Grace and I connecting with the children at Malimba School in Mfuwe
COMMUNITY

Crackle Connection Celebrations: PATTERNS WITH PURPOSE

Our Co-Founder Anna shares some insights into the making of our new collaboration with Tribal Textiles


During the making of our CRACKLE CONNECTIONS collaboration, Grace and I met so many beautiful people, and makers. It was such a joy having been quite disconnected from the making process in some of our previous collaborations. 

Being able to use the products we have co-created to give back to local community initiatives has brought this collaboration full circle and re-affirmed our belief in the positive power of pattern and design to raise awareness of social and environmental causes, and connect communities together.

Explore the inspiration behind our designs from cracked tree bark to elephants skin

Helping to co-create new positive patterns

Malimba is a rural village within the Mfuwe area on the edge of South Luangwa National Park in Eastern Zambia. Prior to the establishment of Malimba School there were no schools in this area and children were having to walk up to 6km a day to attend classes; even then there were often no places available for them when they got there. 

Tribal Textiles contributes to the Malimba school fund, which helped build and establish the school, before it was adopted into the education system, and now funds activities such as sponsoring trainee teachers’ through college, helping to sponsor extracurricular activities such as sport, art & literature and sourcing books, pens, paper and other essential school materials.

 
Our new PATTERNIPALS showed us around their school
Grace and I made a film that celebrates the textures and journey of our collaboration
"Crafts and textiles can help us learn about culture; the patterns that shape the identity and history of a place. They can teach us about the people, the environment and the textures of a community. Pattern plays a powerful role in helping us to connect with each other, our environment and indeed ourselves"
Celebrating shared values with our new friends at Tribal Textiles

Unified through pattern and craft

Learning first hand about the traditional craft of starch batik from the team of artisans at Tribal Textiles has been such an honour and a key aspect of what has made this collaboration so special; connecting through the language of pattern in hands-on and meaningful ways.
“With our philosophy around connectivity to nature we sometimes find ourselves in conflict about whether we should even make product. Our collaboration with Tribal Textiles however has reminded that consciously created products have the power to give back and connect communities in meaningful ways”
Anna Murray