Distaff&Spindle is a small business based in Manitoba, Canada.
Inspired + motivated by Nature, our jewellery + decorative items are handcrafted using organic elements + recycled materials.
Distaff&Spindle partners with Artisans in Madagascar who hand make many of our finished products. Our relationship with these Artisans developed during the 11 years I spent living on that Great Red Island. Find out more about the Artisans who create our products in the Artisans Section.
Our Goal is to invest in the Artisans + their work by purchasing their products at a fair price. In addition, we reinvest part of Distaff&Spindle’s profits back into the country, to help those with limited access to quality health care + education.
Madame Odette and her family create the most adorable, and intricate bicycles out of scrap tin cans. I met Odette through a mutual friend of ours, Madame Fanja (Fan-za, pictured below). Madame Odette sells her art at the 67 Hectare Market in downtown Antananarivo (Tana, for short), the capital city of Madagascar.
Creating pieces of art out of scrap tin-cans is quite common in Madagascar, I’ve observed. I’ve seen airplanes, cars, busses, bicycles, and many other ingenious items handcrafted with meticulous attention to detail. Strolling the Artisan Market in Tana is akin to visiting a museum of art, in my opinion. The ways the Malagasy Artisans dream up how to use recycled materials and the natural resources they have access to is simply amazing.
