Kibibi came into being when An travelled to Kenya and Malawi with her boyfriend 10 years ago. Here she discovered creative jewellery makers without an outlet. An was amazed by their beautiful creations and came up with the idea of buying the jewellery and selling it back in Belgium.
Today, Kibibi’s jewellery is made by various creative makers from Uganda who crossed An’s path. Read more about the personal stories of the African jewellery makers on the Kibibi website.
In addition to unique African jewellery, you will also find the ‘hANdremade collection’ at Kibibi. These are African jewels that needed a little extra love and which An fixed up herself. An also makes her own jewellery from loose ceramic beads, natural stones and recycled paper.
The collections of Kibibi are constantly changing and therefore consist of different materials such as cotton, glass, dried banana leaves, copper wire, metal, wood, … The jewellery is made of upcycled or natural materials. In this way, An wants to keep the ecological impact of the jewellery as low as possible.
When buying new jewellery, An always looks for upcycled materials. Among other things, you will find circular earrings made of copper wire recovered from electrical appliances.
In addition, the Kibibi jewellery is wrapped in kraft paper and the jewellery cards are made of recycled paper. The plastic envelopes that Kibibi uses were saved from the trash, so they did not end up in landfills. In this way, An tries to limit the footprint of her jewellery as much as possible.
The Kibibi earrings are created and designed in Africa with local materials. An buys the jewels directly from the creative jewellery designers in Uganda and keeps the supply chain as short as possible.
Kibibi also tries to avoid unnecessary transport as much as possible by selling at physical markets and shops and delivering the jewellery and products by bicycle. Discover the double cycling market stall weekly in Aartselaar or at the Theaterplein in Antwerp.
The vast majority of the Kibibi collection is vegan and therefore contains no animal products. Occasionally you will find a piece of jewellery that is not vegan, such as earrings made from cow’s horn. These are made in a Fairtrade organisation from remnants of the Ugandan meat industry.
Are you a vegan and do you attach a lot of importance to animal friendliness? Be sure to ask An for advice, she’ll be happy to help you find a pair of earrings that perfectly matches your values.
The earrings at Kibibi are not trend-sensitive and therefore timeless. In addition, the earrings are handmade and only available in small editions. So no overproduction, but products made with love. What’s more, it allows you to find your own unique piece of jewellery!
Kibibi is very transparent about its collaboration with local makers in Uganda, on the website each artist got their own information page! Want to know more about the jewellery, materials or makers? Visit the Kibibi stall at one of the many markets and An will be happy to answer your questions!
Conclusion
Do you want to discover the sustainable, handmade earrings of Kibibi? Check out the Kibibi points of sale below or discover Kibibi’s cycling market stall. Discover the overview of markets where Kibibi is present throughout the year here.
