Baba Tree Basket Co. master weaver, Mary Anaba sits with one of her extraordinary Yoomelingah Yure creations in Bolgatanga, Ghana.(As featured in SHIBUI Issue 9.) Photo courtesy Baba Tree Basket Co.
SLOW MADE WONDERS OF THE WORLD*
*** NOMINATIONS OPEN ***
CELEBRATING INDIGENOUS WISDOMS AND GENERATIONS-OLD CRAFTSMANSHIP WITH CULTURAL MASTERS OF OUR TIMES. SHIBUI & CO. IS CURATING A BEAUTIFULLY-CRAFTED PUBLICATION. IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO NOMINATE YOUR FAVOURITE SLOW MADE WONDER, PLEASE CLICK BELOW.
* SHIBUI & CO. 'SLOW MADE WONDERS OF THE WORLD' PUBLICATION DATE TO BE ANNOUNCED.
Style masters Baba Tree Basket Co. have been preserving the basket-weaving culture of the Gurunsi people in Bolgatanga in Ghana for over 15 years, and remain committed to creating job sustainability with fair and meaningful work opportunities for the community. They work closely with over 250 artisans, each trained by elders with craftsmanship skills handled with honour over generations. We love these baskets and easily rank them into our top ten ‘Slow Made Wonders of the World*.
Photo: The extraordinary Tua Tia baskets designed after the company's namesake, Baba Tree (or Baobab tree). Muses Isha Napari and Flavia Adongo; Photographer Francis Kokoroko; Styling Bettina McILwraith.
* SHIBUI & Co. 'Slow made wonders of the World' curation is underway. (Click through for details.)
With over 17,000 tropical islands to call home, Indonesia is a cultural fascination. From batik to betel nuts and every island culture in between, this region has some of the world's poorest places but so rich with traditions.
Threads of Life work directly with more than 35 artisan groups on islands from Kalimantan to Timor, to help empower and preserve ancient cultures unique to this great archipelago.
From a corporate-chasing, career girl in America, to a not-for-profit organisation founder in third world Cambodia, Kate Davis of Collective Humanity has cultivated everything in her power to inspire fair-trade equality for traditional communities in Cambodia.
Kate's journey is an honest perspective that reminds us that humanity can be achieved with collective unity and kindness.
If you’ve been to Bali you will be familiar with the local craftsmanship and beauty of Canang Saris sprinkled all over the island, as daily offerings for the Gods that have been handmade for generations. This traditional connection to Mother Nature and the spiritual world through ceremony of gratitude is the Bali way…
Natural, sustainable and incredible… the artisan team at Make a Scene! in Bali combine traditional craftsmanship with wild imagination to create theatrical designs set to take the world stage, without being wasteful. Meet the talented, team creating all the magic behind the Island’s larger-than-life scenes…
A very devoted team of artisans have picked up their brushes to hand-paint our beautiful, old world with the most delicate care and finest attention to detail.
Bellerby & Co. Globemakersare located in London, but their bespoke artwork is being sought after all over the world.
From ancient mythology to modern times, every globe is custom-crafted to capture a sentimental story that will spin in time with it's beholder, for generations to come.
Cusco is tucked far from reach and still hums with precious existence from the ancient world. There is no doubt that the global pandemic has been a great test of survival for modern times. So how are these remote communities surviving right now? We reached out to Sarah Confer, the Director at Threads of Peru.
IMAGE: Melchor stands on the hills surrounding his home in remote Pitukiska. He and his wife do most of the natural dyeing for Threads of Peru.Photo by Eric Mindling.
Collaborating on a daily basis with artisan women communities in Ghana and Rwanda is the not-for-profit guiding force behind Indego Africa.
2020 was the year of testing resilience globally, making the collective relationships to support Indigenous cultures more urgent. This partnership has made the difference. Restoring workflow, artisan morale and inspiring more joy to the world.
A country of contradiction… hard-working, extraordinary, broke, yet rich with an opulent past, fascinating influence of cultures and great pride for traditional crafts… Romania!
SHIBUI & Co. will publish a 'slow made’ story too, but for now we reminisce with slow made memories with Romanian-born and educated graphic artist Oana Befort, who illustrates with beautiful reflection, Romanian folk culture and happy childhood moments. Now based in the USA with her family, Oana’s artwork is in high demand.
