Upside Down Elephant Jar

Upside Down Elephant Jar

This designer works with nine artisan groups in Malawi to create home decor products. This Upside Down Elephant Jar is made by a wood carving group that started in the home of its founders in 2013. They have since expanded to a new workshop with fifteen full-time employees.  

The jacaranda wood is sourced from nearby small suppliers. Once it arrives at their workshop, each person is assigned a job: some cut the wood into workable pieces, others make the body of the animal on a lathe; while others hand carve the legs and heads before they are sanded and assembled. Last of all, they are hand painted. It takes about a week to make each jar. Their workshop is always a mess - a sign of talented, busy artists. Another group in Malawi hand makes custom fit boxes for the animals out of discarded cardboard boxes.