children's jewelry

Blue and white complement red, yellow and green in a colorful scarf from Rachel Armah. Woven by hand, traditional West African kente cloth depicts a design known as Akyem, or "shield." It's symbolism comes from an Akan proverb and represents bravery, heroic deeds and glorious accomplishment. Its message is that people's good deeds live after them.

Each strip of kente cloth requires considerable effort, and the looms are worked with both hands and feet. Each color has its own meanings in Asante culture. Green is fertility and new harvest, gold is royalty, black is strength, aging and spirituality, and white is purity.

Blue and white complement red, yellow and green in a colorful scarf from Rachel Armah. Woven by hand, traditional West African kente cloth depicts a design known as Akyem, or "shield." It's symbolism comes from an Akan proverb and represents bravery, heroic deeds and glorious accomplishment. Its message is that people's good deeds live after them.

Each strip of kente cloth requires considerable effort, and the looms are worked with both hands and feet. Each color has its own meanings in Asante culture. Green is fertility and new harvest, gold is royalty, black is strength, aging and spirituality, and white is purity.

Java's Wahyu Sulistiani designs a versatile travel set that includes a jewelry roll, a cosmetics bag and a toiletry bag. Working with batik techniques on cotton, Sulistiani selects the parang sekar pisang motif in a palette of red, blue, green and cream hues. The parang sekar pisang blends two legendary motifs, the parang or dagger, once reserved for Javanese sultans, and the sekar pisang or banana flower.

The jewelry roll is decorated with tassels; the cosmetics bag features two pockets, and the toiletries bag has one.