Travel With Tamara | Upcycling: the new buzz word

Shake the Tree

Established by a mother and daughter team, Shake the Tree makes funky fashion from denim jackets. Both strongly believe that there’s enough on this planet already and don’t want to create more.

Khadia was just 17, and taking a year off before Art College, when she came up with the idea of making jackets. She needed a project to add to her portfolio and – combining her love of fashion with her belief in conservation – she did a few sketches. Her mother Barbara, already a fan of Kenya’s mitumba markets, sourced jackets and fabrics from the local stalls; the pair converted their garage into a workshop and they were off. The jackets, adorned with cool fabrics, brass embellishments and creative tassels are eye-catching and appealing, and can only be described as bohemian chic.

Visiting friends were wowed by their creations and they started getting orders. On their first foray into the world of retail, they took a stall at Purdy Arms; that rainy afternoon they sold 25 jackets, giving them the confidence to try more craft fairs. Each time they took a stall the jackets flew off the rails; at every event, they sold out. Then shops started approaching: the jackets are now sold at Pink Skink, House of Treasures, Langata Link, Utamaduni and Giraffe Manor’s online shop.

Khadia, now doing a foundation course at Art College in Brighton, has taken some jackets to the UK and plans to sell them at the markets there. As a first attempt at business, the experience has taught her a lot – as well as creating the designs, she does the marketing, takes photos, makes videos, creates flyers and writes the invoices. In a year or two, when she’s at university, she plans to take a course in business studies to expand her knowledge.

Ever innovative, the pair continues to create new products. Using khaki jackets, they’ve come up with their Safari Boho line, and using Levi jackets they’re selling a Levi Boho range. Watch out for these products and more at the Bargain Box in May and BizBaz in June.

Zanji Art

Making jewellery out of cutlery might seem farfetched, but Njee Muturi has made this his niche. His instantly recognisable style has taken the markets and craft fairs of Nairobi by storm, and his jewellery can be seen around the wrists and necks of Kenya’s fashionable elite.

Njee, a Maasai from Laikipia, was in Baltimore in the USA when the idea came to him. He met a man from Asia who had rarely met a man from Africa, and they started sharing information about their cultures. His friend talked about crafting jewellery and playing jazz, while Njee spoke of the Maasai culture of Kenya. And the idea was born.

When he returned to Kenya, Njee began selling his creations. Beaded bracelets were the norm here, worn by everyone who was or wanted to be Kenyan. ‘But what is Kenyan?’ asks Njee. ‘Beaded bracelets don’t make you Kenyan.’

He believes that every person has something to give back to society. Some people give money, but he feels that interacting with people through art is a way of giving back. He also believes that his jewellery carries the energy of its previous owner. When he receives a fork or a spoon, he listens to the sounds it makes and feels for what it is telling him. Only when he has sensed the design the cutlery carries within it does he work on it to create something new. ‘Artists see things differently,’ he says. ‘You see something that inspires you, and you work with it’.

Njee lives at Mlango Farm, an organic vegetable farm in Tigoni, where he creates his designs, and has a workshop in Kibera where he polishes and finishes his jewellery. And he’s now moving into sculptures. Having wanted for some time to create larger pieces from cutlery, he is now going ahead with his dream. Watch this space for innovative recycled cutlery sculptures.

Black Fly

Ruth Abade makes leather bags, wallets and accessories from bright pieces of African fabric and old leather jackets. Her designs could be mistaken for Italian couture, yet they’re fashioned from mitumba second hand clothes.

With a degree in Industrial Design from Nairobi University and a year in Italy learning leather bag design under her belt, Ruth started by designing women’s jackets in African prints. But it was what she found on her workshop floor that inspired her to create her unique and best-selling items.

From what she calls ‘spill pieces’ – cut out fragments of fabric left over from the jackets – she fashioned all kinds of accessories. Then she had her idea. Using old leather jackets, as well as buttons, zips and buckles from mitumba markets, she created handbags, purses and clutches. Each piece is handmade, elegant – and completely original.

Ruth believes that many Kenyans like leather, but few can afford it. Using second-hand leather helps her keep her prices down – and of course allows her to reuse and recycle as consistent with her eco-friendly beliefs. Her team opens and cleans the leather, and turns it into one-off items. Although Ruth has a collection of items of her own design, she also welcomes buyers to her workshop where they can specify the colours they like and the kind of item they’d like, inspiring the team to create a custom-made piece.

Black Fly has a stall at Nairobi’s famous Toi Market, and does pop-up sales around the world – recent events showcasing this gorgeous range of products took place in Johannesburg, Dar es Salam and New York.