Ethiopia Trip

1.3.14

Anna Taylor and I went on my first Judith & James sourcing trip to seek out leather products in Ethiopia. It was an adventure every step of the way. This was our first time in Ethiopia. We flew over to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from Nairobi for a very short 17 hour trip.

As soon as we landed our first stop was Yami’s workshop, where she makes and sells leather products. Yami is a Westernized Ethiopian woman. She gave us good information on Ethiopia’s leather supply and production. We loved the way she makes her leather bags for the quality and quantity.

Yami took us out to lunch at a traditional Ethiopian restaurant. It was seriously the best Ethiopian food I have ever had. It is one of my favorite things to eat! The restaurant served us Ethiopian-style coffee after we ate. Ethiopia is famous for their coffee and the many locals incorporate it in their every meal. It is a strong, yet small amount of coffee served with incense and cooked barley seed. The strong coffee kept me awake throughout the day.

After lunch we went to visit Fitsum, another skilled craftsman who makes leather products. He had a sizable production site. There we picked up a handful of leather bags we ordered for the Judith and James New York fashion show. After that we visited his shop in a busy shopping centre. Fitsum had a successful business with top-notch quality.

Finally we made our way to the guest house where we spent the night, which turned out to be a short nap by the time we got there. It was a full day but I was very glad to get all we needed to get done. We got the leather we needed as well as connections built with the leather bag makers. What a success! It was a great opportunity for me to have new experiences in Ethiopia. I loved getting to go directly to the source of the material we wanted (leather) to see where and how those products were made.

Nikki Hyodo




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