We love showcasing the work of artisans that design their pieces with purpose. Such is the case with Kazi Goods, known for their handcrafted pieces that support female weavers in Rwanda, Ghana and Uganda. We especially admire the company’s Social Impact Program, which empowers these talented weavers to increase their earnings and enrich their lives whilst producing beautiful goods. I had the pleasure of designing a special line of pieces in collaboration with Kazi, inspired by some of her favorite colors. The line also features a nod to modern vessel shapes, which work well on their own or in a larger collection.
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The inspiration for this collection first came from the color palette. When we were originally approached by Kazi, I started a mood board of my own travel photography from Kenya and Tanzania.
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Knowing our collection would be woven in Rwanda, I expanded to researching imagery of Rwandan flora, fauna, birdlife and landscapes. From here I distilled the colors down to a modern palette.
Kazi is known for their bold color pairings so we started with a palette of mustard, teal, blue, white and pink and the overall color palette informed the more colorful pieces.
From there, I pulled out individual colors to highlight on the vessels so that they would read as a bit more refined and minimal in feel and the focus would be on the modern shapes. I also wanted to experiment with the natural sisal and raffia materials in their raw form.
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