S jo was born out of a RCA design PhD project looking to evolve power & privilege specifically within the act of craft practice between traditional women’s craft communities and NGOs/designers in development. It consistently searches for new vocabulary & syntax for traditional craft skills and makers. Our signature jewellery, conceptualised in 2011, values each craftwoman’s creativity. The magic of our pieces comes from the symphony of working together as different craftswomen, in a nurturing and mutual learning space.
S jo Founder – Seher x
AMB is a community of traditional hand weavers. Collaboration with them started in 2013 and it is the most recent addition to our family of craft communities and the S jo ideology. This skilled community consists of men and women who work together to produce the most intricate pattern weaves on 16 shaft, pit looms. Primitive means yet precise work with amazingly straight selvedges, leave S jo's founder (Seher) a hand weaver herself awe-struck. Traditionally the community made light cotton and silk bed coverings with beautiful detail and are still highly skilled at it.
However, current work has been limited to polyester/cotton mixes and acrylic shawls to make a faster return and, due to lack of resources the community is unable to sustain the practice of the highly ornate and complex Kheis weaves. The younger generations have also been disillusioned by weaving as they feel it is not valued and very few master weavers remain today.
Our work encourages and facilitates a rediscovery of their passion, imagination, creativity, a sense of self and value for their craft. This community makes our handwoven folk cotton scarves.
Through a local initiative the artisans were re-introduced to natural dyes including onion peel, turmeric, eucalyptus and other local tree bark. We want to continue this process and plan on working with indigo and other more complex natural dyes.