HOW IT’S MADE

KISII SOAPSTONE

The stone items are made by a cooperative on the south-western side of Kenya. Their workshop is partly outdoors overlooking the beautiful green hills. The pieces are made in stages.

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KISII SOAPSTONE

The stone items are made by a cooperative on the south-western side of Kenya. Their workshop is partly outdoors overlooking the beautiful green hills. The pieces are made in stages.

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After mining and hauling the stone to the workshop, the carvers saw the stone into smaller pieces. They hack the rock into the shape of the piece it is to become using machetes!

Then they chisel more definition into the pieces using chisels and other simple hand tools. Here the carver is carving an elephant out of soapstone:

After mining and hauling the stone to the workshop, the carvers saw the stone into smaller pieces. They hack the rock into the shape of the piece it is to become using machetes!

Then they chisel more definition into the pieces using chisels and other simple hand tools. Here the carver is carving an elephant out of soapstone:

In this video, the carver is making a square dish out of soapstone:

And here, a two pattern bowl is being carved out of soapstone:

In this video, the carver is making a square dish out of soapstone:

And here, a two pattern bowl is being carved out of soapstone:

Once they have achieved the rough shape of the item, they pass it along to the sanders. They wet sand the piece until it is perfectly smooth to the touch.

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Then it has to dry in the sun. Sometimes our shipments get delayed because there is too much rain so they cannot finish the items in time.

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Once they have achieved the rough shape of the item, they pass it along to the sanders. They wet sand the piece until it is perfectly smooth to the touch.

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Then it has to dry in the sun. Sometimes our shipments get delayed because there is too much rain so they cannot finish the items in time.

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As soon as the pieces are dry, different artisans paint and etch the soapstone. If you run your fingers over your piece, you will feel where the artisans have etched a word or a pattern into the piece.

In this video, you can see the artisan delicately putting the finishing touches on a colorful angel:

As soon as the pieces are dry, different artisans paint and etch the soapstone. If you run your fingers over your piece, you will feel where the artisans have etched a word or a pattern into the piece.

In this video, you can see the artisan delicately putting the finishing touches on a colorful angel:

Thank you for taking the time to learn more about how the artisan partners make these special one of a kind pieces. We hope you enjoy the handcrafted nature of each piece and celebrate the variances you find in the stone. As you hold each piece in your hand, we encourage you to imagine all of the artisans who held it before you and who helped shaped it into something truly beautiful and unique.

Thank you for taking the time to learn more about how the artisan partners make these special one of a kind pieces. We hope you enjoy the handcrafted nature of each piece and celebrate the variances you find in the stone. As you hold each piece in your hand, we encourage you to imagine all of the artisans who held it before you and who helped shaped it into something truly beautiful and unique.

HOW IT’S MADE

GLASS & CHARMS

Simon and Alice are a married couple who live outside of Nairobi. They and their small team work out of their yard. To make the recycled glass products, they collect glass bottles from bars around their city. They sort them by color (the cobalt blue color comes from Skyy Vodka bottles, the sky blue color comes from Bombay Sapphire bottles, the black color comes from Baileys Irish Cream bottles, and the amber, clear, and green colors come from various beer bottles). Once collected, they wash them and allow them to dry.

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GLASS & CHARMS

Simon and Alice are a married couple who live outside of Nairobi. They and their small team work out of their yard. To make the recycled glass products, they collect glass bottles from bars around their city. They sort them by color (the cobalt blue color comes from Skyy Vodka bottles, the sky blue color comes from Bombay Sapphire bottles, the black color comes from Baileys Irish Cream bottles, and the amber, clear, and green colors come from various beer bottles). Once collected, they wash them and allow them to dry.

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After breaking the bottles into small pieces, they put them in the kiln to melt the glass. In this video they are working on our Mommy Vases, but the process is similar for our other recycled glass jewelry pieces.

Some of the jewelry requires brass to be soldered around the outside of each piece, which is also done by hand. The charms are made out of brass and are hand stamped using simple tools.

After breaking the bottles into small pieces, they put them in the kiln to melt the glass. In this video they are working on our Mommy Vases, but the process is similar for our other recycled glass jewelry pieces.

Some of the jewelry requires brass to be soldered around the outside of each piece, which is also done by hand. The charms are made out of brass and are hand stamped using simple tools.

We hope you enjoyed learning about how this collection helps keep Kenya beautiful by protecting the environment and creates employment opportunities for many artisans.

We hope you enjoyed learning about how this collection helps keep Kenya beautiful by protecting the environment and creates employment opportunities for many artisans.

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