Before you go inside the factory, you can hear the faint roar of women talking and laughing. Seated at long tables were about 200 women doing a variety of tasks to make the finished beads. The workers are able to multi-task, they are able to hand craft beautiful jewelry from start to finish and gossip simultaneously.
Some women rolled out the clay into beads and put them on small wooden skewers. Some had unpainted pottery beads in front of them, plastic tubs of glaze and paintbrushes and painted various patterns on the beads, others were loading the kilns or stringing the beads into necklaces, bracelets and earrings. Some women tended the kilns.
All beads are shaped by hand and the women used forms to make sure the beads were completely uniform. The woman working rarely used the forms because they were so adept at forming beads. The beads came out uniform every time without the form. Holes were made in the beads with a wooden skewer not unlike what we use for shish kabob. Kazuri beads come in small beads, large beads, ovals, triangles, squares—anything you can imagine.
Once the beads are made they must dry to leather hard before glazing. Rows and rows of unglazed beads were roasting in the sun on the patio outside the factory. One woman would step outside to check on the progress of the beads every once in awhile.
I was dumbstruck by their storeroom, which had shelves and shelves and shelves filled with large glass containers filled with handmade ceramic beads in a rainbow of colors and assorted shapes and sizes. I was immediately inspired to use these beads in my work.
Kazuri has branched out and is making pottery dinnerware, mugs, water pitchers, ornaments and figurines. One of their patterns is a giraffe print. Others patternspay homage to life in Kenya.
I love how this company purposely employs women who need work to support their families. “I enjoy my job.” one worker explains, “I have learned how to do new things and is very satisfying doing something so creative.”
While it is fascinating to visit the factory, it is overwhelming to visit their store. Entering the store is like experiencing the grand finale of a fireworks display. I was overwhelmed by the explosion of colors and the variety of jewelry. Every piece of jewelry was so beautiful, it was hard to make my choices. I had no idea how to narrow down my choices, but honestly, that was part of the fun visiting the Kazuri Bead factory store in Narobi.
