The HUNT for the perfect COCKTAIL RING...IS ON!

This (pictured above) is a colour-themed corner of the NAMCRAFTS shop in Maerua Mall, Windhoek, where, I've been tipped, it is possible to find if not the best, really great, Namibian-made COCKTAIL rings.

I have a pet peeve and they're everywhere at the moment, turning up like spoilsports at every decent event, like dust in my eye on a windy day in Windhoek, so are cheap, garish, made-in-China, plastic cocktail rings worn casually and without a hint of shame in and around our lovely African city. What a pity.

I decided there must be a good, well-made, genuine Namibian alternative to these plastic horrors. Asking a few trendy and fashionable folks, listening to a few words of advice from my hairdresser, it wasn't long before I was directed to the NAMCRAFTS outlet in Maerua Mall.

And what I found, was worth the effort...

On dun coloured cushions in the store, are a selection of almost 100 great pieces, all unique and handmade (100% Namibian). Sea-shells, bone, eggshell, fruit pips, quartz in various colours, amethyst, jasper, turquoise (set in silver)...the choices are pleasant. They look good and are not available at made-in-China prices.

Turning around, in the display window of the shop, are a variety of attractive accessories made with quartz. Quartz is a mineral very common to Namibia and good, clear quartz, as we all know, makes for great jewelry. Quartz is so common here, my mother has a large quartz cluster serving as a weight on the stoep table.

Pictured below is a pendant made of citrine-coloured quartz. The clarity is outstanding (you can see my finger right through it) and the cut is very neat and complimentary. In other words, the quartz wasn't butchered, scraped or nicked.

And in addition to the lovely varieties of quartz accessories (citrine-coloured, rose quartz, amethyst), I found a beautiful range made with seashells, of which the bracelet was most enchanting. Not exactly accessories for a cocktail meet and greet, they compliment any wardrobe and will look stunning at any daytime event (see below).

Please click on any of the images to enlarge?

Not bad, I think. My hunt for the perfect cocktail ring in Namibia started well and I'll update as soon as new information (and rings) comes to light. Why should we settle for those awful plastic things? Why not have an unique, handmade, Namibian cocktail ring?

Spare yourself the embarrassment of a plastic 'pearl' falling out of your cocktail ring during an engaging conversation. Visit the NAMCRAFTS shop in Maerua Mall for an interesting alternative, albeit more pricey.

Comments

Tattoo: Ethiopian Coptic Cross (Meskel) Design

C hristianity arrived on the shores of southern Africa approximately 600 years ago, and unbeknownst to the bright-eyed European missionaries who disembarked from sodden ships at the Cape of Good Hope, it had been practiced on the African continent, and flourished as an independent religion for almost 1,000 years before, in Ethiopia. Today, the oldest Christian faith on the continent, rumoured to be closest in resembling early Christianity, is the Ethiopian Coptic Church (or the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church). The cross is the popular universal symbol of Christianity and across the world, in every Christian community, it remains within the parameters of a simple design (+) , almost 2,000 years old. The Ethiopian Coptic Church is the only known Christian community that produces a remarkable version of the cross, called ''meskel''; even more remarkable, this development occurred independent of the influence of European Christianity. Meskel patterns and des

PRESS RELEASE: Insight Namibia Magazine Celebrates 100th Edition (September 2013)

In a magazine market known for its fly-by-nights and flash-in-the-pans, Insight Namibia cc marks its 100th monthly edition with the September 2013 issue . The first edition appeared in September 2004 and throughout the last nine years, Insight maintained its position as Namibia's premier current affairs magazine . Originally started and currently based in Windhoek, Namibia, the magazine's founders, Robin Sherbourne, David Lush and Tangeni Amupadhi, journalists in their own right, at the time (2004) wrote that Insight was 'born out of a feeling that Namibians yearn for more than just hard news.' Readers were promised a publication that went beyond the daily headlines and covered 'the story behind the story' . The magazine was not started with a bank loan; the pioneers pooled their savings to get it off the ground and to this day, that same financial discipline, has ensured that Insight has never taken a loan to cover its operating, printing and overhead cos

DATING IN NAMIBIA: Rules to Remember (for Women)

Even though many Namibian women marry and have families while relatively young (between ages 21- 28), more and more Namibian women are single and dating, 'in the market', as they say in the West. Historically, in the not-too-distant past (23 years ago only), the movements and personal freedoms of many Namibians were severely restricted and controlled by the Apartheid Regime occupying Namibia until 1989, but fortunately, since Independence from South Africa in 1990 , the status of individuals (men and women), their rights and freedoms, are protected and enshrined in the Constitution of the Republic of Namibia . For example, inter-cultural relationships and marriage was illegal 23 years ago, punishable with imprisonment. Despite these amazing new changes in the status of all Namibians, our society is still remarkably conservative (especially rural communities) with regards to the relationships and interaction between men and women. Our parents, extended family, siblings and f

Euro-African Life in Namibia

Search This Blog