who convey meaning and symbolism to each kente cloth. Green is associated with fertility and new harvest, yellow with royalty, and black with strength, aging and spirituality. White is associated with purity, red with politics and spirituality, and blue is used in a variety of ways to symbolize spiritual sanctity, fortune, peacefulness and love.

Ghana's Emmanuel Atiemoh Yeboah puts all his creativity into stunning creations featuring traditional motifs of his beloved land. This cotton wall art features a colourful scene of a man playing the drums. Each detail is carefully made with oil and batik paints, adding a ceiba wood frame for displaying this piece of art in all its glory.

Handcrafted of cotton with a traditional kente print, this striking backpack will make an excellent companion on your journeys. Eva Asantewa Amakye of Ghana presents this bag, which is crafted by local artisans. Two exterior pockets on the sides open with snaps, and a third exterior pocket on the flap opens with a zipper. The bag's flap opens with a tuck-lock clasp to reveal a cotton sateen lining.

The intricate texture in this handsome kente cloth shawl is inspired by beach pebbles. Designed by a fisherman around 1898, its name means "pebbles of the shore are hard to crack." The tiny blocks of pattern represent the thoughts of that ancestral craftsman. Handcrafted by the Gobah Tengey-Seddoh Family, this extraordinary double weave textile is one of the most difficult patterns to achieve. These expert weavers use traditional looms and a cotton blend.

Each strip requires considerable effort, and the looms are worked with both hands and feet. Strips are generally three to four inches wide and seven to ten feet long, and the length of time it takes to complete one strip varies by the complexity of the chosen pattern. The simplest use mostly vertical, or warp patterns, and an experienced weaver can make several of those in one day. But patterns with nearly all weft (horizontal thread) patterns, where the warp design is hardly visible, can take up to four days to complete an individual strip. Each color has its own meanings in Asante culture. Green is fertility and new harvest, gold is royalty, black is strength, aging, and spirituality, while white is purity. The patterns themselves are carefully chosen symbols, which a master weaver develops and names, often to honor people, historical events, or proverbs.

Designed by Ghana's Deborah Osei Boakye, this delightful bow tie celebrates traditional African handicrafts. Local artisans hand-weave cotton kente cloth in vibrant colors, sewn to make this striking bow tie. An elastic strap circles the neck, so this accessory does not have to be tied.