Urbanknit at L'espace

With the new month of March come new and exciting things for Urbanknit. We are happy to announce that we have a new stockist in Nigeria. Please visit:


L'espace: 
19 Olosa Street,
Victoria Island, 
Lagos.

All the favourites are in stock including the Snap clutches in new colours, Bee Bags in Aso-oke as well as new gadget sleeves and the new Listra clutches. Looking forward to feedback on your shopping experience. 

We have also fallen in love with Aso-oke all over again so do check out the new pieces both in store and coming soon online and let us know your favourite.

Have a great week ahead.

Urbanknit Ankara, Adire and Aso-oke Ipad Sleeves

TP Thames Ipad Sleeve, originally uploaded by Urbanknit.

We are excited to announce that we launching our new range of Ipad accessories.

What better way to make a statement than a funky Afrocentric sleeve for your Ipad.

The collection consists of Ipad sleeves in Ankara, Aso-oke or Adire. Each sleeve has various layers internally making it padded and keeping your gadget safe and protected.

They each have a funky chunky zipper in a contrasting or complimentary colour. They are also perfect for Netbooks so just look at the dimensions to see if yours will fit!

Have a look at the full range.

Urbanknit Ipad Sleeves

The A - Z Initiative

Fat Zebra Owena Clutch, originally uploaded by Urbanknit.

I have been thinking of this idea for quite a long time but I have finally decided to go ahead instead of trying to plan it to perfection before executing it.

There is a tradition in Nigeria where for special occasions friends and family wear the same fabric as the celebrant. This is called 'Aso-ebi'. It is a way of showing solidarity, support, oneness.

It used to be that people would say, please wear 'Alari'. This is a type of Aso-oke, a hand-woven fabric which often ranges between deep red and magenta in colour.

So if you had one like it, which you probably would, you'd just wear it. In more recent times people often buy brand new fabric or have a large quantity custom-made and sent out to friends and family to have made into their own individual outfits. So on the day there is an array of dresses, tops, blouses, shirts and what not all in the same fabric. It makes for very interesting viewing!

After my long ramble I get to the point! A lot of people end up with a lot of Aso-ebi that they no longer wear and as a way of doing a little bit to help, I have taken donations of such fabric.

A - Z is an Urbanknit initiative to donate proceeds from sales of bags, totes, clutches made from these upcycled, repurposed, recycled fabrics to assist orphanges in Lagos State, Nigeria. Its a start!

This image is the very first one and is availabe on Etsy and on Bigcartel. Happy browsing

Pico Pouches

New vintage Aso-oke Pico pouches available at My Asho

Etu Mega Snap Clutch

Etu Mega Snap Clutch, originally uploaded by Urbanknit.

The return of the Mega Snap clutch. Its huge!

This is made out of a handwoven fabric called 'Aso-oke' from Southern Nigeria. This one is now a vintage as this type of aso-oke is no longer made sadly. The type is know as 'Etu' which identifies it as a blue Aso-oke.

It has a lovely interesting texture, which is sort of like soft denim.

Happy browsing.

Mega Snap- purple and grey Aso-oke

Mega Snap- purple and grey Aso-oke, originally uploaded by Urbanknit.

This is the Mega Snap. It is the same idea as the previous Snap clutches but this one is as big as it gets. It is 12 inches wide at the top. This is definately a statement making clutch.

It was all about experimentation as I used Aso-oke which is by no means easy to work with. Aso-oke is a hand loom woven fabric from Nigeria so sometimes tricky to cut without unravelling the whole lot.

This is modern Aso-oke as, the older more traditional types usually have more lines and colour variations. I have made some clutches using some vintage Aso-oke from Ondo which I will feature soon.

This colour combination just made sense to me. The colours are all completely contrasting and that is sometimes how I dress. I don't bother to match the colours!

The yellow buttons are there to cheer things up, never want things getting to dull.

Thanks for stopping by, see you next time.

Aso-oke

Aso-oke is a hand loom woven fabric from Nigeria. This is made and worn mainly in South Western Nigeria. It can be tricky to work with because of its construction. Cutting it means the interwoven threads become loose and can be quite tricky to sew. I have decided to focus on tackling the difficulties of working with Aso-oke!

It is such a beautiful medium and it offers so many possibilities and textures that are not always present in printed fabrics so I am going to give it a go!

These are two examples of the Snap clutches I made using Aso-oke. The blue one is a more traditional looking pattern and colour combination and the woven thread is cotton. The pink one is a more modern take on Aso-oke and the thread is silk in a metallic finish.

Now what should I make next?

Wristlet

owena clutch, originally uploaded by Urbanknit.

I guess this qualifies as a 'wristlet' because the metal loop allows you to slip your hand through and carry the clutch just hanging off your wrist. The loop is split so can actually come off the leather side tab if you wish to alter the look slightly.

Still experimenting but his one is made out of aso-oke and lined in Ankara.