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EDITÉUR PLUS
Written by Bekiwe Hlongwane
When clicking through web pages searching for jewellery one is met with
large corporations that are selling mass produced items that reflect little
about the personality of the designers or possess qualities that make them
stand out from other items. If jewellery does meet a high quality and design
standard, then it is priced to be exclusive and inaccessible.
Enter Famke Jewellery Design and Manufacture. The Black Aventurine
necklace. The Curved Chevron ring. These are the inventive names you
will be met with when you visit the Famke online jewellery store. Meticu-
lous care and precision are exercised in the creation of each jewellery item
and each piece is priced to reflect quality while being accessible to a range
of tastes and budgets. Behind this brand is the dynamic and quirky Famke
Koene who, with a determined team of three people, makes each of the
timeless and elegant jewellery items herself.
Every single piece of jewellery is crafted by hand from scratch at their studio
in Cape Town. Every. Single. Piece. New designs are born at the manufactur-
ing bench and seldom designed on paper first. New pieces are inspired by
old pieces creating consistency within the brand. It was during her third year
of studying that she decided that working for someone else was not for her
and started thinking about how to start her own business. She jumped at the
opportunity to present her brand free of charge at the Emerging Creatives
Programme through the Design Indaba.
‘Nothing is certain in the very beginning,’ Famke say