Creative Writing and Hobby

I have a hobby of making bead jewellery. I attend bead shows every year, one of my guilty pleasures. The process of designing and handling natural stones silences my mind. It stimulates my creative side, especially when I am stuck in my writing.

Kazuri Copper Bracelet

This week, the writing challenge began when the protagonist in my novel (work in progress) fell in love. I had to get the romance right, for her age, and her innocence.

I made Kazuri bracelets, and this creative process cleared my thinking and helped me understand the kind of love the protagonist is looking for. So with the new bracelet dangling on my wrist, I’m all set to complete her love story.

Check more on Instagram: Kazuri Silver and Kazuri Stretchy - the beads used are a gift from a friend in Kenya.

Kazuri—the Swahili word meaning small and beautiful.

Link to Kazuri Story

The Magic of African Beads

Kazuri bead bracelet by Farida Somjee

I discovered Kazuri beads—Swahili word for small and beautiful—a couple of years ago when attending Fraser Valley Bead Show in British Columbia. The person selling Kazuri beads told me the story of how these beads were handmade by women in Kenya. At the time, I had completed one of the chapters in my novel The Beggar's Dance, where there is a subtle mention about the handmade beads. Was this a coincidence or was it mean't to be? I love such mysteries of life, and suddenly this subtle scene in the novel became meaningful.

On the weekend, I was at the bead show again and purchased Kazuri beads for the bracelet I made (see photo). The reddish brown beads represent the earthy soil in Africa, the antique findings is for the rich cultures of Africa and the bird's wing charm stands for a falcon—all symbolic in my novel.