Story
Den ægte telefonwire art - ZenZulu. Global fair trade
Yebo Design House får disse
unikke produkter produceret hos det højt estimerede
firma, ZenZulu
Vort første møde med Zenzulus
unikke produkter var i 2000. Vi bragte dem til
Danmark og i 2004 startede vi et egentligt samarbejde
med dem. Herefter blev de lanceret i vort galleri i
Århus og siden har vi intensiveret samarbejdet og fået
designet til vor eget marked.
I dag repræsenterer Yebo Design House
produkuter udført hos Zenzulu
det skandinaviske, tyske og schweiziske marked.
At væve i telefontråd er både et
hårdt, vanskeligt og et højt specialiseret håndværk,
alene udført af sydafrikanere. Det er et gammelt
håndværk - opfundet af Zen og Zulustammerne i Sydafrika.
Heraf navnet Zenzulu. Håndværket bygger på kvindernes
teknik og tradition for kurvefletning og blev af mændene
omsat i telefontråd. Denne ide og aktivitet opstod som
følge af lange nætter som vagt eller ventetid ved
minerne, hvor man kunne finde telefonkabel -tråd som
affald. Traditionen er nu 40-50 år gammel og er blevet
mere og mere forfinet og kunstfærdig i og med den
vestlige verden har fået øjnene op for æstetikken heri.
Firmaet Zenzulu har 12 års erfaring og deres designs er nået helt til tops blandt
efterspurgte high-ends produkter grundet det eksklusive
design og det højt specialiserede og ikke mindst
perfektionistiske håndværk. Affødt heraf er Zenzulu
udvalgt til at stå for accessory delen på Oscar de la
Renta's Spring 2008 show i New York.
Vores 2007/8 kollektion bygger på de
sorte, røde og hvide farver og for 2008/2009 har vi en
stor overraskelse i støbeskeen, som tænkes præsenteret
på Code CPH Design i Bellacenteret, København, maj 2008.
Vi har fade og skåle, hver i 3 forskellige
størrelser, mange forskellige designs med varierende farve- og
mønstersammensætninger.
ZENZULU™ is a design
led craft business, renowned for the fusion of
contemporary design with traditional craft skills and
the creation of innovative, premium quality hand made
South African products. Initiated 12 years ago by
designer Marisa Fick-Jordaan, under the
auspices of the BAT SHOP, a retail and
wholesale outlet which has from the outset focused on
innovative product development, intensive skills
training of crafters, and the targeted marketing of
craft and craft-art products from the KwaZulu-Natal
province.
Marisa’s interest in transitional
craft forms led to the start of a telephone wire weaving
project in an informal settlement outside Durban.
Initially, mentoring a growing group of master weavers
using a coiled basket technique, she saw the
possibilities of fusing traditional techniques with
cutting edge design and modern industrial materials,
with the aim to grow local and international markets for
high-end, hand made décor products. Challenges presented
themselves, with only two skilled weavers in the
required technique, one basket mold, limited material
supply and design concepts that proved to challenge even
the most masterful of weavers. Funding for skills
development was secured, a mold manufacturer sourced, a
wire manufacturer coerced into making shades of fashion
colours to specifications. This culminated in a series
of workshops to teach unemployed women from both urban
and rural areas how to weave these new designs. Turning
the attention to growing the ZENZULU™
product line, by utilizing the skills of a group of
skilled Zulu beaders and a handful of young Zimbabwean
refugees. This led to the expansion of the product range
to include fashion accessories, and an extensive range
of holiday ornaments, combining glass beads, wire and
telephone wire.
ZENZULU™ product
designs are regularly updated and manufactured to the
highest quality standards, eco-friendly and fairly
traded, ensuring sustainable incomes for more than 350
home based craft producers in four different
communities. This design symbiosis has become a South
African design classic, receiving numerous accolades and
awards, including an Elle Decoration International
Design Award in 2002. Over the past two years,
ZENZULU™ vessels have been showcased in
Design Made in Africa, an international
travelling exhibition of Contemporary African Design,
selected by Li Edelkoort for her North meets South
exhibitions in Paris and Stockholm, and featured in The
Conran Shop’s Harare to Higgovale exhibitions
in London, New York, Paris and Tokyo.
ZENZULU™ décor
products, fashion accessories and holiday ornaments are
sold in local and international high-end boutiques,
stores and galleries and feature in many corporate and
private interiors around the world.
“By creating and maintaining a
sustainable craft design business ourselves, we have
helped to create hundreds of sustainable
micro-enterprise craft businesses, through participation
and mentoring”
- Marisa Fick-Jordaan.
|
