A sneak peak into the new jewelry line that will be arriving soon…check it out!

When it comes time to name the Beaded Hope jewelry, we like to maintain the authenticity by having the artists themselves christen each piece. But the last workshop we had, in April, was so busy with instructing and creating, that the naming process was buried.

But thankfully, we did ask original beading artist Betty to name one of her bracelets. She toyed with its beads for a moment, and said she’d think about it.

The next workshop, Betty held up the piece: “Izimbasa.” The word rolled off her native South African tongue like a precious-kept secret. “In Zulu, it means star.”

Back in the states, Jennifer and I sat down and realized we had a ton of jewelry, but only one name. As we tinkered with the individual pieces and shot out possibilities, pieces of nature we’d seen in South Africa kept floating to our minds: the sunset, the dirt, the colors. And then we had Izimbasa. Why not make it a theme? The external beauty of South Africa, represented by jewelry crafted out of the internal beauty of its people.

Betty didn’t mean to inspire the names of the whole line, but that’s just what she did. As Jennifer and I sat and drank our South African Five Roses tea and tossed around our mental images of Africa, we remembered Betty’s laugh and nestled in the nostalgia.

It all begins here. This simple strand of beads began as a tradition in South Africa. Mothers would string these beads together and give them to their teething children to chew on to ease their discomfort. Those old necklaces were the teething rings of tribal Africa. And when the ladies of Beaded Hope told us about this tradition, the vision for a whole new line of Beaded Hope products was born.

The beads are called Tandkraal, which literally means “tooth compound” in Afrikaans. When the native South Africans tried the word out, they couldn’t quite get it and opted for calling the beads Karakatana instead. The beads have been smoothed and finished to enhance their natural beauty and come in colors of grays, creams and browns.

Finding the beads, proved another challenge. We navigated our way through the local market, without running around in too many circles thanks to our guide, Mighty, and eventually found the strands in a shop selling vuvuzelas, scarves and dish towels. Those basic strands already proved to be versatile and beautiful. We had no idea what would happen when the Beaded Hope ladies got their hands and creativity on the Karakatana.

Once they started working on the Karakatana designs, individual quirks and stories spilled out and into the jewelry itself. But it all began here, with one simple strand.

Thanks to Cincy Chic for featuring Beaded Hope in their “Hometown Heroes – Inspiring People Around Town” issue as their “Fashion for a Cause” organization!

Fashion for a Cause
ELENI SNIDER | CINCY CHIC
Friday, May 28, 2010

A local non-profit organization sells products that are handmade by artists in Africa. Find out how a certain Cincinnati hero is accomplishing all of this and more. This local non-profit reaches across the Atlantic to touch and support women’s lives through fashion.

Beaded Hope offers South Africans the opportunity to work and earn their own income to sustain their life and battle HIV/AIDS at the same time. The African artists create beaded works that explore their imagination and help them gain the resources to improve their medical needs.

Jennifer Davis founded Beaded Hope in 2005 on the basis of helping struggling people in Africa. Women trained in beadwork make handmade crafts like jewelry, small gift items, Christmas ornaments and even apparel that are then sold in the United States. Davis turns to these specific women for her products to help them fight hunger, poverty in their communities and diseases like HIV and AIDS.

A $15 dollar purchase from Beaded Hope is equal to two days of food for one of the African artists, Davis says. Likewise, a $30 purchase pays for the cost of employing one of the artists for a day.

Inspired by a visit to South Africa with Davis, author Cathy Liggett channeled her experiences in her book entitled Beaded Hope that was released in March. The novel centers around three women from Ohio who travel on a mission trip to Africa and who meet an African woman with the idea of creating beaded work that can be taken back and sold in America.

You can purchase this book at many popular bookstores and online at Amazon.com. Liggett also is donating 20 percent of the proceeds from her book sales to the organization. So you can get a good read and help people out all at the same time

Along with being charitable, Beaded Hope jewelry and products also can add stylish taste to your wardrobe. For instance, the tribal colored and printed jewelry and the layering of the bracelets offer two huge fashion trends right now, Davis says. The more the merrier, right?

Davis is a true modern-day hero to the Cincinnati community as well as the community of women artists in South Africa that her organization helps out every day. And what does it mean to be a hero to her?

