Arts & Crafts Archives - Page 2 of 13

Bellafricana published in Arts & Crafts, Home & Living November 17, 2022

5 Reasons You Need Throw pillows

Throw pillows are typically used on sofas or armchairs, but they are also frequently used on beds, day beds, and floors. A throw pillow serves as an aesthetic as well as a functional purpose. Decorative pillows are frequently used to tie in color accents within a room, often drawing on drapes, walls, or area rugs. They can also be used to create a more casual atmosphere by appearing to be thrown onto a piece of furniture. Throw pillows can provide back, neck, and head support from a functional standpoint.

Throw pillows, despite their small size, can have a significant impact on any room they are placed in. If you’re unfamiliar with these decorative pillows, you’re probably wondering what makes them superior to the average pillow you sleep on. Let me run you through 5 reasons you need a throwpillow for your space.

Decorative piece

Lot of throw pillow designers have been able to embellish their throw pillows with lovely and captivating stories and crafts. No more would you have boring pieces of pillows thrown around the house. Throw pillows now serve as accent pieces to several spaces. This throw pillow crafted by bosh designs tells a simple story of the western part of Nigeria, precisely Lagos, as it captures captivating transportation system predominant around that environment. if you need your home to tell story. Then this bosh designs throw pillow is a good for.

2. Create Unison

Throw pillows are best ways of creating unison in our spaces. Most throw pillows match up with the drapes, stools, sofas and even wall decorations. This creates beauty and glamour in our spaces and catch easily appeal to the eye. This pillow is beautifully decorated by Apoti Lagos and it adds extra elegance to our spaces.

3. Make A Statement

Decorative throw pillows can make a dramatic statement in some cases. For instance, the pillows can contrast with the sofa or couch and they can bring a touch of color to this part of the room while also making the whole space look and feel more comfortable. Throw pillows create illusions and flamboyance around the home. It can never be looked away. Say no to boring spaces, add some taste and class with these pillow talk pillows.

Also Read: 5 Elegant African-Inspired Home Decor

4. Comfort

Pillows, first and foremost, should provide comfort to you and any guests you have over. Setting up the pillows on a chair, couch, or bed allows you to relax in a comfortable position. Anyone who has slept on the couch without a pillow knows how uncomfortable it can be. You can avoid falling asleep on the couch and waking up with a kink in your neck if you have a throw pillow nearby.

Throw pillows also make long periods of sitting on the couch or watching TV more comfortable. Using a pillow while doing any number of activities on the couch, such as playing video games and watching TV, will help you avoid putting unhealthy substances on your body. This is also very useful for long travels as well.

5. Visual Attraction

Throw pillows can be a huge help when it comes to prioritizing the visual appeal of a room. This is because throw pillows are a great way to match the color, texture, or style of nearby accessories like drapes. Extending factors like color and texture across multiple areas of a room can help you tie everything together visually. Of course, you don’t want to repeat those elements too often, which is why using them in small touches like throw pillows is ideal.

The advantages of using throw pillows boil down to their ability to significantly improve the comfort and visual appeal of a room, provided you take the time to purchase the right set for the room you’re designing. Throw pillows can be more than just an amenity with the right attention to detail—they can be an important part of your interior design. Bosh designs always does it real good in creating visualling appealing pillows.

Conclusion

Every time you think of adding some asthestics to your home consider adding a touch of throw pillow. And if you are wondering where to shop for your beautiful, click here to get your beautiful throwpillows.

Bellafricana published in Arts & Crafts, Furnitures, Gift Items, Home & Living September 6, 2022

6 Beautiful Modern Craft Ideas

Adinkra florals footstool - 6 inches sold on bellafricana marketplace

Craft has been in existence for over centuries, and has no intention of going into extinction. Modern Craft is here to stay and has been handed over to us since our forefather’s days, has been revamped, renewed, and reshaped to fit our technological world.

Places like Egypt, Babylon, and other ancient cities are well known to be Pioneers of Craftsmanship. The word craft itself signifies strength and skills, skill in planning, making, and execution.

Modern craft has evolved over the years as lot of people are diving into it to make honest living. Here is a list of 6 Beautiful Modern Craft ideas that we use in our everyday life.

