New Fair Trade Zulu Telephone Wire Baskets by Ben Makhanya, Master Weaver

We just took delivery of some more beautiful creations from Ben.

Ben started weaving at the age of 28, in 2002. His previous job was as a bricklayer and he often had to leave his family for long periods of time to go to work on construction projects. He started weaving to earn an income and found that he thoroughly enjoyed it, experimenting with new designs, stitches and color combinations; he creates fascinating works of art. His designs and colors are inspired from patterns he sees in things around him … it could be something as simple as a newspaper ad or a piece of clothing that gives him an idea.

We first showed his work earlier this year and the reaction was great, so we knew that we should get some more pieces in as soon as we got the chance.

Here’s three of them (of course, they are available in our online store as well as at our location in downtown Springfield):

Zulu Telephone Wire Basket by Ben Makhanya, Master Weaver

Zulu Telephone Wire Basket by Ben Makhanya, Master Weaver

Zulu Telephone Wire Basket by Ben Makhanya, Master Weaver

Global Fayre to feature the work of Ben Makhanya, master weaver of Zulu wire baskets

We’re thrilled to be hosting an exhibition of Ben’s work from July 3 to 31st, 2009 at Global Fayre in downtown Springfield, MO. THe exhibition has been made possible with the help of our friend Cael, at Baskets of Africa. ( a fellow member of the Fair Trade Federation)

Ben Makhanya, master weaver of Zulu wire baskets

Ben started weaving at the age of 28, in 2002. His previous job was as a bricklayer and he often had to leave his family for long periods of time to go to work on construction projects. He started weaving to earn an income and found that he thoroughly enjoyed it, experimenting with new designs, stitches and color combinations; he creates fascinating works of art.

His designs and colors are inspired from patterns he sees in things around him … it could be something as simple as a newspaper ad or a piece of clothing that gives him an idea.

Ben works very differently to the other weavers; rather than working to a prescribed pattern and shape, he is encouraged to create designs of his choosing, with his preferred size of bowl being 16 inches in diameter.

The exhibition will open during the First Friday Art Walk on July 3rd, from 6pm to 10pm.

Here are some of Ben’s beautiful creations:

Telephone Wire Baskets

We added some of our beautiful Fair Trade telephone wire baskets to the Global Fayre online store today.

These are incredible, intricately designed baskets, some using accents of bare copper wire.

Telephone Wire Baskets

The past and the future are fused together in the creation of this beautiful basket, Zulu weavers have taken the intricate designs and incredible craftsmanship of their natural fiber baskets, and turned them into brightly-colored art from plastic-coated wire. Mesmerizing designs and vibrant colors are a hallmark of this functional art.

We’re looking forward to adding more when we get another shipment from our friend Cael at Baskets of Africa. Cael is a fellow member of the Fair Trade Federation and is focused exclusively on finding great baskets and giving his weavers a route to market. Here’s how Cael describes Baskets of Africa:

– We are a company that represents unique baskets from throughout the African continent. These one-of-a-kind pieces of functional artwork are woven only by local African craftspeople who share our commitment to top quality.
— We believe in promoting the weavers from various African nations in order to help the weavers (especially women) with economic development. We believe that by weaving baskets in a traditional manner, the weavers of Africa are preserving their cultural heritage and advancing themselves financially. We would like to support this endeavor throughout Africa.
— We are members of the Fair Trade Federation, an organization that shares our strong belief that indigenous people around the world should be compensated fairly for their amazing work.
— We always operate under a blanket of trust and respect with the weavers and craft co-ops we represent.
— We feel that our business offers the customer a win-win situation: by purchasing one of our rare finds, you are not only getting a wonderful, hand-made basket for your home or business, you are also contributing to the preservation of African culture and helping a tribesperson become financially independent. It’s a true economic partnership in every sense of the word.

First Friday at Global Fayre

First Friday will be here very soon – and we can’t wait!

We always look forward to First Friday Art Walk; it’s great having so many people downtown, everyone having a good time, all the galleries full to the brim. But this time we’re more excited than usual.

Why?

It started last week – we took delivery of a consignment of fantastic Zulu baskets. Some are traditional weave, others are a wonderful combination of the old and the new – baskets woven traditionally but using telephone wire. Vibrant colors, wonderful shapes and patterns – just outstanding. They were so wonderful that we couldn’t resist putting them out on show ahead of time (well, some of them – you have to hold something back for First Friday, right?!).

But these baskets are not the only reason for our excitement. We have live music again this month, this time from someone who has been a friend to Global Fayre pretty much since we first opened. Alexander Kofi (of Jah Kings) will be playing acoustic guitar and Djimbe drum. We’re really thrilled to have our friend here on Friday – it’s going to be an awesome evening!