Custom Jewelry - Ilha de Moçambique

Maputo, despite its status as the capital and largest city in Mozambique, is actually a really small place. Word travels fast through this community, and reputation alone can easily make or break a person no matter what his line of work. In my case, the Maputo word of mouth grapevine has been a great tool in growing my jewelry business. My marketing efforts are minimal to non-existant at this point. All I do is sell to my girlfriends at my occasional cocktail parties, and set up a booth at the crafts fair once a month.

Still, word has gotten around and I've recently received several solicitations for custom work from women in the international community. Coincidentally, both jobs involved doing custom designs using beads and components the women purchased in Ilha de Moçambique. One of the women got several strands of centuries-old trade beads that the islanders dig for in the sand that I reworked into 3 necklace sets and several bracelets. The other woman purchased pendants and discs made of gold-tone mother of pearl, which I made into slightly more upmarket designs.

Here are some photos of the results: