No prizes for guessing where these AJ beauties are headed... yup, to one of our favourite UK outlets, Fibre and Clay in Manchester.
The legs, wellies and the um, deconstructed tunic belong to the lovely Marina. Marina, even though we love your wellies, I hope they will be taking a little cupboard break, because this morning I saw this beautiful orb surrounded by some blue in the sky!
Also destined for Fibre and Clay is this beautiful flower power soccer ball, woven by Phumeza. The great thing is that it has a gym ball inner, so we can ship it flat which means it's cheaper to send. When it arrives at Fibre and Clay, owner Riana Martin can simply inflate it using an electric pump obtainable from any camping shop worth its salt.
Isn't it awesome? Well done, Phumeza!
| [ 0 trackbacks ] | related link
Remember the wave carpet first mentioned here? Well it's finished and it's
beautiful, don't you think?
Mielie had been quite quiet recently, so everyone wanted to do the carpet.
Sheila decided to draw lots, and Manyawuza's name was drawn.
Pictured above are Manyawuza and Sheila, who recently went to Norway
together, compliments of Springbok, one of Mielie's outlets in Oslo.
Finally I would like to say hi to all Elizabeths out there, especially my sister,
Liza, who lives in Taiwan. Did you know that your name has consistently been
one of the most popular girl's names for the past 200 years? That's something
to feel special about!
| [ 0 trackbacks ] | related link
This cheerful face belongs to Nolundi, who officially started
working as Mielie's shop manager today. We've watched Nolundi
grow up from a bubbly teenager to a graceful, bright and funny
woman. Her mum, Nomthunzi is one of Mielie's most fantastic crafters.
Nolundi replaces Widaad, who worked in the shop for almost four
years. Widaad has moved on to pursue a career as a travel writer.
Thanks for everything, and good luck, Weeds!
Isn't this Contour cube just the most beautiful thing ever?
It looks like a block of multicolour wood, or a semiprecious
stone cut into a block. It's destined for Sweden. Lucky Swedes...
* Wamkilikeli = Xhosa for "welcome"
| [ 0 trackbacks ] | related link
When the woven bags arrive on a Thursday, we often refer
to them as pelts, because their shape is reminiscent of
the Genuine Leather symbol - you know the one. They then
get sewn up and have their handles and linings added.
Last week, this pelt arrived:
The design was, shall we say, a reinterpretation of this -
Hmmmm, not what I expected, but I LOVE it. Only problem is,
when it gets sewn up we'll lose most of the effect because
it will have a front, a base and a back.
So I think we should use it as inspiration and make a carpet,
maybe something like this -
I'll pop in a photo when the real carpet arrives.
| [ 0 trackbacks ] | related link
Zanele and Nomthunzi have been with Mielie almost since its inception
in 2002 and are two of our most dependable and creative crafters. They
also help to quality check all our weavers' work every Thursday, train
new weavers and serve as our hubs in Khayelitsha.
As if that is not reason enough to sing their praises, look what they
brought in this week: five exquisite Splash Daisy cushions in different
colour schemes.
We have now perfected the pattern of our Mielie cushions. They measure
45cm2, are backed with denim and have a zipper all the way around. I'll
post some more designs as and when they come in.
Thank you for everything you do, Zanele and 'Thunzi!
| [ 0 trackbacks ] | related link
The Mielie soccer ball seat is now finally in production! It has a 55cm pilates ball inner, which means that it is really easy to ship. I also discovered that you can buy an electric pump at most camping supply stores which definitely beats the lung or the balloon pump method!
The ball has a little flap through which you insert the pilates ball which closes with a very nifty strap that you can lug it around with. I'll take a picture soon.
It always amazes me how much maths - especially geometery - there is in my job. Did you know, for example, that a great way of making a sphere is to connect 20 hexagons and 12 pentagons? ...Erm not in any random order, by the way.
We have cardboard templates of the shapes that our weavers trace onto the burlap (hessian) base fabric. Once the hexagons and pentagons have been woven, they are stitched together by the always cheerful Phumla, stitcher extraordinaire. It takes her almost two days to stitch together one ball and she can teach you a thing or two about staying calm while trying to visualise the pattern in all those hexagons and pentagons!
By the way, Phumla is also a very promising soccer player, and was recently chosen to attend a soccer coaching clinic with the Liverpool team.
Laduma, Phumla, Laduuuuuma!
| [ 0 trackbacks ] | related link
I just realised that I haven't got any images of our Mielie products on the blog. These bags, carpets, ottomans, ball seats & wall hangings are made of recycled strips of t-shirt fabric using the hooked rugging technique.
This is the biggest project we've ever undertaken - a 3.5 x 5.7m wall hanging for the foyer of the new BP headquarters in the waterfront. Standing in front are (me), Manyawuza, Zanele, Nomthunzi, Phumla, Lindiwe and Vuyelwa
Heart & Protea Mielie Bags, Concentric Squares Shelley Bag
Sea Life ottoman
Lucky Star mat
Niki and Ingrid hold a giant snake, called Inyoka
This was the first prototype for a 55cm diam ball seat that just went into production. It makes a fantastic computer seat, foot rest or gym ball.
We like to say that no two Mielie bags are ever identical, and nowhere is that more true than with our giraffe bags. Every giraffe is a character!
| [ 0 trackbacks ] | related link
At Mielie we have been privileged to work with Morgan Sami, a chain-stitch embroidery wizard who originally hails from Zimbabwe. To my mind, watching Morgan work his embroidery machine is a performance art, and the fruits of his labours adorn a range of Mielie products, from pencil cases to cummerbands, from courier bags to t-shirts.
| [ 0 trackbacks ] | related link
Back
Archives
