Marie-Rose Iberl has artfully crafted shapes and surfaces from natural materials such as repurposed Cowbone and Cowhorn - traditionally used for household and medicinal artifacts - to show off their inherent beauty. Adding recycled metal as well as silver, she is designing beautiful contemporary jewelry that is entirely handcrafted in Kenya by single women.
Based in Nairobi, Kenya, the MARO designs workshop has grown into an “all womens” firm, mainly employing single mothers. The women are full time employees, and receive benefits including healthcare, pension, vacation time, and days off to enroll their children in school.
As a child, Marie-Rose dreamed of Africa. It took her 38 years to get there. Her first visit touched something deep inside me she says. Originally from Germany, in 1990 she packed 2 suitcases and moved to Kenya. Always interested in art, she organized small exhibitions for Kenyan artists. One of these was a painter of batik wall hangings, who gave her a pair of earrings as a thank you, Ashanti Dolls carved from wood. These are an old magic fertility symbol. For Marie-Rose it represented female creativity. She asked if these could be made out of bone as well, as this entails even more magic, and he introduced her to Samson Andhoga, the best bone artist in Kenya.
In 1992 Marie-Rose decided to open her own workshop, starting with 3 employees. She discovered Cowhorn as another fascinating material. And so MARO designs was born. Now the workshop has grown into a real small manufacturing company – creating high quality, beautiful and unique jewelry – incorporating influences of European fashion, modern and ancient African art.
As she says - Modern design uplifts ancient handicraft into contemporary art. Upcycling has become one of her passions, starting with bone and horn she has moved to include recycled aluminum, glass, T-shirt material and other natural elements.
MARO designs and Afrodutch Collections partnered with Siana Creations in 2016 to distribute their lines of uncommon jewelry to the North American market – via private boutiques, museum stores, hotels, catalogues, and cruise lines.
SIANA Creations (from one of the Masaai languages Maa root-words meaning nice, lovely, or blessed, and—because it is refreshing—often used where there is fresh water) was launched in 2016 as an initiative to help single mothers on the outskirts of Nairobi, Kenya, earn a living wage, leveraging the power of great design, local talent, and an abundant supply of sustainable materials – upcycled cowhorn, bone, recycled newspapers, coffee grounds, aluminum and beads from East and West Africa.
www.sianacreations.com