1. Tissue Box

This tissue box isn’t just the conventional one that uses papers. This is a woven Hyacinth tissue box made from waste fibre and recycled tyres. Yes, remember I said craft is revamped, reused and reshaped. Apart from the innovation that comes with this, its adds glamour, beauty and color to any space. Most people use it as well in their cars. This craft idea is designed by Mitimeth, and this brand has been known for being exceptional in repurposing waste items into usable form.

2. Hand Woven Bags

Another wonder our craft making is this raffia woven bag. well, this really no surprise at all to the modern craft, since it was actually borrowed way back, it would be crafted into woven hunter’s bag even storage bags for the house. it has be refurbished to serve as outting bags, party bags and even official bags. However, this elegant handmade bag is crafted by Yasmin crafts and its is indeed a beautiful piece to add to your wardrobe.

3. Cushion Box

This beautiful cushion box is a great piece to have in any space. It can also serve as a storage basket and a corner stool. This box is well sequenced with wonderful patterns and covered up with a touch of African Fabric. Unlike the traditional boxes that looked boring, this box adds accent and edge to any space it finds itself. This is the great mind of Apoti Lagos. A furniture design company.

4. Woven Wall Clock

Well modern craft is taking its place in interior decoration. Most especially, public spaces such as a hospitality centre, resort and offices, are now fine tuning their interior decoration using African talented Arts designs. This wall clock here is another wonder of the well put together craft by Mitimeth. Craft has been infused to several items and this makes any space catchy, grabs attention and adds finesse.

5. Resin Tables

If you have never watched how a resin table is made, I would Truly advise you do. The process is alluring and fun to watch. From a dead, wretched wood that should have been disposed, to this masterpiece you see here. Resin table are wonderful craft pieces that has been remade with earthy colors. The designs add a bit of natural feel and ectasy. Apoti Lagos using her resin craft to add glam in any space.

6. Laundry Basket

One fantastic thing about this modern craft laundry Basket is its well patterned and synchronized wood work. This design has a way of adding statement and flow to this piece of furniture. No longer will you have to put up clutter in easy to wear laundry basket, but you can hide it in the nice and pleasantly looking basket. Yasmin Crafts had wonderfully craft this with the intentions of storing in a more detailed and still put together way.

CONCLUSION

Craft has metamorphosed greatly over the years. As beauty, elegance and poise has been added to style up the usually boring and traditional arts we were left with. Craft has gone interior decoration, fashion, music etc. These 6 Beautiful Modern Craft Ideas, are the one’s that are usable on a daily and are common to find. To get more on modern craft click here.

Bellafricana published in Arts & Crafts, bellafricana, Fashion, Furnitures, Gift Items, August 9, 2022

6 Best Online marketplaces for handmade Items

Handmade items are the most valuable items on the market. However, unless you are knocking on the marketplaces for handmade items, selling your handmade goods in any market place can be difficult. This is why you should choose a marketplace that allows you to reach out to more people who are looking for your product.

Unless you find yourself in the most efficient and effective platforms, finding a possible customer community that wants to buy handmade goods can be difficult. Merchants that specialize in selling handcrafted items, on the other hand, don’t have to worry as much because there are specialist platforms for doing so.

If you wish to expand your merchant-reach ship’s to the widest possible audience, you might consider switching to apt marketplaces that help you get your potential reach.

Here is a list of 5 best online marketplace for handmade items within and outside Africa in no particular order:

1. Etsy:

Etsy is one of the most well-known markets for handcrafted goods, allowing artisans and artists to launch a thriving business. This platform allows you to sell all of your handcrafted items online. Etsy allows you to sell vintage items, handcrafted crafts, and other craft-related products, and it has a vast client base.

With a free account on Etsy, you may effortlessly sell your items. You simply have to pay a modest amount of fees for listing (about $0.02) and a specific proportion of 5 for each transaction you make on this platform. Furthermore, the site allows you to sell products across all categories. On Etsy, the community is very active and efficient.

Etsy Nigeria – Shop for handmade, vintage, custom, and unique gifts for everyone

2. Amazon:

Amazon provides an excellent opportunity for all merchants. This is why they bring their Handmade store, which is capable of selling in a huge market. One can effortlessly sell all of your handcrafted items on Amazon’s Handmade store. Furthermore, Amazon provides a wealth of information about what and how you can add to your account when it is approved. The platform, combined with the Artisan profile that comes with a custom URL, makes it easier for your products to find a better place in the market. This will make it easier for people to locate your store. For convenience, you can use Amazon’s Fulfillment service to ship your products.

