Jewellery: Adèle Dejak Contemporary African Jewelry
Adèle Dejak [Kenya]
[Image credit: Adèle Dejak]
‘Lots and lots of Africa with an injection of European influences’ is how jewellery designer Adèle Dejak describes the inspiration for her striking collections of contemporary jewellery. Born in Kano, Nigeria and raised in Cambridge, UK; Adèle moved to Nairobi, Kenya in 2005 where she started her business Magik Grace Art and Design. Although trained as a typographer Adèle’s move to Kenya saw her take up painting before eventually turning her artistic attention to jewellery design, launching her new eponymous accessories brand, Adèle Dejak earlier this year.
Ancient African art in the form of West African masks, pottery and other symbolic artefacts is a major source of design inspiration for Adèle. Inspired by the natural beauty and colours of ebony, horn and bone; Adèle experiments with different techniques of carving the materials into dynamic, organic shapes that become earrings, necklaces, bracelets, and rings accentuating the body and reflecting the women who wear them. Other materials used to produce the bold and subtle statement designs include metals, beads and locally sourced leather. In addition to jewellery, the Adèle Dejak accessories range has grown to include belts, bags and footwear using unique materials like cement bags, sugar and rice sacks; along with traditional African textiles, another major source of inspiration and most likely a reference to Adèle’s West African roots. Each item of jewellery is presented to the customer in a drawstring Khanga cloth bag.
[Image credit: Adèle Dejak]
Operating from a workshop in Kiambu, the Adèle Dejak team has grown from 1 to 28 workers to include skilled artisans, jewellery makers, tailors and apprentices producing her designs; to the local managers and the shop assistants helping to run her three retail outlets.
…stunning statements of African shapes and textures
Additional details:
Prices on Indagare Souk range from: USD$25-USD$320
For further information about Adèle Dejak visit: www.adeledejak.com
Select pieces can be purchased from: www.souk.indagare.com
