THE RANGE
Welcome to the African Collection, a unique range of African beaded jewellery. Africa has long been renowned for its colourful beaded jewellery and beadwork and now you can purchase African earrings, necklaces and bracelets right here in Australia. The African Collection is proud to bring inspiring African jewellery and beaded jewellery into the homes and lives of Australians. All of our African beads and beaded jewellery reflect the passion, vibrancy and excitement of this truly great continent.
When you purchase one of the unique pieces of African beaded jewellery from our collection you directly help communities in South Africa and Kenya. Beadwork creates employment for many women and a greater independence for their families. More informally, African bead workshops provide women in these communities with the opportunity to discuss their social expectations, the value of education, family planning and AIDS prevention.
African Beads & African Jewellery
The African Collection is made up of African beads and African jewellery inspired by the beauty and magic of Africa. While not ethnic, the basis of our beaded jewellery from Africa brings together ancient African traditions and contemporary fashion. The styles of our African jewellery range from elegant to funky and you’ll find beads of every conceivable shape and colour made from ceramics, glass, wood, shell, metal and even recycled paper!
Beaded Jewellery Africa Earrings, Bracelet, Necklace
The African Collection is proud to introduce beaded jewellery from African designers such as Jane Bedford, Kazuri, Sulo and the Butterfly range. Many of the African jewellery pieces found on our website can be tailor made to suit your individual requirements. Looking for African jewellery in a certain colour, an African necklace or African bracelet? We’ll do our best to source them and create a piece of African jewellery you won’t find anywhere else in the world. Our range of African beaded jewellery includes African earrings and African necklaces andbracelets made or purchased from Kenya and South Africa , and we’re continually expanding our suppliers throughout Africa.
In addition, The Company pays a percentage of its net profit to support the following African animal conservation and rehabilitation projects:
- The Cape Leopard Trust – South Africa
- Chimfunshi Chimpanzee Orphanage – Zambia
Our Collection
A wide range of styles inspired by the beauty and magic of Africa. The Collection has over 700 pieces to choose from.
While not ethnic, the basis of the collection marries African traditions with contemporary fashion. The styles range from elegant to funky.
The jewellery uses almost every conceivable colour, bead type and shape including ceramics, glass, wood, shell, metal and even recycled paper.
Many pieces can be tailor made to suit you and either the colour, style or length of the piece altered to suit. Naturally any specialised requests will require a little time to prepare.
Prices are very reasonable – naturally a little higher for designer pieces.
The work and beauty of the Jane Bedford range is exquisite, the Butterfly Range offers some semi precious stones, Sulo almost every colour imaginable with some delightful combinations. The Hanan Yanny range is the funky one. Amaso pieces are all hand made even the beads. The quality and style of Kuzuri is first rate and again all hand made including the beads.
Ninety-five per cent of the range is made/purchased in Africa, coming from South Africa and Kenya and is forever expanding.
I hope you enjoy the collection as much as I have enjoyed putting it together.
The designer range includes:
Jane Bedford
Jane has taken the craft of Zulu beadwork to new levels, combining a traditional skill with contemporary designs to create jewellery which delight the senses with their richness and colour. Thie Bedford range has also been sold in Harrods, London.
Butterfly Beads
Handmade jewellery which has a contemporary African style ,each piece has its own characteristics. A one women operation based in Johannesburg.
Kazuri
Kazuri, means small and beautiful in Swahili. Kazuri’s pieces are hand made ( both the beads and the jewellery), hand-painted ceramic jewellery which are the result of more than 31 years of experience. Beautiful work of quality made in Nairobi, Kenya. Again this is an empowerment project and by buying a piece from the Kazuri range you have contributed to the pride of the craftswomen and the welfare of their families. Kazuri is a member of the World Fair Trade Organization (WFTO)
Sulo
Cape Town based very wearable hand made pieces in some wonderful colour combinations – very elegant.
Hanan Yanny
A range of innovative pieces made from paper, often from recycled magazines and wrapping paper. The jewellery is light to wear yet durable. Each bead is hand rolled, glued and triple varnished. This is a labour intensive process employing and empowering women from disadvantaged backgrounds. Hanan Yanny Jewellery and Craft has become known for its innovative design and manufacture using a diverse range of materials. The Paper range has been on sale at the Museum of Decorative Arts in the Louvre in Paris, at the George Pompidou Centre for Arts and Culture in Paris and at the South African Crafts Council in Johannesburg. It was also selected to take part in the Craft Showcase at the World Summit for Sustainable Development in Johannesburg in 2002. The Craftswomen work from home, supporting and receiving support from their families. The skills they develop by organising work, meeting deadlines, having supervisory responsibilities give them confidence to develop further in many other areas of life.