3. Bellafricana Marketplace:

This from my research so far, this is one of the biggest E-Commerce platform, Bellafricana Marketplace is set to promote African made products while trading them to the world. With the unquestionably talents, skills, creativity and yearning for the African experience, Bellafricana Marketplace, is the buffer to ensure our partners and products are of global standard and experience. We pride ourselves as being the one stop destination for a lot of hand-made, niche based African brands with top quality and at best prices. Their services include top notch shopper experience, African-made products at affordable prices, seamless retail processes and outstanding customer support system, and they continue to serve locally based Africa businesses with the intention to ensure growth of these businesses and accommodate more. It’s not just a marketplace but a one-stop marketplace for the continent and growing businesses.

Home – Bellafricana Marketplace (bellafricanashop.com)

4. Afrikrea:

The key value proposition for Afrikrea is that it serves as a partner to both micro-retailers and their clients. One of the key barriers that is impeding a greater proliferation of e-commerce in Africa is the issue around accepting payments and reliable shipment and delivery methods. Afrikrea has transformed the e-commerce space for the global African fashion and design sector by facilitating payments, commerce and providing the technology framework needed for its retailers.

Afrikrea – Shop and Sell African Fashion, Art and handicraft – Afrikrea

5. Kamers Makers

An online store for artisans and their handcrafted goods, Kamers Makers’ model is a little different. To sell here, you have to create a store on Shopstar first. So essentially, they give you a secondary platform to display the products and sell them to their niche audience.

You can sell all kinds of products, including jewelry, calendars, scarves, and more.

Sell Online Through The KAMERS Online Store | KAMERS/Makers (kamersvol.com)

6. Zando

Apparels are clearly the fore-runners among products in Africa. Zando, the South-Africa based online store is perfect for distributors of relatively larger brands. You have to start by emailing them to get approved as a supplier. This means that you should have sufficiently large volumes of stock.

Sell Products Online | Marketplace | South Africa | Zando

CONCLUSION

As a lover of African items, getting the right supplier of a particular item could be really tacky. I have helped research these wonderful sites that you can easily source for items made with African in mind. Click here to get tons and tons of African produce ranging from Fabrics, shoes, interior items, cosmetics and lot more.

Bellafricana published in Arts & Crafts, Furnitures, Home & Living, Life Style August 3, 2022

5 Fabulous Home Decorative Items Using African Fabrics

African fabrics are known for their diverse and complex designs which usually are a depiction of the culture. Apart from being used as fashion pieces like handbags, and dresses they are also used as decorative pieces. I sat and watched the processes involved in curating and combining African fabrics with furniture, with precision, detail oriented and compassion for the craft was a sight to behold.

Let me take you through 5 Fabulous home decorative items using African fabrics.

1. WINDOW DRAPES

The beauty of African-made prints is the ability to carefully and seamlessly infuse beautiful and elegant colors to produce vibrance. Adire Fabric is one type of indigenous African fabric that uses the tie and dye process. These window drapes I spotted on @Urbanfiitter on Instagram, use earth-toned colors to add special effects to your space.

As much as window drapes a re essential to every space, its therefore necessary to add a little bit of sparkle and beauty to it because it’s the first thing that catches the eye in a space.

Window drapes by Urbanfitter on instagram — Window Drapes.

2. DUVET COVER

Designing a beautiful duvet as this involves very calculated process. The processes involved in creating this master piece IS really marvellous and exciting to watch. Moreso, lot of designers are specific on the exact type of fabric/designs/color they need for their brand, but the majority of these designs are not easily found in the market, so that is where adire comes in. Artisans are capable of making the exact patterns/designs and dying them to their preferred choice of color. This beautiful Adire duvet is crafted by @1stDibs on instagram and ankara bedding is from @justbeddingslagos.

3. THROW PILLOWS

Designers of African fabrics tend to produce well sequenced and colored throw pillows. It’s no news that designers are now indulging in more creative ways in conceiving beautiful designs and patterns which is anchored on adding elegance, vibrance and fabulousness to every piece they work on. I love this particular design by Apoti Lagos, with its well sequenced and patterned design adding extra edge and flamboyance to a space.

Throw pillows by Apoti Lagos on Bellafricana Marketplace

4. FOOTSTOOLS

Footstools make the perfect partners to our sofas and chairs. If you haven’t got enough room for a chaise sofa, a footstool is a great way of providing a footrest at a slightly lower level to your seat. Apoti Lagos, a wood and waste company that provides warm and comfortable furnitures. Another beautifully thing about this company is that it promote African beauty by using simple aesthetic fabrics, thereby adding luxury, vibrance and excellence to any space.

