In search of the lost - the label Abury
Andrea Kolb in a sewing school in Morocco.
ChroniquesDuVasteMonde.com: What exactly is behind the brand Abury?
Andrea Kolb: It's a social business project that we launched in June 2011. We try to preserve cultural diversity and cultural values. In this case, it's all about arts and crafts. We give the people who live here the opportunity to earn money in their traditional environment with their knowledge and skills - and thus to maintain their identity and preserve their culture. In addition, we're giving 50 percent of the profits back to the community, for example, for educational projects or well construction.
ChroniquesDuVasteMonde.com: Did you get the idea here in Morocco?
Andrea Kolb: Yes, but that's just our starting point. Every year, we want to add a new culture to our portfolio, so that at some point we will be able to offer an Abury collection with precious items from all over the world.
ChroniquesDuVasteMonde.com: With which products did you start your project?
Andrea Kolb: Here in Morocco we revived the old craft of embroidering leather bags? a guild that was about to die out. First, we collected and sold old Berber bags, which were still hand-made by men and women in the villages. From these proceeds we founded sewing schools in two villages? and there we train the next generation of embroiderers, who again produce new bags.
One of the iPad cases of Abury.
ChroniquesDuVasteMonde.com: Are Those Old Bags Revised?
Andrea Kolb: No, these are new designs. We take the traditional patterns and bring them together with artisans and modern designers from around the world on new forms. For example, we have now developed iPad bags that are 100 percent handcrafted and embroidered with the old patterns. It is the same with the clutch or the iPhone case. We take the forms of modern day life and the way of making and the patterns of this traditional world.
ChroniquesDuVasteMonde.com: How did the decline of the old craft come about?
Andrea Kolb: You had tried to machine-make handicrafts, used other threads, different leather, there were only a few moves. The fineness, individuality and authenticity were lost. And with it the livelihood of the people who had done it by hand. The arts and crafts became mass production. Much has been lost. And above all, the younger generation has no incentive to learn the old craft. This is also the tradition and history lost. This is what we are looking for with "Abury" all over the world: what has been lost to us - authenticity, individualism, individual pieces. We want to teach people, "If you stick to your culture and work with us, then you can earn your living, support your community, and even do it well."
Seamstresses in Morocco.
ChroniquesDuVasteMonde.com: Is it easy for a woman to be taken seriously as a counselor and businesswoman in a country like Morocco?
Andrea Kolb: I even feel that it is quite good that I am a woman. Women are often considered more trustworthy and respectable than men. For a year I went to one of the villages every six weeks and talked to the men. It was all about building trust and showing that I respect the culture, I want to build something together and I do not just want to spread Western ideas and ways of life. The men wanted to make sure that I did not want to exploit their women, and that my project is a matter of the heart of mine. Only then could I enter into negotiations with the women. Women often manage the money in the household here.
ChroniquesDuVasteMonde.com: By the way - how are the shops going?
Andrea Kolb: We are growing and expanding the market in Germany. But we also look beyond, for example to the US - inspired by Donna Karan, who bought two of our bags in the "Department Store206 Cabinet" in Berlin. I got in contact with her foundation "Urban Zen". After three months, I actually got an appointment with her. I flew to New York, which was very exciting. Our stuff fits very well into their foundation, which also cares intensively about "Cultural Preservation". We are currently developing a cooperation ...
ChroniquesDuVasteMonde.com: And how could that look?
Andrea Kolb: Our products are offered through "Urban Zen". So they are also doing some PR for us? and vice versa. The icing would be if Donna Karan designed something for us. But that's still in the stars.
More information on www.abury.net.
