Challey Ayekoo's unique jewellery is British designed and features beautiful recycled glass beads from the Krobo region in Ghana. These handmade beads are not only unique but eco friendly and support social change in Africa. By recycling glass, the local artisans reduce a small proportion of the awful volumes of rubbish and landfill sites that blight developing nations. They provide incomes and jo
bs by employing those who otherwise might well be scouring those same landfill sites to make a living. The producers are small scale African enterprises and as such the beads are not factory perfect. We love and embrace their flaws, which make the beads a stunning representation of the country they come from: bright, colourful, unique and beautiful, yet with slight imperfections and a few rough edges! Our photography features stunning African scenes from our travels across the continent. We try to represent the beauty, skill and talent of an often overlooked or misunderstood continent in a way that appeals to all. Everyday life, rural and urban scenes, wild animals and the beautiful mother nature all help showcase this most amazing of continents. We use a selection of batiks and wax prints bought in local shops or markets and we also work with a local producer on our own designs. Our designs are again all European and our products hand made in Britain. Take a minute to stand in the general chaos of downtown Accra and listen and you'll hear the word "Challey" one hundred times a minute. In England we'd probably say "mate", but the literal translation depends entirely on where your from. "Ayekoo!" means "well done" and was the rallying cry used by one of my favourite ever bosses to motivate and inspire his staff during my time in Ghana. So, in my head, roughly translated (and with healthy dose of artistic interpretation) "Challey Ayekoo" means "Jolly Good show, old chap".
