„You cannot leave Africa, Africa said. It is always with you, there inside your head.”
Bridget Dore
We are in love with the rich diversity of cultures of people living in Namibia. Everyone brings his/her personal story which is influenced by culture or family stories.
There is a long history of body adornment and jewellery in Namibia. From ivory buttons (Omakipa) and shells of long extinct big snails that used to live in the big rivers between northern Namibia and Congo (Omba), ostrich egg shells, leather, copper-and other metal beads. All Namibian cultures are full of jewellery history. Whatever was used as jewellery had a meaning, a background.
That resonates with us because we also love to create jewellery with a meaning, a story, a background.
Young Africans are looking for ways to combine their culture with their modern way of life. It is beautiful to combine old with new, rough with polished or natural materials with new technologies. This fusion is tremendously attractive as an inspiration in jewellery design.
Windhoek is a melting pot of people with different cultures beliefs and thoughts from all over Namibia and all over the world. Residents with different backgrounds, travelers, guests, diplomats and those who fell in love and stayed. In such an environment the individuality of each person becomes important. We don’t always understand each other but that doesn’t keep us from loving each other and being fascinated by each other’s stories.
Whenever we get the chance to travel Namibia, we do. Experiencing this country with all our senses is deeply inspiring. From the desert in the south and in the east to the ocean in the west to the mighty rivers in the north. Catching our breath and leaving everything behind is rejuvenating. On these trips we find stones with amazing patterns or sand in different colours. We collect shells at the beach or pretty flowers on the way. We see vast landscapes and beautiful patterns on sand dunes that the wind or tiny beetles left behind. We see the African sun kiss the land in the morning and bath it in golden light in the evening. We enjoy the incredible Namibian night sky on a quiet camping night or watch animals with incredibly beautiful patterns on their skin wander through the african bush as they did centuries ago.
All this touches our souls. That’s the place where creativity is born.
African Inspired
Full of colours, light, sounds, textures, patterns, diversity of cultures, people, landscapes and animals.
Jewellery design in Africa
Nelson Mandela said once” A winner is a dreamer who never gives up”.
We are creative dreamers. Being such in Namibia means that those dreams are just more colourful and divers then elsewhere. Namibia is among the most magical places on earth for creative minds and we are blessed to live here. We would like to take you on a journey with us and try to give you an impression how we experience Namibia with all our senses and how that inspires us to make jewellery the way we do it.
Ekipa in our Designs
Canto Goldsmith and Jeweller underlines the value of these rare original artifacts by creating bespoke pieces of jewellery. African tradition and European craftsmanship meet here, underlining the uniqueness of Omakipa and preserving the cultural value of these pieces.