Footstool by Apoti Lagos on bellafricana marketplace

5. CUSHIONS

This hallow cushion is both a storage and decorative piece for ant space. Its well patterned and African fabric creates a fabulous accent too. Simple yet stylish, catchy and edgy. Adding a splash of color with African prints is always a good idea! These spectacular art works, mirror, and frames will add a special twist to your home decor. Apoti Lagos loves to play with colors, this brand puts value on aesthetics using appealing designs and prints, which will definitely give your home and space an instant makeover.

Cushion Hallow by Apoti Lagos on bellafricanan marketplace — Cushion Hallow by Apoti Lagos on bellafricana Marketplace

Some general tips for using African Fabrics in home decor

Start easy with a minimalistic color foundation, so that the prints and color of the decor can bounce off the plain palette and shine more.
Don’t try too hard to make a big splash with the prints, sometimes you can match 2-4 designs in different decor items; wall art, pillows, curtain, and lamps. The trick is to make sure these different fabrics all compliment each other.
Finally, resist the urge to use all the ankara home decor items you can find. It will most likely be the focal point of the room so don’t let things get confusing and tacky.

CONCLUSION

Africans inspired home decorative pieces comes in different patterns, designs and colors. You want to add fun, feel, aesthetics and balance using decorative pieces, then try these 5 fabulous home decorative items using African Fabric will help you achieve that. Click here to order for more and follow our instagram page @bell_fricana and @bellafricana shop.

Bellafricana published in Arts & Crafts, Home & Living, Life Style June 28, 2022

5 Creative Ways To Decorate Your Walls

Woven wall clock by mitimeth on bellafricana marketplace

Our home is our asset and we owe it every responsibility of making every detail about it stand out. Starting from walls, lighting, floors, and furniture. In this article, I am going to be highlighting 5 creative ways to decorate your walls.

This article will bring out beautiful items and decorative pieces that can help your homes look classic, unique, and elegant.

1. AFRICAN PORTRAITS

Adorning your homes with this edifice is a great way to add emotions and personality to your home. The craft maker behind this beautiful piece of work, Ronke Scott, has been a firm creator of wonderful crafts. Her crafts are on the beauty and elegance of African heritage. She uses her craft to send emotions and messages, relating to African culture, beliefs, lifestyle, and traditions. let your walls tell a story using this beautiful painting of Ronke Scott.

Ronke Scott Gallery Artworks MINIATURES sold on Bellafricana Marketplace

2. STRING ART

Artini is a craft maker who skillfully uses her works to curate amazing wall portraits with good color harmony and color balance. Your home needs to be able to tell a story of who you are. This string art is a combination of color magic and great hues which will most suit well for your space. Artini arts and crafts pay a great deal of attention to details as it helps remodel any space and give it a more fabulous, embellished, and aesthetic look.

The African Woman String Art by Artini Bellafricana Member Exclusive Interview

3. WALL CLOCK

This woven water hyacinth and batik fabric will add a gorgeous eco-chic beautifying effect. skilled Nigerian artisans help modify the walls of any space using repurposed fiber into a more eccentric and fancy look. This beautiful combination of woven fiber and African fabric infusion causes a more vibrant and warm visual aspect in your space. Mitimeth understands balance and harmony and that is shown in how she effortlessly infuses fabrics and fiber to form an aesthetic feel.

4. WALL MIRROR

An empty room is a story waiting to happen and you are the author. You create for your space the story you want using nice pieces of accessories in terms of ornaments, florals, lighting and so much more. Moreso, a flamboyant mirror decoration with embroidery tied around it for that vintage and cottage western look This is an elegant way of projecting and inspiring our homes. Yasmin Crafts designs protrays calmness, tranquility, and class.

Wall mirrors by yasmin craft on bellafricana marketplace — Wall mirrors by Yasmin craft on bellafricana marketplace

5. WALL CANVA

Wall Canva comes in different patterns, styles, and characters. Most Canva designs come in animated forms, spiral formations, color combinations, and other designs come in real human pictures. therefore, there is so much a Canva design can add to elements to your wall. Spice your walls with these creative and fascinating designs made by Artini crafts.

