For centuries South Africa's Zulu people have been famous for the sturdy and beautiful baskets they weave from grasses and palm leaf. The weaving was so tight that the best ukhamba baskets were actually used to store beer! Today these baskets are still woven in the countryside, but the Zulus living in urban area have invented a new kind of basket, the imbenge basket woven entirely of recycled telephone wire. The baskets are as bright and colorful as the telephone wire, and very sturdy. They are also completely washable! In recent years people in craft cooperatives in the the neighboring nation of Zimbabwe have developed their own distinct style of telephone wire basket, which we are also offering here. These baskets are all one-of-a-kind, and our inventory is constantly changing.
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Our one-of-a-kind Kuba pillows use the bold geometries and rich textures of vintage hand-woven raffia cloth from the Kuba people of the Congo. Several kinds of raffia cloth are employed in these unique pillows. Flat-weave cloth is woven of fibers from the raffia-palm leaves. Left in its natural color or dyed with organic red, brown and ochre dyes, it is sewn into applique and reverse-applique, traditionally used in long wrap-around dancing skirts. The flat-weave fabric may also be tie-dyed, embroidered or decorated with cowry shells. But certainly the most lavish technique is the "Shoowa velvet", small panels of flat-weave fabric which are over-woven with a raffia fiber pile cut in a manner similar to an oriental pile rug. Geometric patterns are formed by outlining areas of pile of different colors with flat-weave emroidery. The finest Shoowa velvet panels are prized by textile collectors the world over.
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For centuries South Africa's Zulu people have been famous for the sturdy and beautiful baskets they weave from grasses and palm leaf. The weaving was so tight that the best ukhamba baskets were actually used to store beer! Today these baskets are still woven in the countryside, but the Zulus living in urban area have invented a new kind of basket, the imbenge basket woven entirely of recycled telephone wire. The baskets are as bright and colorful as the telephone wire, and very sturdy. They are also completely washable! In recent years people in craft cooperatives in the the neighboring nation of Zimbabwe have developed their own distinct style of telephone wire basket, which we are also offering here. These baskets are all one-of-a-kind, and our inventory is constantly changing.
tags:
For centuries South Africa's Zulu people have been famous for the sturdy and beautiful baskets they weave from grasses and palm leaf. The weaving was so tight that the best ukhamba baskets were actually used to store beer! Today these baskets are still woven in the countryside, but the Zulus living in urban area have invented a new kind of basket, the imbenge basket woven entirely of recycled telephone wire. The baskets are as bright and colorful as the telephone wire, and very sturdy. They are also completely washable! In recent years people in craft cooperatives in the the neighboring nation of Zimbabwe have developed their own distinct style of telephone wire basket, which we are also offering here. These baskets are all one-of-a-kind, and our inventory is constantly changing.
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