mafundi crafts

Info:  We are passionately committed to bringing you the finest arts and crafts from around the world, while ensuring fair payment for talented craftspeople and their families through ethical trading. Our diverse range of more than 500 quality products, from our extensive range of percussion instruments and decorative masks and wall hangings to Zulu baskets and great gift ideas, are all hand-made from materials such as African olive wood, thuya root, soapstone, coconut wood, rattan, fused glass and banana fibre. We also have many items available that have been produced from both recycled and sustainable sources.

Mafundi Crafts has been established with the intention of providing an opportunity to purchase high quality, ethically produced arts and crafts from the developing world. We are a family business, based in the city of Bath in the South West of England, and operate predominantely as an e-commerce outlet. We have carefully assembled our range of products from accredited Fair Trade organizations in areas such as Bali, Chile, Kenya, Peru and South Africa.

Malcolm Seal - Basket Maker

Info:  Has been working with willow since 1988 and produces baskets that are both functional and beautiful. His work is inspired by the British agricultural tradition as well as elements from other European styles. Raw materials are sourced from around the South West with an increasing amount coming from his own willow bed in the Bride valley near Bridport.

MarGorsson Design

Info:  Julian Jefferson's aim is to promote classic crafts for the 21st Century through the MarGorsson Design Collection, talks, demonstrations and displays. Using classic craft techniques, including hand quilting, goldwork, needle tatting, bobbin lace, rag rugging, crochet, tapestry and embroidery, contemporary textiles can be created to adorn not only the home, but the human form.

moluche - handmade alpaca textiles

Info:  There are three essential which go together to make Moluche products exciting and unique.

Artisan Tradition - We find new ways of employing traditional craft skills and knowledge of raw materials. We believe that the honest nature of these methods is essentially modern. Our designs celebrate the special qualities that are the hallmarks of these timeless techniques.

Eco Materials - We firmly believe that green is best for everybody! Not only because completely natural and sustainable raw materials are good for the planet, but they produce unique and beautiful results too.

Contemporary Design - Finally, we are passionate about creating good, contemporary design. It is the element which has the ability to transform beautiful raw materials into desirable objects.

MzuriBeads

Info:  Home of Uganda's handmade recycled paper bead jewellery and loose paper beads, MzuriBeads is an Ugandan based cooperative of over 20 women, who live and work in a village / suburb outside Kampala. Kirstie MacLean is the managing director, (from the UK), who met the women whilst volunteering. After some creative workshops in 2006, she was more than confident that these women were going somewhere:

'They are professional jewelers, particularly skilled in the art of the paper bead. They have been working with this medium for over two years and have perfected a wide variety of beads and incredible designs. Furthermore, these women aren't scared of new materials, and have confidently worked with aluminum, fabric, wire, and wood. The future of MzuriBeads will not stop at paper and jewellery, we are on a creative journey in Ndejje, giving the fashion industy new depth from the very heart of Uganda.'

naive - Textile Art by Becks & Susan Jennings

Info:  We are designer makers who have created a textile art collection of original jewellery boxes and jewellery pincushions. Each textile art piece is individually handmade from wool, fabric and felt.

To complement our jewellery boxes and jewellery pincushions we also offer a range of silver jewellery set with semi-precious stones and special textile necklaces made by hand.

Our naive textile art collection together with our jewellery range make wonderful handmade gifts.

Orchid Trading

Info:  We are a fair-trade company that has been established for 6 years and has been importing handcrafted musical instruments, arts and crafts from Indonesia with great success. We offer products of a very high quality with competitive prices. These products are very well received by the public, due to the time and effort that we spend in regularly visiting and building relationships with our suppliers in Indonesia. All of our products are hand checked before packing and shipping to the UK. Orchid Trading only sources products from local artists, communities and craftsmen. We take an active interest in the local community and economy of these craftsmen and we strive to understand the issues that affect the craftsmen's lives.

Otomi

Info:  Buying from us guarantees you two things: first class crafts, silver and food of the highest quality and the knowledge that the profits from your purchase will be going to pay the artist and producers a fair price, and to support small community projects in rural Mexico. When you buy an item from Otomi, you not only buy a piece of Mexico, but you help artisans and producers keep their traditions and to try to live a dignified life by making a living from it.

PlacesAFar

Info:  Fair trading business ethic -- all goods are paid for in full before leaving Africa's shores -- we buy directly from individual African sculptors, artists, craftsmen and women helping them sustain their rural communities and encourage self-sufficiency -- we offer the finest assortment of traditional hand made crafts and original art pieces from Zimbabwe, South Africa, Maputo, Congo, Malawi, Kenya and Tanzania.

Our passion for unique African art takes us on an exclusive buying trip twice a year. The pulse and vitality of the areas we buy from is captured in the simple yet vibrant colours and designs of the Ndebele and Zulu tribes. The patience of the Shona stone sculptors can be seen in the finest detail created without the use of sophisticated tools. We also provide you with an exclusive window into the lives of each artist through our Featured Artist section where they tell their story.

PlacesAFar will continue to support and encourage our diverse suppliers to hand craft environmentally responsible products, develop more products using recycled materials and recycle paper and plastic. We will increase our product offering made from recycled material, offer products free from endangered wildlife species (eg ivory), minimise waste by recycling packing material wherever possible and review our environmental policy annually .