accessories

This vibrant tablet bag by Thai Tribal Crafts captures the spirit of the Lisu hill tribe’s artistry. With a fully lined interior, it’s as practical as it is eye-catching, featuring intricate appliqué details that dance with stripes and geometric shapes in a rainbow of purples, reds, yellows, oranges, greens, blues, black and white. Boasting a zippered closure, this colorful cotton and rayon case adds a pop of cultural charm to everyday essentials.

In colors of kelly green, maize, and charcoal, zigzags, geometric patterns, and small stripes decorate this Ghanaian shawl. Akoma of West Africa presents this scarf, which is handwoven from a rayon and cotton blend to create three strips of kente fabric that are sewn together.

Exuding a regal vibe, this traditional shawl is created by the talented artisans of Ghana's Akoma of West Africa. A variety of vibrant colors combine to create striped patterns, woven by hand from a rayon and cotton blend in the kente style. This shawl features four strips of the classic fabric that are sewn together.

Fit for royalty, this traditional shawl combines mulberry and white to create geometric patterns. Ghana's Akoma of West Africa creates this fringed shawl, which is woven by hand to form four strips of kente fabric that are sewn together. This shawl's width allows it to double as a scarf.

Fit for royalty, this traditional kente scarf combines mulberry and white to create geometric patterns. Ghana's Akoma of West Africa creates this fringed scarf, which is woven by hand.

Woven by hand, three strips of traditional West African kente cloth become a colorful scarf. Deborah Osei Boakye continues her grandfather's craft with this extraordinary design. Each strip of kente cloth requires considerable effort, and the looms are worked with both hands and feet. Each color has its own meanings in Ashanti culture, and the patterns themselves are carefully chosen symbols, which a master weaver develops and names. This design is named Nsatsia, meaning "fingers" in the Akan language. Its motifs suggest interlocking fingers from both hands.

Forever inspired by the vibrant colors adorned during traditional celebrations and festivities, artisan Rachel Armah uses lively shades of indigo, maize, and crimson to create this stunning kente scarf. The Ghanaian artisan uses a traditional loom to create the rich cotton blend kente fabric, typical to the Akan ethnic group of West Ghana. The scarf is called obaapa, meaning "virtuous woman" in the Ghanaian Akan language.

Forever inspired by the vibrant colors adorned during traditional celebrations and festivities, artisan Rachel Armah uses lively shades of indigo, maize, and crimson to create this stunning kente scarf. The Ghanaian artisan uses a traditional loom to create the rich cotton blend kente fabric, typical to the Akan ethnic group of West Ghana. The scarf is called obaapa, meaning "virtuous woman" in the Ghanaian Akan language.

The intricate texture in this handsome kente cloth shawl is inspired by beach pebbles. Designed by a fisherman around 1898, its name means "pebbles of the shore are hard to crack." The tiny blocks of pattern represent the thoughts of that ancestral craftsman. Handcrafted by the Gobah Tengey-Seddoh Family, this extraordinary double weave textile is one of the most difficult patterns to achieve. These expert weavers use traditional looms and a cotton blend.

Each strip requires considerable effort, and the looms are worked with both hands and feet. Strips are generally three to four inches wide and seven to ten feet long, and the length of time it takes to complete one strip varies by the complexity of the chosen pattern. The simplest use mostly vertical, or warp patterns, and an experienced weaver can make several of those in one day. But patterns with nearly all weft (horizontal thread) patterns, where the warp design is hardly visible, can take up to four days to complete an individual strip. Each color has its own meanings in Asante culture. Green is fertility and new harvest, gold is royalty, black is strength, aging, and spirituality, while white is purity. The patterns themselves are carefully chosen symbols, which a master weaver develops and names, often to honor people, historical events, or proverbs.

Erna Gendhis adorns a stunning creation with a warm palette that enhances its unique batik pattern. As an expert in this ancient art, the Javanese artisan crafts this rayon shawl featuring an intricate design in honor of the stunning regional coasts, finishing with little fringes for a vivacious style.

Java's Erna Gendhis draws inspiration from the traditional colors of the island to create a vibrant accessory made with ancient techniques. This rayon shawl features an intricate batik pattern in a palette of purple, green, yellow and blue hues that represent the cheerful nature of the place, with little fringes adding a cute touch. 

Working on the traditional backstrap loom, Guatemalan artisans hand-weave this scarf from rayon, creating diamond patterns from the denim and snow white threads. Helping local artisans learn artisanal techniques, Women United for Artisan Development presents this lovely accessory.