We named these darling, simple to wear single strand necklaces Kirabo which means gift in Luganda (a local language in Uganda). It is also my Ugandan name.
These are bold, chunky, rustic and totally fabulous. I wear them all the time and they often stir up a conversation about the beads. Which is great, as I get to talk about my work. I wear them with a t-shirt and also with a pin stripe suit. Just love the contrast.
The paperbeads for these necklaces are made from recycled book pages and magazine paper, no two are exactly alike. Some of the text is readable and very visible across the beads.
The paperbeads have been made from strips of paper, rolled tightly and then varnished 5 times for durability before being strung into a necklace. This is a very time consuming process. But, it is like making something beautiful from nothing.
There are different shapes of beads in this necklace. But the main feature of this design are the chunky flat tubular beads that are just about 1 2/8 of an inch. There are 4 such beads in each necklace. And the colors vary quite a bit since they are made from magazine and book pages.
The seed beads in this necklace are either gold tone or pewter.
There is a silver tone lobster clasp.
The length of each necklace is just about 13 inches.
These are handmade by our team of women artisans in the slums of Kampala, Uganda. No two necklaces are alike.
