handmade planters

Handmade of cotton and faux leather, this planner will bring you to your very own writer's Eden. The artisans at Bukuku create the planner, featuring a deep blue color with traditional batik motifs. Inside, the planner features 50 ruled cotton pages held secure by steel rings that open. The inside of the planner's cover features three slots for storing business cards.

From Arti Sharma in India comes this handmade journal perfect for use as a sketchbook, diary, or organizational planner. The journal is assembled using dark brown leather on the spine and 52 pages of unlined handmade paper; pretty blue climbing vines grace both the front and back covers.

Employing Talavera techniques that date back to the 16th century, Isabelle Collins in Mexico creates this beautiful flower pot. The planter features an elaborate motif of flowers and flourishes in cobalt blue on off-white. "I seek to continue promoting this wonderful art, preserving its artisanal elaboration techniques," says the artisan.

Isabelle Collins in Mexico employs Talavera techniques that date back to the 16th century to create this beautiful flower pot. The planter features a swan motif accompanied by flourishes, scales and flowers, all in cool blue shades on off-white. "I seek to continue promoting this wonderful art, preserving its artisanal elaboration techniques," says the artisan.

Originated by the Akan peoples of Ghana, colorful kente cloth is the best-known of all African textiles. Kente is woven by hand in strips, which is how it came by its name (kente means "basket" in the Ashanti dialect). Ghana's Rachel Armah creates this colorful cotton blend scarf in cheerful shades of blue, pink and cream. The scarf's width allows it to double as a shawl.

In kente cloth, each color has a symbolic meaning: black symbolizes maturation and intensified spiritual energy; blue signifies peacefulness, harmony and love; green symbolizes vegetation, planting, harvesting, growth, and spiritual renewal; gold represents royalty, wealth, high status, glory, and spiritual purity; grey is for healing and cleansing rituals; maroon signifies the color of mother earth, associated with healing; pink and purple are associated with the female essence and female aspects of life; red symbolizes political and spiritual moods, bloodshed, sacrificial rites and death; silver is associated with the moon and represents serenity, purity, and joy; white is for purification, sanctification rites and festive occasions; and yellow represents preciousness, royalty, wealth, fertility, and beauty.