Born and raised in Johannesburg, Henriette Botha studied Jewellery Design at the University of Johannesburg, followed by a postgrad in Fashion Design at Instituto Marangoni in Paris. Having worked at well known fashion house, Balmain Paris, as a collection coordinator for over 2 years, she finally decided in 2012 that it was time to come home and pursue her own dreams. The main aim of Henriette Botha is to take the skills of traditional South African craft, add a modern twist and unconventional materials, as well as to create employment. Every piece is handmade, unique and beautiful for bold and individual women. Peep more below and check out her website here

  There is just something so sexy about a man in a suit. You can read all about the brand here and  check out some pictures below...........

 Linda Fiamanya is a Ghanaian-born Australian designer who has a penchant for outrageous colours. Growing up in Sydney, Linda wanted to marry the two cultures that she's lived in together and what better way to do it than through her love of handbags. Coconsa is a vibrant and fresh new range of designer handbags that combines the quirkiness of traditional West African (Ghanaian) fabrics with contemporary materials giving avid fashion lovers that fun, flirty, classy and quirky feel. Each design is individually crafted ensuring the uniqueness of the styles. They endeavour to give each customer the opportunity to be in the spotlight because their exclusive collection guarantees the rarity of their range of products. All their handbags are made in Australia and overseas using authentic West African fabrics such as Ankara, kente or lace, combined with 100% genuine leather. Peep more pictures below and check them out on Facebook here.

Meet 23 years old law student  Anthonia Nkem Emegha the designer behind Ms Ray  and also the current title holder of Miss Africa Netherlands. During her reign as Miss Africa Netherlands her passion for fashion started to grow. With her love for African fabric she decided to start what she always loved to do which is designing. In january 2012  she  finally launched  her clothing line  called Ms.Ray Couture dedicated to her late father Mr Raymond. Ms.Ray is all about bringing out the African in everybody and yet remaining sophisticated and fashionable. You can check them out on facebook and peep more photos  below.......

Tina Ndidi Ugo is the creative director behind Didi Creations. The UK based label which caters for the fashion conscious male and female through creating unique pieces of clothing , footwear, bags and accessories was started a year ago. Most of their designs are drawn from Glamour, colour, vintage style, African arts and culture.Each of their design is hand crafted from start to finish by the best and tested artisans around the globe. Peep some of their work below....

 Hesey Designs is a fashion label that specializes in creating custom-made apparels and accessories for women. Blending their exotic creative designs with African prints, they produce unique items that enable their customers get all the attention they deserve. Hesey designs is currently focused on growing the accessory line of the business. Items in their line include bags, shoes, slippers; all inspired by the African culture.In 2011, Hesey Designs featured in Lagos Style week where 10 unique clothing were showcased that drew applauds from fashion enthusiastic and designers alike. The brand officially launched in July 2012. You can peep more designs below.....

  FURAHA which  means “happy” in Swahili is a socially-conscious East African brand created in 2010 to combine delight in TheirAfrican heritage with the joy of providing meaningful work for local artisans.They are best known for their “Kikapu”, a traditional hand-woven raffia palm basket adorned in vibrant African prints and hand-woven textiles. The raffia palm baskets are hand woven by rural women weavers from villages in Central Uganda. Because their weavers derive 100% of their income from production of the baskets, FURAHA started an initiative called “Weave Out Poverty” to promote the common traditional skill of basket weaving into a home-based industry. The ultimate goal of “Weave Out Poverty” is to provide income-generating opportunities, as well as reliable and sustainable employment for the weavers. FURAHA women entrepreneurs can go on to eventually create their own small businesses and secure loans that allow them to expand their workshops and weave a proud future. Check out more photos below and on Facebook 

 Nothing says Valentine's day than Roses, chocolates  and of course a perfect pair of Lingerie. Every year on valentine's week I spotlight the work of  some our (Africans) lingerie designers , so this year I would like to introduce you to French based line Ati Klaman. They design their lingerie with African print fabrics otherwise known as kitenge or Ankara. Unfortunately I am not sure of the sizing but  You  check them out on Facebook here and more lingerie below.

Eugenia Osei-Asante is a Ghanaian-born American designer and an entrepreneur. Asante is the designer of Bucolic (www.bucolicbombshells.com) and the founder of "The Bucolic Foundation" (Sow a stitch, Save a child), a Non- profit organization in Ghana that supports underpriviledged children. Asante discovered her passion for designing very early when she was only four years old. Her mother had bought her a small sewing machine and Asante was hooked. Instead of playing with the other children or even with dolls, she would usually be home playing with her mini sewing machine and try sewing cloths together.

 Eclectic Chique is a handmade African accesories/haberdashery line, with a stylish African hint.. All products are handmade from locally made sources in Nigeria and Africa as a whole. Product line ranges from Neckpieces, collars, brooches, bangles, bow ties, sandals, bamboo clutch bags, tissue box holders, throw pillows, Ipad cases an d other quirky niknaks.

Salut dolls,
Its the end of the week and I am  always excited for the weekend. I would like to thank the dolls over at Shadders for keeping me on loop about this fab Ghanaian fashion house AjePomaa Design  Although I had never heard of AjePomaa before this is their sixth collection.

INSPIRATION
The inspiration for this collection was taken from the silhouette of the Great Gatsby from the period of the1920s. Silhouettes then, represented a lighter and free spirited time. This new collection modernizes the fashion of the roaring twenties by adding a burst of color using color blocking and intense vibrant prints.Fearless Evolution represents the ajePomaa Gallery woman as bold and reborn, having evolved from her past self. The use of chiffon fabric represents a light and unrestraint feel, combined with bold complex wax prints, to show an explosion of vibrant colors such as canary yellow, heather grey, apple green, bright blue and burnt orange. This represents an intense evolution.
Adding soft detailing such as neck ties, knife pleats, and flowing silhouettes gave a bit of feminine
panache to the collection; a contrast to the androgynous style of the Twenties era.

 I have  been eying a few items from Sase's shop on Etsy for a while now. Sade is the creative mind behind the lovely Afrocentric  jewelry line you are about to discover. Sase who is originally from Nigeria but based in Edmonton Canada started her line back in 2010 after getting requests from a few prospective buyers.

 Bocoum is a luxurious  swimwear line based in Atlanta Georgia.The designer Fatima Bocoum is originally from Mali ( Happy face ). Fatima started sketching since she was a young girl and finally decided to start her own line at only 23 years old. When I asked her about her line this is what she had to say