CONCLUSION

Stop having boring walls. Oh yes! Spice up your wall decoration using attention-grabbing accessories. These items could be used on accent walls or table consoles. You could use this 5 creative ways to decorate your walls, clicks here to order beautiful accessories.

Bellafricana published in Arts & Crafts, bellafricana June 2, 2022

5 Unique Woven Craft items

Gone are the days when woven craft items were only used in local places, and were not valued but thanks to several craft designers that have helped in repurposing craft designs and adding more aesthetics to fit different purposes.

These unique woven craft items are used in places like homes, offices, hospitality industries, etc, and also used as fashionable pieces too.

Here is a list of 5 unique woven craft items you would love:

1. BAGS

Yasmin crafts, a craft design and interior decoration company indulge in creating beautiful, elegant, and creative designs using natural fibres. Apart from designing interior decorative items for your homes, offices, or recreational centres, this craft maker also creates upholsteries as well as fashion items such as bags and purses. Combining this beautiful raffia bag will most certainly help spice up your look, making you look casually funky and edgy while still dripping in your beautiful and ecstatic drip. These beauty bags can be used casually to outings, hangouts, or mini parties.

AMINA RATTAN BAG

2. POUCHE BAGS

Another good thing about transforming natural fiber into usable items is that there is no limit to what one can create with these resources. Creating any piece of the item can be spurred by certain circumstances and needs. I will give you a short story of how mitimeth a brand and creative craft company came up with making an appealing zipper pouch.

“Once upon a time mitimeth visited a company that had loads of jute selvages. Management figured that since they were into Upcycling, they will be able to do something useful with the selvage material which was waste generated from their manufacturing process. Super thrilled and beaming with ideas, we took the Jute selvage waste and ran with it. They used the selvages to create zipper pouch bags with layers of frills to add just a little bit of drama to the mix.

The detachable turquoise bag handles are made from fish leather. Yep, you read that right! Leather made from the inedible skin
of the Nile perch by a Social Enterprise in Kenya Upcycling and combining waste materials is the name of our game mitimeth

This goes a long way to show how waste materials are now absolutely important. And can be used to add glamour and beauty to any work of art and craft.

Pouch Bag

3. LADDER SHELF/ BASKETS

Good riddance to a decluttered space is this ladder shelf. Not only does this beautifully woven raffia basket and free-standing structure add glam and intrigue to a space, but it also helps create extra surface space around the house. It’s stylish and attractive as well and it is used in places like the bathroom or bedroom. Certainly, this helps in neatly arranging, decluttering, and organizing items around that space. Yasmin crafts carefully pays attention to every detail in a space, I recommend this for people with much clutter, this is ideal because you can easily locate items when need be.

Woven shelves/Baskets

Also read: 10 Craft Ideas With African Fabrics

4. STORAGE BOXES/ TRUNKS

From harvesting eco-friendly raw materials to curating beautifully, sustainable, and environmentally friendly handmade trunks. These handcrafted, luxury and multipurpose storage trunks made by Yasmin crafts are certainly a must-have in our houses. It helps a lot in keeping our valuable fabrics well scented and straightened over a long period.

STORAGE BOXES/TRUNK

5. LAUNDRY BOX

As earlier stated, Yasmin Crafts aims at refurbishing and organizing any space with still a high degree of class, beauty, and glam. That is why this eco-friendly laundry box was made. However, one advantage of this beautifully crafted woven laundry box is that it adds to the aesthetics of any space. It also adds extra elegance to your space, Moreso, its aids in hiding unpleasant stuff in a pleasantly, decorated, and well-patterned box.

Laundry Box

6. DINNING WARES

Having this stylishly decorated piece of dining wares on the dining table is another unique woven item you would love. It is a highly decorative piece that will quickly draw attention to your table and your space. Adorning your space with a bit of nature helps in projecting the elegance and radiance that you so desire for your space. This is a creative piece made by mitimeth using hyacinth and waste materials.

Dinning Wares

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, every space, whether an office, your house, or a hospitality industry indeed deserves a cozy, warm and earthly feeling. That can be done effortlessly by using woven and crafted pieces of decorative items in it. Fashionable items can be crafted using natural fibres and yarns. For more unique woven items ideas click here to see other beautiful pieces.

Bellafricana published in Arts & Crafts, Gift Items May 11, 2022

African Greeting Card Gift Ideas

Everybody loves to be gifted greeting cards but when you make it a unique African greeting card gift idea, whether it’s for an occasion such as an anniversary, birthday, newborn or new accomplishments, it makes it extra special.

