SLOW MADE in Indonesia…

With over 17,000 tropical islands to call home, Indonesia is a cultural fascination. From batik to betel nuts and every island culture in between, this region has some of the world's poorest places but so rich with traditions.

Threads of Life work directly with more than 35 artisan groups on islands from Kalimantan to Timor, to help empower and preserve ancient cultures unique to this great archipelago.

IMAGE: The Hinggi is traditionally worn by Sumbanese men with the unique motifs announcing a man’s social status. Photo © Threads of Life.

SLOW MADE in Cambodia…

From a corporate-chasing, career girl in America, to a not-for-profit organisation founder in third world Cambodia, Kate Davis has cultivated everything in her power to inspire fair-trade equality for traditional communities in Cambodia.

Kate's journey is an honest perspective that reminds us that humanity can be achieved with collective unity and kindness. Her story also validates a common though not often practiced affirmation... 'follow your heart…’

We love this story!

Photo by Brandon Hill.

SLOW MADE in Bali… Make A Scene!

If you’ve been to Bali you will definitely be familiar with the local craftsmanship and beauty of Canang Saris sprinkled all over the island, as daily offerings for the Gods that have been handmade for generations. This traditional connection to Mother Nature and the spiritual world through ceremony with gratitude is the Bali way…

Natural, sustainable and incredible… the artisan team at Make a Scene! in Bali, Indonesia combine traditional craftsmanship with wild imagination to create theatrical designs set to take the world stage, without being wasteful. Meet the talented, local team creating all the magic behind the Island’s larger-than-life scenes…

Image courtesy Juraj Sedlak

SLOW MADE in India: Dabu and woodblock printing

Woodblock printing in India is an old-world trade that still produces mile after mile of beautiful fabrics that could easily wrap the world!

Jeremy Fritzhand is the founder behind Studio Bagru in Rajasthan. He's been collaborating with these traditional artisans for years and is on a mission to help protect and empower these hard-working communities, so that their ancestral craftsmanship never fades. He takes us through the process of this 4000-year-old tradition… one manual woodblock print at a time.

Photo: Namdev Krishi Farm communal drying space in Bagru, India. Photo by Studio Bagru.

Storyteller: Emily Lush

With 50 countries in 5 years mapped out in her soul, it's fair to say, Emily Lush loves to travel. She's a storyteller with all the savvy social skills to manage work on the roam. her passion for indigenous and cultural sustainability are well-preserved in her words and imagery. She's a 'Brissy' girl (Australian), now based in Tbilisi, Georgia. The Caucasus region is her current lifestyle muse.

SLOW STAY in Morocco: Berber Lodge

If your travel dream is to get lost in the chaos of souks and side streets in Marrakech, well… we’ve discovered a slow stay not far away… to rest your weary feet and take your mind to a million worlds away…

Photo © Berber Lodge.

NEW TO STORE…

Paris. London. New York. These locations are synonymous with fashion. But there’s another location emerging, all wild with fresh colour and traditional style… hello Ghana!

To introduce our very first artisan brand to SHIBUI store* we reached out to the owner and creative director behind AAKS, Akosua Afriyie-Kumi. Her vibrant ambition has manifested into a world-class accessories brand, and although 2020 started in a great cloud of uncertainty, the global wave of ‘black lives matter’ lifted spirits and Akosua’s team in Ghana have since been busy slow-making AAKS beautiful bags to keep up with the exciting new demand.

* We only support slow, fair, natural and traditional artisan brands.

Photo: Akosua Afriyie-Kumi, owner and creative director. ©AAKS

Threads of Peru: Textile Artisans of Cusco

In a remote part of the world is a vibrant and culturally thriving community of textile artisans. Although they inhabit a landscape that is a gentle palette of pastel hues, their handcrafted designs are some of the most colourful in the world. Meet the artisans from Cusco, Peru. This community is so unique and invaluable for world heritage interests and the textile industry, Threads of Peru is doing everything to help preserve this long-standing traditional community.

PHOTO Megan Revell. Artisan weaver Demesia Sinchi Echame partners with Threads of Peru.

Licitar Love from Croatia

Her beauty, beyond words. Her history has sailed across the Adriatic Sea since ancient Roman times. Each of her islands are unique, the residential ones dream drops of lifestyle perfection. Dubrovnik is her medieval heart throb. Also a UNESCO World Heritage listed travel fascination that leaves visitors with awe-struck impressions to last a lifetime. Darling Croatia we love you. But your sweetest surprise is your traditional token of love. A little, red, national treasure, the licitar heart. Especially on Valentine’s Day.

Jake James: Blacksmith

Jake James specialises in architectural and contemporary modern-design forged ironwork, but he knows that everytime he places a piece of steel into an intense flame, he is stepping back into history which is several thousands of years old.

An Englishman now living in Canada, Jake has two decades of award-winning work under his belt, and crafts forged metal not just into a finished product, but into a sensory experience.

Mandy Aftel: Perfume Maker

Mandy Aftel is not your average artisanal perfumer. She is ranked in the top seven of natural perfume makers in the world by Forbes. She was recently invited to collaborate on a ‘multi-sensory’ project led by GOOGLE. Her nose has been appointed to recreate a perfume for a 2000 year old, Egyptian child mummy, and… Leonard Cohan asked her to create a signature perfume for him.

Portrait photo by Foster Curry

Andreas Söderlund: Woodworker

As days and nights grow cooler in the Southern Hemisphere, our northern conterparts awake to the hope of spring. From his attic window in Norway, woodworker Andreas Soderlund watches snow melt into sunshine, and pieces of timber turn into intricately carved pieces of art.

Royal Shakespeare Company: Costume Makers

Think Elizabethan England… a generation of social hierarchy climbing high on the romance of fresh poetry, literature and music prolific to its time. But wherefore art thou exquisite Tudor style fashion now?

Jacopo De Michelis: Venice, Italy

DESTINATION Venice. Bellissimo Venice! The city of islands that is tidal and although a heritage-listed site potentially sinking onto Unescos’ in-danger list, Venice still remains a favourite bucket list destination to photograph at least once in a lifetime.

IMAGE: Gondola in the fog, Venice, Italy.

Pamakane Pico: Aloha a Lei, Hawaii

LOVE is in the air and at the heart of Polynesian traditions. And what connects the Pacific Islands across the ocean so beautifully is the flower chain ‘lei’. Floral and lei artist Pamakane Lehua Pico shares the art of this aloha custom from her home in Hawaii.

Maria Ruiz Ortiz: Flamenco Dancer and Teacher

The Andalusia region of Spain is a cultural feast with its rich history of Arabic rule very evident in the architecture, food, lifestyle and Flamenco!

Zoe Bradley: Paper Scaper

Zoe Bradley’s hand-sculpted, paper installations are attracting global attention with luxe brands infusing the retail market with her intoxicatingly beautiful paper scapes.

Akubra: Felt Hat Makers

This iconic Australian brand and hat has some of the best felt makers in the world.

SHIBUI & Co.January 12, 2019akubra, shibuiandco, travelmeetstradition, meetthemaker, StephenKeir, shibuipaperplanes, feltmaking

SHIBUI & Co. HQ

AWARD WINNER 2021: ‘Best slow travel curation agency, australia.’ (business excellence awards, Acquisition International, UK)

award WINNER 2020 ‘Best Cultural Tourism Publisher’ (business excellence awards, Acquisition International, UK)