Handmade jewellery - Import export

Bertha Pakarae started off as a saleslady for several shops, and when her employer returned to Germany she had the opportunity to start her own business, Hunotjari. She has a wide range of bespoke babies ‘clothing made in unusual funky African fabrics, as well as ladies’ skirts, tops and handbags. Every single item is hand made with loads of love and attention to detail and designed and produced right here in Windhoek, Namibia. In addition to African clothing, Hunotjari stocks hand-made jewellery from Tameka and Heike Lukaschik, two renowned Namibian jewellers.

In 2003, American citizen Valerie Garber started an NGO, Work of Our Hands, in Five Rand Kamp, an informal settlement of Okahandja, Namibia. It currently supports 13 formerly disadvantaged women with skills transfer and craft education. The women are taught the art of making jewellery using wire and beads; and also crocheting wire to make attractive, durable adornments for the wrist and the neckline, in colours and hues compatible with the most sophisticated of wardrobes. The ceramic beads used to make the jewellery, earrings in particular, are also handmade by the women of the project making every item a unique piece of art. Each handmade item of jewellery is accompanied by the name and a small photograph of its creator, adding dimension to the beautiful items. The income generated by sales of the jewellery benefits the disadvantaged women involved in the project, to purchase raw materials, pay rents and sales staff.

Namibia Italy Gems was founded by Sergio Chiesa, specializing in design and cutting of exotic pieces of handmade jewellery. Initially the company started with Makalani palm nuts sculpted into the iconic ladybirds, later moving on to cutting and polishing Namibian gem stones. Sergio mainly employs young and needy men and women, vulnerable unemployed youth and teach them to create intricate designs with Makalani jewellery and gem stones.

Grit Bottcher, a master goldsmith, started Ekipa Gold Design a little more than thirteen years ago. The designs found at her stall are very intriguing styles, combinations and compositions of handmade jewellery pieces, indicative of a particular aesthetic which has proved tremendously popular and enduringly stylish. Grit is a perfectionist and this quality manifests itself in the perfect geometry and smoothness of many of the jewellery pieces. Her particular aesthetic also lends itself to extremes and opposites: a sensuality incorporating the tactile and soft in material, combined with the cold hardness of silver, bronze, aluminium and gold. Her love for all things naturally Namibian lies at the core of every piece of jewellery, for example an enticing selection of fur-rings, springbok and Nguni hide fur-pendants, ostrich-shell pendants, seeds and recycled glass beads all set in either silver, aluminium or gold make for eye-catching, interesting jewellery with a fine.

At Rosa Marukuavi Kahuna’s stall visitors will find a provocative collection of eco-friendly, low-cost jewellery handmade from natural materials such as glass beads, calabash, bone, horn, seeds, even recycled paper. Rosa was taught how to make ear, neck and arm/wrist adornments by the previous owner. She now manages and stocks the stall herself, expressing her fine sensitivity for the diverse preferences of customers who desire a combination of contemporary and rural traditional designs. Hand-painted leather key-rings, wooden and ostrich shell hairclips, handmade greeting cards and an assortment of wire-craft are also available. Rosa also supports home-crafters by purchasing selected items from them she knows will suit her particular group of customers, and in so doing, has stimulated a small, mutually beneficial eco-system around her stall.