Quazi Design: Sustainable Jewelry Production in Swaziland
Quazi Design is a sustainable jeweler, homeware and deco manufacturer based in Swaziland. The brand started in 2010 as a partnership between a designer and a local magazine distributor to create employment in Swaziland, Southern Africa. Although the sustainable company started as a trial in design for social impact, it is now a small thriving business made of a solid community of local women artisans.
The company believes in sustainability, ethical production, transparency, and craftsmanship. Furthermore, their products are all handmade by women who work full time and have permanent contracts. Besides, Quazi focus is on developing new and innovative techniques using waste paper and changing the perception of recycled materials. Apart from transforming waste magazines and newspapers into unique original designs, the company uses simple yet pioneering techniques to make unique jewels and homeware deco. Moreover, Quazi Design only uses locally sourced materials that are environmentally friendly, and thus, there are zero carbon emission techniques in their production process.
How Quazi Design Is Sustainable
The sustainable cutting-edge company uses waste paper, minimum amount of water, sun drying and water-based glues and varnishes. Therefore, when they are designing their products, they aim to create a circular economy which is an alternative to the traditional linear economy (make, use, dispose off). Instead, Quazi keeps the resources in use for as long as possible, extract the maximum value from them whilst in use, then recover and regenerate products and materials at the end of each service life. As such, below, we have highlighted some of their jewels collection.
Heritage
Quazi Design heritage collection pay homage to Africa since it is based on the simple technique of rolling paper beads. This is how Quazi started and it has become a signature design for the company. Swaziland and other African designs mainly inspire this collection. Indeed, Quazi Design uses the simply rolled bead to tell a new narrative in design.
Bloom
Local wildflowers inspire the Quazi Design Bloom collection.
Paper Wood
Paper Wood Collection is handmade from 100% waste magazines and brass.
Paper Stone
Raw stones and geode rocks inspire the paper stone collection which involves individual jewelry pieces handmade in Swaziland from waste magazine paper.
Earth
Colors and shapes in Africa and its natural resources inspire the collection called Earth. This collection is handmade using brass metal and waste newspaper. Moreover brass offers superior recyclability and overall environmental advantages as it is recyclable. Their brass is a mixture of brass sheets. Indeed, the earth collection designs are organic, natural, earthy and come in hues of red and corals and deep tones of blue and green. The glinting brass offsets the textured pulp to create a nice dynamic.
Home
Quazi Design’s new range of homeware is an ambitious diversity creation from its previous focus on jewelry.