Baobab Tree
Wallhanging Kit
Inspired by Africa's
most magnificent tree
Featuring genuine
made-in-Ghana
African wax print
Photo © richardbramphoto.com
Welcome to the African Fabric Shop
Magie Relph & Bob Irwin
To boldly go where TripAdvisor doesn't
Textiles and fabrics
from across Africa
African beads
Recycled glass, brass, plastic and paper
Shell, bone, clay and stone
Genuine Bolga baskets
Quality baskets - fairly traded
Vintage & collectable African textiles
The textile treasures we couldn't resist on our travels
Inspiration
Talks to textile groups
Quilt, bag and jewellery kits
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Books
about African textiles
£2,450 raised for COVID relief in Africa : Thank you all
Our friends and suppliers are extremely grateful to you - our followers and customers - for your donations. Your money has helped them all during this very difficult time. There's still some money left in the pot, which we'll distribute as it's needed.
Now let's kick start Africa's markets
We'll say it again: we're a business, not a charity. Raising donations when they are desparately needed is an honourable thing, of course. Again, we thank you.
But what our friends and suppliers really need is business.
The more fabric, beads and baskets you buy from us online, the more we can buy from Musa, Neneh, Esther, Perpetual, Oklah, Amina, the Brass Bead Boys and the basket weavers at the Baba Tree in Bolgatanga.
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We're putting new items online all the time. By signing up for our e-Newsletter...
- You'll receive special discount codes for our online sale events
- You'll find out first when we put new items on the website
- You'll meet our special friends and suppliers in our informative and entertaining stories
Online shop open as usual
Obviously you can't come to the shop and all of our events are either cancelled or in limbo for the forseeable future.
The good news is: you can still shop for our fabulous African fabrics, beads and baskets online. Happy browsing.
More info: How are we dealing with COVID-19?
Baobab Tree wallhanging © Monika MachonNEW Baobab Tree wallhanging kit
Picture the scene. Gambigo village, across the dried up riverbed from the Baba Tree Basket Co outside Bolgatanga, Ghana.
Late afternoon and a gentle stroll. Villagers heading home from the fields. Bicycles passing. Children fetching water and chasing footballs. And a giant baobab catches light from the setting sun.
Is this the Truman Show? No, it's our Ghana tour last October.
And talented quiltmaker Monika Machon is, like all of us, mesmerised by that magnificent baobab tree.
Now - inspired by that evening stroll - Monika has created our new Baobab Tree wallhanging kit.
And Monika's choice of fabrics? Genuine made-in-Ghana wax prints, of course. With hand-dyed indigo damask by Musa Jaiteh in The Gambia and a touch South African Shwe Shwe.
Marvellous!
View and buy: Baobab Tree wallhanging kit.
Magie mining for textile treasure: our new Vintage Textile FragmentsNEW online: our vintage textile fragments
When we're in Accra we love diving into Kwasi's shed-full of vintage African textiles. He's a real expert and we've learned a lot from him over the years.
Aside from selecting great Vintage and Collectable African Textiles, Magie always spends time sifting through Kwasi's scraps - the sacks of remnants he's saved to repair old and damaged cloths.
You may have seen these textile treasures on display at a show. Now - with all events on hold - you can browse and buy our Vintage Textile Fragments online.
- Old and worn - at least 25 years old
- Salvaged and distressed
- Seriously gorgeous
- Inspiration for your next textile art project
View and buy: Vintage Textile Fragments
NEW fabrics and colours for our Batik Beach Tote Bag Kit: Turquoise and Moss/YellowNEW fabrics and colourways for our Batik beach tote bag kit
What happens when you put together a great bag kit design by our own Dorothy Deane with colourful hand-dyed batiks by Esther Amate in Accra, Ghana?
Answer: the NEWEST fabric and colourway combinations for our easy-to-make batik beach tote bag kit.
- Turquoise colourway - two complementery wax stamped batiks
- Moss/Yellow colourway - deep moss green, bright yellow and a zingy touch of red
View and buy: New colourways of Batik beach tote bag kit