Amaso
A modern range of handmade African glass beads and jewellery ,”Amaso” which is the Xhosa word for jewellery. The projects (totally owned by the rural women) have been set up in various areas throughout South Africa to manufacture unique handmade beads and jewellery : combining style with excellent design and giving the members of these communities the opportunity to create a better life for themselves and their children.
African Art
They have built a reputation for supplying specialized, high quality products hand crafted products. Every purchase made from this supplier provides a sustainable income for more than 1 000 crafters supported by the Centre. This handmade beaded jewellery is made in South Africa. It is based on traditional Zulu beadwork that is transformed into contemporary fashionable jewellery.
African Earth
This jewellery is influenced by the cosmopolitan stream of tourists into the area so, therefore, does not conform to any one particular culture. The crafters/beaders adapt and create a vibrant mix from a variety of materials.
The supplier is committed to uplifting African craftsmen and women, some of whom lack basic formal education (especially the case in rural areas). By supporting these artisans African Earth creates sustainable employment which, in turn, also supports their families.
African Earth sources products from craft projects all over South Africa and other African countries. They only buy direct from the artists and crafters, always adhering to the Fair Trade ethos of paying fair and sustainable prices.
Mambu
MAMBU is a unique southern African company of artists and craftsmen from Zimbabwe, Malawi, Mozambique and Lesotho.
“Mambu”, from Kalimambu, means “thank you” in Shangane, which is a widely spoken language in southern Africa.
Founded as a husband and wife collaboration by Francoise de Oliveira and Dominic McCabe, who have fine arts and commercial backgrounds. This company now comprises a solid and dedicated team of 29 craftsmen.
The strength of this team is in the ability to visualise the ostrich egg as having the potential to become unique sculpted pieces of jewelry that enhance the look and feel of the individual who wears it.
The company’s ethics have enabled MAMBU DESIGN and CONTIGO (German distributors and a member of the Fair Trade Group) to establish a strong working relationship in successfully marketing and distributing this unique product.
Tintsaba
With a passion for excellence and respect for the earth, the remarkable women of Tintsaba create beautiful handmade products centered on the use of sisal, a sustainable natural fibre that grows wild in Swaziland. Their signature collection represents the finest woven sisal baskets plus refined sisal and silver jewelry, and is created by Tintsaba’s most experienced master weavers and silversmiths. The Handcraft collection allows their crafters to build their skills and develop their creativity in designing a range that includes jewelry.
uSISi
This supplier is a dynamic craft business passionate about creating employment.
It is a member of the World Fair Trade Organization (WFTO) and implements its 10 principles. This in turn has improved work practices and the general organizational structure. Usisi will soon become a full member of WFTO.
They have made Scoobie Wire there trademark. From which this a contemporary range of jewelry has been developed.
Scoobie wire, or “plastic coated wire”, is an integral part of the southern African craft scene. The miners who emigrated from the rural areas to the towns could all do grass weaving and platting. They started transferring these skills to materials that they could find around the mines, such as electrical wires and, later, telephone wires. These are skills that are owned by the South African people. In almost every community there are men and women who can work with Scoobie wire.
This supplier is a dynamic craft business passionate about creating employment.
It is a member of the World Fair Trade Organization (WFTO) and implements its 10 principles. This in turn has improved work practices and the general organizational structure. Usisi will soon become a full member of WFTO.
Ilala
The founders of Ilala Weavers became interested in Zulu handcrafts after seeing a `pension pay out day’. On these days the local community set up markets to sell their handcrafts and home produce amongst each other. There were specialist crafters, such as shield makers, assegai makers, basket weavers, potters and wood carvers (to name but a few). However, because of their isolation, they had no formal outlets for their work.
Their original vision was to help this very grass roots community to earn a living `with their hands’. This was particularly so for the women, many of whom were left at home to fend for their children while their husbands were living and working in the cities and mines.
Soon Zulu crafters from other areas were providing traditional Zulu crafts, from old beadwork and wood carvings to beautiful baskets woven from the Ilala Palm, which abounds in the area.