Keeping you up-to-date with the Mefie Newsletter and our new Leather Range!

Hello Folks!  As always we are trying to keep in touch and we have launched a newsletter which we wanted to share...so check it out below! Welcome to our new newsletter! Thank you for following the journey and evolution of Mefie.  It has been an amazing year thus far and we wanted to have the opportunity to share stories about our travels, our makers and us! In this first edition learn about our new leather range and find out a little more about our woven kente cushions. Enjoy!

Introducing the Mefie Leather Range http://www.mefie.co.uk/catalog/leather-collection In September, we at Mefie debuted our new leather line at The London Design Festival.  Continuing our tradition of mixing prints, we have designed our satchel, shoulder bag and orange clutch using our signature mixed print motif.  Each bag combines a digital print imposed onto a hard-wearing fabric then mixed with top grain leathers.  Our plum clutch bag is another unique piece where we have combined suede with a traditional tie and dye from Ghana. In honour of our new range and newsletter, we are offering our customers a 10% discount (ENTER LEA01 at the checkout) on any leather handbag pre-ordered before the 15th of October. The full range will be available to purchase by October 30th both on our website and to view at Portobello Road Market and Alexandra Palace...so get yours before they go!!! Kente, Kente Kente! At the beginning of the year Mefie introduced a line of handwoven cushions using the traditional Ghanaian weave Kente. Our customers loved the vibrant colours and intricate designs featured in our kente cushions.  Since then, we have continued to introduce more designs to the line and so we wanted to share it with you. Kente, and the weaving tradition in West Africa, can be traced back to ancient civilizations as far back as 300 AD.  Legend has it that a man named Ota Karaban and his friend Kwaku Ameyaw from  Bonwire (the leading Kente weaving center in Ashanti), learned the art of weaving by observing a spider weaving its web. After watching the spider, they wove a strip of raffia fabric and later improved upon their skill. They reported their discovery to their chief, who reported it to the Asantehene (The Ashanti King) at that time. The king adopted it as a royal cloth and encouraged its development as a cloth of prestige and hence kente was born.*  Our handwoven cushions are  the epitome of luxury and craftsmanship.  Each cushion is hand-woven in this traditional weave originally made for royalty in Ghana.  Kente is available in a single, double or triple weave.  Each double weave kente cushion combines two patterns woven on a strip loom while our triple weave cushions combine 3 or more patterns and colours to create a beautiful design.  Triple weave kente is created on a strip loom using mainly silk threads while double weaves combine silk and cotton. At Mefie we work with weavers in Bonwire, Ghana who spend up to three months to skilfully create each cloth.  Check out our kente cushions made for kings, queens and you! *The History of Weaving Kente Cloth, http://kente.midwesttradegroup.com/ ...And Finally Our Director's Thoughts Since introducing the kente cushions, many have asked why Kente and so I thought I would share my kente journey.  Although Kente originated in the Ashanti region of Ghana, variations of the weave are also seen in neighbouring countries.  Kente remains the most famous African weave and is known worldwide for its vibrant colours and designs. I grew up in Canada in the '80's, where I saw kente on beautiful women around me, and on TV...especially when watching the Cosby show (an '80's staple).  Hence, I was aware of the significance of kente from an early age.  During my first trip to Ghana, I was so excited to go to the home of Kente but upon my arrival I was saddened to see that the area famed for its beautiful fabric remains largely undeveloped and weavers work hard to attract buyers.  Hence, in using kente, I wanted to find a way to celebrate the beauty of the weave and to share it with as many people as possible...hence the kente cushion was born! My goal is to ensure that all people have the opportunity to appreciate the works.  Cushions will be admired in your home everyday and with a cushion as special as a kente cushion it will have pride of place in any room. Mefie is on the Move!  We are back in Ghana for October so look out for our next newsletter with interviews and more! ...And tell a friend to tell a friend...we are new and need you to spread the word!!!

Apologies for the long absence....we shall explain...

It has been approximately 6 weeks since we provided an update from mefie.co.uk.  We apologise profusely for our silence as we want everyone to share in our journey to make mefie the brand that we know it can be. 

We stopped writing the blog during our time in Ghana as we researched production and tried to determine how to manufacture within the country.  Overall, we were in Ghana for two months in which time we had the opportunity to meet with various artisans and craftspeople, large-scale fabric manufacturers as well as business-people operating in Ghana.  The trip was a great experience -- it was truly eye-opening and we worked hard to establish the right contacts to ensure future growth and success!  After exploring various options, we found that although there are a plethora of skilled craftspeople working throughout Ghana -- it is difficult to obtain the consistency in product that is needed to compete in Europe and North America.  So we have decided to start small and have found some great artisans with which to work on some of  the line, using man-made leathers and cloth while working with more established manufacturers and incorporating cloth made in Ghana in the leather and water-resistant  products in the line.  So as we continue to grow we have set a longer term goal to move manufacturing to Ghana and expand to other African nations and to train and up-skill the workforce. 

So our journey continues... to date, we have succeeded in creating all of our beautiful cushions in Ghana...and they are a hit!  After having just returned to the UK a month ago --we have sold out of our kente cushions and we are currently back in Ghana producing more housewares which will be available online, at Portobello and Spitalfields markets as well as in stores where we are currently stocked.

We have also begun working with a great craftsman who has done an amazing job creating our bags!  Thus far our new designs have been well-received and again one of our popular orange tote bags has already sold out a mere 4 weeks after coming to market!  Again, we are now back creating further handbags to be sold online and in-person!

We have also been listening to our customers who love the  African inspired handbags and want accessories for all occasions and seasons.  In order to meet this demand we are introducing weather-resistant cloth bags mixed with both real and man-made leather.  Our hope is to ensure that our customers can rock our goods both at work and play, rain or shine!  Hence, again we are working hard to make this development a reality!  At the moment we are not able to produce these bags in Ghana but with growth comes greater possibilities...for now we are partnering with manufacturers who are able to provide the technology needed and for the long term we will look to grow our manufacturing in Ghana and across the African continent.

I hope you enjoy the new line as we introduce them!  Thanks to those who have posted on our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages we look forward to hearing from many of you over the next few days, weeks, and months!

I hope you enjoy the adventure...I know we are!

PS - here is a sneak peak at some of the leather bags to come as well as some pics of the great work done in Ghana thus far!

xx
mefieuk

Our new leather designs!

Some of the wonderful cloth and bags made in Ghana and designed for you!