“To me, heroes are people who give selflessly of themselves to others. Most heroes are everyday people who grasp the opportunity to help someone in need ; a coach who looks for just the right words of encouragement, a neighbor who coordinates meals, a friend who stops what she’s doing to listen,” Davis says. “These, too, are heroes.”

Check out Cincy Chic here and learn about all of the Hometown Heroes here.

At Beaded Hope, we believe in looking good AND doing good.

How about you?¬† Have you been caught “doing good” in a Beaded Hope t-shirt?

Did you shovel your neighbor’s driveway during the latest snowstorm?

Do you tutor inner city kids that need a little extra help?

Have you planted gardens or built houses in Mamelodi?

Way to go!

We want a picture of you, in one of our shirts, doing good.¬† We’ll publish your picture on our website AND we’ll send you a free t-shirt.¬† Seriously.

Just drop a note (with your pic) to us at info@beadedhope.com.¬† We’ll take it from there!

We recently introduced our new signature tee to rave reviews. Check out what our customers are saying:

“I feel socially conscious and hip
wearing this new design in organic cotton,”
says Amy.

“The contrasts in the design remind me
of the contrasts that I saw
throughout South Africa on my
first visit” says Natalie.

This year, we asked local graphic artist Diana Westendorf to give us her perspective of life in South Africa. Her artistic interpretation of the harshness and the beauty of the country is nothing short of amazing.

The 2008 tee is “river blue” with a washed-out image. Blended subtly into the image is the message “Give Hope”. The short-sleeved tees are made of 100% pre-shrunk organic cotton and are fashion cut for ladies.

Beaded Hope announces the release of these fun new bangle bracelets! They are a modern interpretation of a traditional Zulu design. Multi-colored triangles are separated by a zig-zag design of black beads resulting in a unique design that can be paired with nearly any summer outfit!

Get one now!

In South Africa, traditional Zulu beadwork designs relate to courtship and marriage. The combination and arrangement of colors can denote the marital status of a woman or it can be used as a system of identifying individuals who can be approached for courtship.

Like the Zulu language itself, the bead language is rich in nuance and complexity and can only really be fully comprehended by those immersed in the culture.

There are seven basic colors which can have a positive or negative connotation depending upon their arrangement. White is the exception and is always a positive symbol of purity and true love. If white is placed next to a color, the positive aspect is taken. For example, white next to blue signifies fidelity and is the conventional engagement symbol.

Nothing says “I love you” like jewelry. And what better gift can you give this Valentine’s Day than a gift that comes with hope?

When you purchase an item like this beautiful, one-of-a-kind, pink Imbulunga (pronounced imbu-lu-ŋaa) necklace set, you are providing a Beaded Hope artist with the equivalent of 2 1/2 days of employment!

To help you with your shopping, we’ve even created a special category of all Red (and pink) Gifts. How easy is that!

If red and pink aren’t your thing that’s okay. We’ve got lots of other gift ideas, from classic neutrals to trendy metallics, in necklaces, bracelets and even headbands.

So, start shopping, and giving the gift of hope!

I’ve always thought that the beadworking women of Beaded Hope were amazing, but they recently gave me even more reasons to be really excited with our latest shipment of beadwork.

In South Africa, beadwork is a tradition that is handed down from generation to generation. Women sit under an acacia tree or around a camp fire and teach their daughters the art of beadwork. In the Ndebele (pronounced in-da-bey-lee) tribe, learning beadworking skills is part of a young girl’s initiation ritual.

With this training also comes lessons on traditional color combinations. Any study of old, traditional South African beadwork will show that it is typically created using blue, green, red, yellow, black and white. So, when you see a seemingly old piece of beadwork at a market in South Africa, one way to judge its age is by its color.

Not too long ago I received a new shipment of beadwork from South Africa. This is always exciting because I never know exactly what I will be receiving. When I opened the bag, I was simply amazed. The women had not only created pieces of beadwork in beautiful traditional colors but also in amazing contemporary color combinations.

I don’t know how they came up with these ideas. I don’t know if they were influenced by the people that they interact with or if they were simply creative with their color choices. What I do know is that you are the beneficiary of this amazing shipment of beadwork.

And I, once again, am amazed by the beadworking women in South Africa.