Mielie works with recycled materials to handcraft their unique range of products in Cape Town, South Africa. Mielie was born in 2002 around Adri Schutz's dining room table and since then has grown to a family of fifty proud South Africans. Their 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.
A portion of profits from the bags go to support local schools and create jobs within the south african communities.
As far as is possible all their products are hand-made, and they are committed to using locally produced materials. The fabric of the Mielie range is reclaimed, and their finishes (cotton thread, needles, genuine leather handles etc) are locally produced. Mielie strips - from which their bags and other products are woven - are a byproduct from cotton mills. Once a week Mielie buys them by the kilogram from local factories. Because the shades vary every week and seasonally - like a box of chocolates, they never know quite what they'll get. Their solution is to work with broad colourways - i.e. lagoon = dark blue to aqua, emerald to bottle green. This guarantees every bag is unique!
Check out more bags after the jump.
