Eswatini African Hand Brushes: Domino

These hand brushes begin in Paris, where Delphine Mériaux and Agathe Pautrot draw their forms after the ancestral broom, and end in Eswatini, where women weavers make each one by hand. The weavers work in two cooperatives in the Manzini region, Siyaphambili in Makhungutja and Indzaba Yami in KaNdinda, in coiled basketry and braiding techniques passed down from mother to daughter.

Lutindzi is a wild grass that grows year-round in the mountains, in the damp around springs and rocky pools. The weavers harvest it so the roots stay in place and the plant regrows, then sun-dry it and dye it by hand, along with the hand-spun sisal that wraps each brush. It feels raw and delicate at once, soft to the touch, and takes color brilliantly.

Domino keeps its bristles a warm straw color and stripes the wrap in black and cream, finished with a woven tip. Sweep a tabletop with it, then use the sisal loop to hang it back on the wall, where the weaving and color take over. Hang one, or a dozen, as the designers do in exhibition. The collection comes in a range of colorways.

The designers report that the project has significantly raised the weavers' daily income, and the younger generation sees weaving as a trade with a future. Wms&Co. is the only shop carrying them in the United States.

Part of our Eswatini Brushes collection.