As far as is possible all Mielie products are hand-made using locally produced materials. The fabric of the Mielie range is reclaimed, and the finishes (cotton thread, needles, genuine leather handles etc) are locally produced. Mielie strips - from which the bags and other products are woven - are a byproduct from cotton mills. Once a week Mielie buys them by the kilogram from local factories. Because the shades vary every week and seasonally - like a box of chocolates, they never know quite what they will get. The solution is to work with broad colourways - i.e. lagoon = dark blue to aqua, emerald to bottle green. This guarantees every bag, cushion or other product is unique!
Connecting the maker and the buyer
When woven Hessians return to the loft, they are carefully checked for quality and then made up by Mielie's team of skilled weavers. After booking in work, weavers are issued with their next lot of bags and the cycle begins again. Before being sent out into the world, every Mielie product is labeled with the name of the weaver who made it - creating the opportunity for a connection between buyer and maker.(click here for more information)
Mielie Life Cycle
Mielie products are born on Thursdays, in our loft in Newlands, Cape Town. Each week, the weavers gather for Sebenza day and are issued with blank Hessians and a list of designs that need to be completed. Using hand-select coloured Mielie strips, they interpret the designs, weave the orders at home - and then bring them back completed the following Thursday for quality checking and finishing.
Mielie re-uses pre-consumer textile waste, such as off cuts and end of rolls, upcycling and reclaiming the unwanted to make funky bags, cushions and home accessories. The brand