Paris. London. New York. These locations are synonymous with fashion. But there’s another location emerging, all wild with fresh colour and traditional style… hello Ghana!
To introduce our very first artisan brand to SHIBUI store* we reached out to the owner and creative director behind AAKS, Akosua Afriyie-Kumi. Her vibrant ambition has manifested into a world-class accessories brand, and although 2020 started in a great cloud of uncertainty, the global wave of ‘black lives matter’ lifted spirits and Akosua’s team in Ghana have since been busy slow-making AAKS beautiful bags to keep up with the exciting new demand.
* We only support slow, fair, natural and traditional artisan brands.
‘Tri Hita Karana: Harmony among people. Harmony with nature. Harmony with God.”
Fondly known for her stunning, natural beauty, peaceful allure and spiritual charms, Bali is the golden girl of slow world destinations by far. Locals welcome visitors with open hearts, joyful humour and hospitality so genuine that leaving Bali breaks hearts. She is rich in traditions and full of happy-go-lucky vibes. Just don’t step on a Canang Sari.
Woodblock printing in India is an old-world trade that still produces mile after mile of beautiful fabrics that could easily wrap the world!
Jeremy Fritzhand is the founder behind Studio Bagru in Rajasthan. He's been collaborating with these traditional artisans for years and is on a mission to help protect and empower these hard-working communities, so that their ancestral craftsmanship never fades. He takes us through the process of this 4000-year-old tradition… one manual woodblock print at a time.
Photo: Namdev Krishi Farm communal drying space in Bagru, India. Photo by Studio Bagru.
In a remote part of the world is a vibrant and culturally thriving community of textile artisans. Although they inhabit a landscape that is a gentle palette of pastel hues, their handcrafted designs are some of the most colourful in the world. Meet the artisans from Cusco, Peru. This community is so unique and invaluable for world heritage interests and the textile industry, Threads of Peru is doing everything to help preserve this long-standing traditional community.
PHOTO Megan Revell. Artisan weaver Demesia Sinchi Echame partners with Threads of Peru.
To honour Mother Earth every day, we are delighted to share earthscape artist Andres Amador’s tranquil creations as ‘mind over matter’ treasures crafted, but not taken, from Mother Nature for your pleasure. Artwork that can never be bought, only slow-made in rhythm with our precious planet Earth. Now that’s something to learn from.
Designed in New York City and hand-made with love from the other side of the globe, these artisans of Rwanda and Ghana are working hand-in-hand with the team at Indego Africa to create a beautiful lifestyle range that in return is helping to sustain their artisan communities, culture and traditional craftsmanship.
Where there is skill there is a way. Australian textile artist Sky Carter unravels for us, her colourful love affair with shagadellic textures baby, yeah.
Meet Akosua Afriyie-Kumi, the gorgeous designer behind fashion label AAKS. She’s taking generations-old weaving tradition from her home country of Ghana, to the fashion world in an explosion of colour, style and authenticity.
We spoke to her about her love of slowmade-by-hand fashion and Ghana … and how she’s combined both loves to create an authentic and loveable brand that stands tall in the modern retail world.
Jake James specialises in architectural and contemporary modern-design forged ironwork, but he knows that everytime he places a piece of steel into an intense flame, he is stepping back into history which is several thousands of years old.
An Englishman now living in Canada, Jake has two decades of award-winning work under his belt, and crafts forged metal not just into a finished product, but into a sensory experience.
As days and nights grow cooler in the Southern Hemisphere, our northern conterparts awake to the hope of spring. From his attic window in Norway, woodworker Andreas Soderlund watches snow melt into sunshine, and pieces of timber turn into intricately carved pieces of art.
Think Elizabethan England… a generation of social hierarchy climbing high on the romance of fresh poetry, literature and music prolific to its time. But wherefore art thou exquisite Tudor style fashion now?
Photo by Royal Shakespeare Company. (Behind the scenes in the Costume Workshop.)
Australian fibre artist Tammy Kanat lets colour, shape and mood dictate her fabulous hand-woven pieces. After 12 years as a jewellery designer, Tammy fell in love with art at the opposite end of the size spectrum and now her wall art has made its way around the world.
