Raffia

Find your favourite piece of jewellery for Summer...

The Art of Raffia

In Marrakech, in the shade of an umbrella, I watched an old man plaiting and weaving his baskets, cajoling the stray wisps into the pattern of his creation. I always search for the essence of a country when I travel: observing the women carrying their goods to and from the market, or when they were just out shopping, I saw that the basket was ever present - a part of their daily ritual.

So, with my craftsmen I created Raffia: a jewelled tasselled earring, whose wrapping of gold and silver around and around echoes the work of the old man and his basket weaving. The movement reminds me of the busy Medina that is never still, always in motion.

A Jewellers Journal:

What Cassandra has been Reading and Watching...

La Prisonniere:

The story of Malika Oufkir who spent 15 years in a desert jail with her family. Malika, a Moroccan Berber writer and the daughter of General Oufkir (chief of the armed forces and trusted adviser to King Hassan II), tells her inspiring story of survival in the Sahara.

Casablanca:

Starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman, this classic film is set in post WWII Morocco in 1942 where smoke elegantly spirals, and Europeans use Casablanca as a transit point to escape the Nazis - an atmospheric step back in time with Rick uttering the iconic line "here's looking at you kid".

Let It Come Down:

Paul Bowles arrived in Tangier in 1947 and lived there for almost 50 years. His novels are among the greatest of post war Morocco and this is his second novel. His first 'The Sheltering Sky' was later made into a beautiful film by Bernardo Bertolucci.

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