🎨 Handmade Leather Beaded Zipped Purse – Maasai Craft, Kenya
Vibrant • Ethical • One-of-a-kind

22 x 12 x 3cm with a 15 x 7 cm zippered pocket inside.

Carry colour, culture, and craftsmanship in your pocket. This multicoloured zipped purse is handmade by Maasai women in Kenya, combining traditional beadwork with practical design. Each piece is a celebration of heritage, resilience, and artistry.

🌈 Vibrant Maasai Beadwork
•     Intricately hand-beaded in bold, multicoloured patterns inspired by Maasai ceremonial designs.
•     Every purse is unique—no two are exactly alike.

✋ Crafted in Kisii, Kenya
•     Made by skilled artisans using locally sourced materials.
•     Supports women-led cooperatives and preserves traditional techniques.

👜 Compact & Functional
•     Perfect for coins, cards, keys, or small essentials.
•     Durable zip closure keeps contents secure.
•     Lightweight and easy to carry—fits in pockets, handbags, or travel kits.

🌍 Ethical & Empowering
•     Your purchase directly supports Maasai women artisans and their communities.
•     Promotes fair trade and sustainable livelihoods through craft.

🎁 Ideal for Gifting
•     A meaningful gift with a story—great for birthdays, travel lovers, or anyone who values handmade beauty.
•     Pairs beautifully with other African textile or beadwork items.
📏 Approximate Dimensions
•     22 x 12 x 3cm with a 15 x 7 cm zippered pocket inside.
•     Zip colour and bead pattern may vary slightly due to handmade nature

🎨 Maasai Handmade Art:
A Living Tradition of Color, Symbolism, and Skill

The Maasai people of Kenya and Tanzania are celebrated for their vibrant
handmade art, especially their beadwork, leatherwork, and wood carvings.
These crafts are more than decorative—they’re deeply woven into Maasai
identity, storytelling, and social customs.

🧵 Beadwork: The Heart of
Maasai Art

• Materials:
  Traditionally made from clay, wood, and seeds; now mostly glass beads
  introduced through trade.
• Technique:
  Beads are strung onto leather or twine in intricate patterns by women,
  often in communal settings.
• Symbolism:
• Red
  = bravery and unity
• Blue
  = sky and water
• Green
  = land and health
• White
  = purity
• Purpose:
  Worn during ceremonies, used to indicate age, marital status, and social
  rank.

🪵 Wood Carving &
Leatherwork

• Wood:
  Used to create tools, utensils, and ceremonial items like masks and
  figurines.
• Leather:
  Tanned and dyed to make belts, sandals, and shields, often decorated with
  beads and metal accents.
• Tools:
  Simple hand tools like knives, chisels, and engraving blades.

🖌️ Design & Meaning

• Geometric
  patterns: Represent cosmology and spiritual beliefs.
• Animal
  motifs: Reflect the Maasai’s connection to nature—especially cattle,
  lions, and elephants.
• Color
  combinations: Carefully chosen to convey messages and tell stories.

🧡 Cultural Role

• Art
  is passed down through generations, especially from mothers to daughters.
• Used
  in rites of passage, weddings, and community celebrations.
• Increasingly
  a source of economic empowerment, especially for women selling
  crafts locally and internationally.

Maasai art isn’t just made—it’s lived. Every bead, stitch,
and carving carries meaning. If you’d like to explore specific pieces like
warrior necklaces or ceremonial masks.

The story of how the Maasai tribe create their art