In March of 2012, the Tanzanite Foundation and designer Naomi
Sarna started the Maasai Ladies Project to teach 12 Maasai women, living in the
foothills of Mt. Kilimanjaro, where the tanzanite mines are located, the craft of wire-wrap
jewelry-making so they could start their own business. TanzaniteOne Mining Ltd.
donated tumbled tanzanite to the women, and the tools needed to create the
pieces were brought in from the U.S. The 12 Maasai women get together three
times a week in a small house next door to a school to work on creating their
jewelry. Each handcrafted piece incorporates the tumbled tanzanite into a
Maasai design. The jewelry is now being sold at the Tanzanite Experience Stores
in Tanzania and on the Liquidation Channel, a jewelry and gemstone television
network based in Austin, Texas. So far, $15,000 has been raised from sales of
the jewelry on the television network. The money goes back to a fund for the
Maasai women. Freelance photographer Adam Woodhams is documenting the project
and also acts as its business manager. YOU MUST HAVE JAVASCRIPT ENABLED TO VIEW THE SLIDESHOW
Cassy Saba Jewelry, the eponymous line created by designer Cassy
Saba, is inspired by historic, cultural and social influences from her life in
the Southwest, her passion for New York City chic and her ancestral bond to the
Middle East. She describes her work as “statement jewelry that transforms your
style from everyday to extraordinary.”
She recently began designing with diamonds, developing versatile pieces
that can be worn to any occasion, at any time of day.
Article from the Rapaport Magazine - August 2013. To subscribe click here.