Exploring Africa Through Jewellery by L13

Hello, I am L13.  I am Claire’s quieter and somewhat more creative twin.  Over the past year I have become very interested in home-made jewellery, so much so that Mummy decided to incorporate jewellery making into my school.  Together we came up with a project based on African jewellery.  I have always LOVED African jewellery, so I was very excited.  Deciding on what my project would entail took a bit of work, but we finally came up with enough ideas to not only excite me greatly but also to keep me very busy 🙂  This post is about all my plans including what I am hoping to achieve during the duration of this project.

Research the History of African Jewellery 

In the only writing part of my project, I hope to learn not just the history, but also the regional differences and any nuances and/or meaning behind the jewellery (for example ceremonial jewellery).  I will write up my findings in report form and this will form the basis of my presentation.

African Jewellery Party

Having attended a Pampered Chef Party with Mummy a few years ago, we thought it would be a great idea for me to hold an African Jewellery Party.  In case you do not know what these type of parties are like, I shall explain.  Parties of this kind are a way for an individual or company to introduce guests to their products, and hopefully sell some to them.  In this case, I will introduce the African jewellery to my guests with the goal of informing them about African jewellery in general and selling my own home-made examples.

My party will include the following elements:

• A Display of my African Jewellery

I will create a beautiful and hopefully eye-catching display of all the African jewellery I have made.  This display will entail a bust wearing a few of the pieces, plaster-cast hands which will display my home made rings and bracelets, as well as a few display boxes.  I will also have an extensive supply of the jewellery already packaged on display, in addition to some business cards.

• Presentation

The display (as described above) will also contain some information boards, based on my report, and will include some pictoral examples of actual African Jewellery.  I will present both my report and my jewellery in this presentation.  I will be talking specifically about tribal jewellery, symbolic jewellery in addition to exploring the methods used to make the jewellery.

• Demonstration

I will be demonstrating how to make one or two pieces of simple African Jewellery.  I hope to show you not only how the African people create the jewellery they wear, but also the skills I have learnt in the past few months.

My Personal Objectives

Apart from gaining a knowledge about African Jewellery, I hope to learn new skills in jewellery making, in particular paper bead making and fabric wrapping.  I also own a small business making and selling hand-made jewellery and I am looking forward to introducing it to my guests 🙂