African Greeting card gift ideas has now become a good instrument through which one can easily convey his or her emotions and feelings in words. Greeting cards to a special person have a way of speaking deeply to the mind of the receiver, truth be told, this form of gifting plays a huge role as compared to receiving material items.

Not everyone can express their thoughts through words, that is why Not Just Pulp, a personalized card gift brand, helps to connect thoughts through written form and ignite bonds among people.

Here are some of the Unique African Greeting Card Gift Ideas you definitely would love to give to your loved ones:

We as humans love being appreciated for a favor they rendered, even as children, we all loved it when we got a present from our parents for doing something exceptional.

A nice Unique African Greeting Card to show how grateful you are to someone or what someone has done is a perfect gifting idea you should do. It goes a long way to tell the person that you see what he or she has done and you are appreciative of it.

This triggers the will to do better next time. This kind of card is given at workplaces to colleagues for helping you out, also given to someone who has been there in your downtimes. Trust me, this is a very effective way of showing your gratitude.

Mothers play a very crucial role in the family and society at large. A Mum’s gift card is one of the sweetest gifts any deserving mother can get. This card is a nice way of letting mothers know that the role they played in our lives is priceless and we are proud of having them.

Yes, mothers love to be told sweet things too, and the best way to do this is through a nicely decorated and well-worded card gift. Try this gift idea and watch your mum scream with excitement. what better way to show love and gratitude to the mothers. This card can be gifted on special mothers day occasions, mothers anniversary, or birthdays.

Letting a loved one or spouse know that their love is being felt and appreciated is a sure way to encourage deeper long-lasting love. surprising a loved one with this card being by their side while they wake up, or at work, or for help they rendered seems like a very interesting way of reaffirming and reminding them that you acknowledge their support, love, and care.

Funny but true, fathers are always our go-to persons for help, most definitely this kind gesture should be reciprocated in the kindest and simplest form one can. Gifting your dad a card gift is one nicest and most simple methods we need to try. This comes come in a box with other wonderful items but encrypts wonderful words to express your emotions and feelings.

What better way to make your husband feel on top of the world than to appreciate him for being the husband in your life than a card that says how much you appreciate him.

There are more quirky and original cards made by Not Just Pulp and perfect as a Unique African Greeting Card Gift Idea for your loved one, so get shopping today!

Bellafricana published in Arts & Crafts, Fashion May 10, 2022

10 Craft Ideas With African Fabrics

African curators have moved beyond using African fabrics for just fashion and accessories. Now African fabrics are now used to tell stories, used as home decorating ideas, used to beautify recycled waste, and a lot more functionalities.

Here is a list of other items African fabrics can be crafted into to serve several other uses.

CLUTCH PURSE

Nigerian-owned brand, O’Eclat Designs is popularly known for creating well-designed African handbags and accessories. This clutch purse is one of the masterpieces put together by this brand to compliment ladies dressing. This eccentric African-inspired clutch purse is designed with quality leather and African fabric popularly called “Aso oke” meaning “clothes from the upcountry”. This fabulous clutch purse is very versatile, it can be rocked to any occasion whether a party, wedding, or hangouts. Combining this with your outfit will definitely make you look stunning and edgy because of its uniqueness and elegance.

2). TRADITIONAL DRUMS

This drum is popularly called “Alujo”, meaning drum and dance, it is most commonly played in the western part of Nigeria. If you are familiar with African culture, you will most definitely know that the drum is characterised by calculated steps, shaking waists, jiggering bodies, soulful sounds, melodious tunes, and most especially a loud and exciting environment. When compared to western music, African drums have a more profound metaphorical value. These drums are thought to represent the essence of the community wherever they are found.

They are utilized in the community to commemorate ceremonial occasions and rites. They’re also used as tourist attractions in several African countries, marketing and exhibiting their products. Mimiremi textile, a design and pattern maker skillful and carefully produces this local drum with a combination of Ghanaian African fabric seen beautifully wrapped around it to bring to life the true essence of what African culture represents which is unity in diversity, love, and same interest.

3) TRAVELLING/ DUFFLE BAGS

If you find traveling very interesting or you have a busy work schedule that puts you on the road more often, then this wonderful African-inspired traveling bag is a must-have. Ethnik, the fashion brand behind this elegant and gorgeous travelers bag, created this piece from beautiful Ankara fabric with well-textured leather material, having two side pockets, easy to carry about, comfortable, and convenient, Suitable to carry to places like beach parties, long-distance trips, and vacations. It is made of cotton and very durable.

