"Mielie" is, officially, the Afrikaans word for corn/maize. But it's also the word all South Africans use for corn (and its by-products), no matter what language they happen to speak. Now, "Mielie" is a small business after my own heart. Employing over 50 artists the mission is "to design and produce innovative, export-quality hand-crafted products using reclaimed materials - with the aim of creating employment and restoring dignity and financial independence to South Africans". The Mielie Peeps work out of their homes, sell across the planet, share a community garden and create the most amazing things using strips of t-shirt fabric!!
The items pictured here are the tip of the Mielie-berg. I cannot begin to capture the variety and creativity of these folks. Wanna learn to weave like a Mielie Peep? Follow the links to the two free tutorials... after the jump.
(Disclaimer: This is NOT a sponsored post. My opinions are my own and I was not reimbursed in any way by Mielie.)
Great find! Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteMichael
I don't see a tutorial. When I followed the link there was simply a few pictures of drawings of a case on a page. I was hoping for an actual tutorial on how to do this weaving, or hooking, or whatever it is.
ReplyDeleteHere's a direct link to their tutorial:
Deletehttp://www.mielie.com/ipodpouchtut.pdf
These are absolutely beautiful. I must correct the terminology however. These are not weaving. They are traditional rug hooking. BIG difference.
ReplyDelete