4) THROW PILLOWS

African craft has moved from using fabrics for just fashion wears to using them for home upholstery as well. African fabrics are now being used as decorative pieces even in public spaces such as hotels, banking halls, conference centers, eateries, and a lot more public centers. Bosh Design, a Nigerian creative brand, uses nice African fabric to make throw pillows, making a space look more edgy, aesthetic, and functional. This brand creates its designs on these pillows telling great African stories, cultures, and traditions. Since African fabric is characterized by bright and vibrant colors, then using it to make throw pillows will not only brighten up a space but will also give your space a personality of its own.

5) TABLE/ FLOOR LAMPS

You would agree with me that using fabrics as an accent in your home or any space not only makes the space attractive and organized but also provides warmth, personality, and a high feeling. MitiMeth, a lifestyle and waste transformation brand in Africa, skillfully creates exotic and exclusive vintage table lamps that speak to the tribal customs of Africa. The perfect combination of a table lamp to a home or office as decoration will bring appeal and beauty to that environment because of the subtle design and aesthetics using woven natural fibers with water hyacinth and agricultural subsidies. It is the ideal finishing touch for any type of interior.

6) TISSUE BOX;

There are so many ways fabrics can compliment craft, and a tissue box is one. No one wants a littered house with tissues, this could be very discomforting. More reasons Mitimeth embarked on the journey to help salvage this situation. The tissue box is handmade from woven water hyacinth and batik fabric, made of different sizes and shapes and different colors and designs. This product creates a unique accent for your homes, cars, and offices.

7). ACCESSORIES

Accessories are unquestionably the underlying tone that validates the proclamation of one’s style. They are influential and vital to every fashion mood. It’s about taking a step out of the ordinary and defining yourself as you see fit. Accessories will always be that extra spark that brings one’s ensemble tale to life. African print accessories are perfect addition to your wardrobe, Designers like Mitimeth have created handcrafted items that combine design, quality, and substance.

This African luxury designer’s commitment to quality has led him to create timeless items made from genuine coconut shells and water hyacinth and repurposed materials. Her creations not only tell a cultural story but also uphold a high level of craftsmanship. When choosing an accessory, only a high quality of value should be accepted. It’s the one thing that, like magic, can transform a dull look into something exciting. It’s a talking point, it’s what gives you that double-back look, and it’s your personal touch. The accessories you choose to wear and how you choose to wear them determine your finest look. Accessorize in a variety of ways, from bold to demure. Classic to chic, all focused on a statement on your dressing.

African designers and craft makers now have diversified into using fabrics to create multiple products that are functional for the home, offices, hospitals, recreations, etc. These fabrics are upcycled and repurposed into more useful items such as book covers, dining wares, pen holders, chairs, stools, etc.

Creatives in the design and craft world have helped pave way for African products in the global markets as exhibitions and trade fairs are being held to showcase the rich culture and heritage of African-owned products internationally.

Bellafricana published in Arts & Crafts, Fashion April 19, 2022

How To Rock African Fashion

Asooke throwStyling African wears could demand lots of detail and attention, this is because for it to fit into the contemporary world one needs to pay close attention to detail and be aesthetic about it.

Lots of fashion designers have come up with flexible wear designs that could be styled for different occasions.

Here is a list of ways and places to style up your African wear,

AFRICAN CORPORATE FASHION

Do you want to infuse your African wear into the corporate world? Do you often attend business fairs, meetings, and conferences and you need the best styling ways to fit into these places and not look too traditional. The idea behind slaying an African outfit successfully is to keep it classy and simple at the same time.

O’Eclat Designs, an ethical Nigerian brand, makes use of premium leather, to craft beautiful handmade bags, with some having beautiful African design prints, these bags can be combined with nice suits/ jackets or beautiful gowns. You will just stun in this fabulous look and have eye-rolling. These bags are made of African fabrics and could be used to fit into the contemporary style of dressing. These beautifully made African bags will suit perfectly with corporate dresses or corporate trousers and suits.

Morin O has also put together collections of African-inspired bags, wallets, belts, and slippers. Morin O’s handcrafted bags will always do well in your corporate world, Men’s bags are not left out, quality men’s bags for the corporate world. No matter the occasion, you can’t go wrong with a well-sewn colorful fabric made with rich leather sourced from Nigeria.

2. AFRICAN SOCIAL FASHION

There is a funny saying ‘’Eni o wo Ankara o je semo’’ meaning; that the guest who does not wear uniform fabric popularly called ‘’aso ebi’’ will not eat at the social gathering. The fabric is worn particularly and uniformly for celebration. On a lighter note, it may serve as a gate pass to several social events. African print is usually worn to social events such as weddings, burials, religious gatherings, and a lot more.

Ethnik Africa is a global brand inspired by ancient asooke craftsmanship of western Nigerian and African culture. This brand is known for making beautiful loafers, travel bags, asooke inspired sneakers, that can comfortably be worn to formal gatherings. It can be worn in jeans, jumpsuits, gowns, skirts, or even shorts, traveling bags, sneakers, etc.

Adorning yourself with African wear to socials could be very versatile and flexible. It is popularly known to be worn mainly in African countries though it is slowly being adopted by the western world. Several celebrities have been seen to embrace this trend, a couple of western celebrities such as Rihanna, Beyonce, Sia, and others have been seen rocking African fashion dresses and bags for several outings. This is a big win for the African fashion industry, though slowly but surely, the aim is for the whole world to finally embrace this trend into their culture and social lives.

3. AFRICAN HANGOUT FASHION

There are times you simply need an easy-going style to wear for hangouts, small parties, dinners, or dates. Ankara shorts, crop tops, skirts, and gowns could be your best guess. Ankara/ Adire pullovers and tops are flexible in their utilization and styling and ought to be a staple in each woman’s closet. Ankara coordinate sets are easy to wear as you can rock them with trousers or gowns and skirts. If free wear for fashion lazy or work-free day. The African hangout is a series of ready-to-wear items that one just picks up from the wardrobe.

Jemimah Iwok published in Arts & Crafts, Sculpture August 25, 2021

From Metal Scraps to Breath-Taking Masterpieces- Dotun Popoola

Bellafricana celebrates the talented African Creative, whose works involves the transformation, from Metal Scraps to Breath-Taking Masterpieces. Dotun Popoola is a synergetic metal sculptor who has carved a niche for himself with his monumental metal sculptures.

His works of Art infuses both the European and African culture all by transforming metal scraps into environmental art.

Born in 1981, Lagos, Dotun Popoola is a contemporary Nigerian artist (sculptor) who specializes in synergetic metal sculpting. He creates pieces of art works from discarded scrap metals. His works are focused on transforming trash to treasures, rubbish to rubies and waste to wealth by repurposing wastes that threaten the ecosystem. Some of his works were exhibited in ART X Lagos. He had a solo exhibition called “Irin Ajo” (Journey) in Signature Beyond Art Gallery, Lagos, where he presented around 24 metal works of his.

Recycling at its best and truly a work of Art!

Pictures and information culled from: Works – Dotun Popoola

Dotun Popoola – Wikipedia

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Decorative piece

2. Create Unison

3. Make A Statement

4. Comfort

5. Visual Attraction

Conclusion

1. Tissue Box

2. Hand Woven Bags

3. Cushion Box

Also Read: 6 Best Online marketplaces for handmade Items

4. Woven Wall Clock

5. Resin Tables

6. Laundry Basket

CONCLUSION

Here is a list of 5 best online marketplace for handmade items within and outside Africa in no particular order:

1. Etsy:

2. Amazon:

3. Bellafricana Marketplace:

4. Afrikrea:

Also read: Top 6 Afrocentric Gift Ideas

5. Kamers Makers

6. Zando

CONCLUSION

1. WINDOW DRAPES

2. DUVET COVER

3. THROW PILLOWS

Also read: 5 Unique Woven Craft items

4. FOOTSTOOLS

5. CUSHIONS

Some general tips for using African Fabrics in home decor

CONCLUSION

1. AFRICAN PORTRAITS

2. STRING ART

3. WALL CLOCK

Also read: 10 Craft Ideas With African Fabrics

4. WALL MIRROR

5. WALL CANVA

CONCLUSION

Here is a list of 5 unique woven craft items you would love:

1. BAGS

2. POUCHE BAGS

3. LADDER SHELF/ BASKETS

4. STORAGE BOXES/ TRUNKS

5. LAUNDRY BOX

6. DINNING WARES

CONCLUSION

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