Who is Omondi Jewellery?

Omondi Jewellery is a small workshop based in Kibera, Nairobi – one of Africa's largest informal settlements.

It is owned and run by Ishmael Omondi, who was born in Kibera. He lived on the streets before being trained in the art of bone jewellery making through a project run by Zuri Design.

Ishmael has since moved out of Kibera and now runs his own successful workshop. Using recycled brass and bone, he creates a beautiful and distinctive range of jewellery. His goal is to expand his team and provide fair employment opportunities to others from Kibera.

Brass Jewellery

Ishmael works with locally made tools — a handheld gas torch to heat the brass and a rolling machine to flatten sheets. Smaller designs are cut entirely by hand, while larger pieces are machine-cut and then finished manually. Once shaped, each piece is hammered to create texture and character.

Batik Bone Jewellery

The bone used in Omondi Jewellery is waste bone collected from local abattoirs. Nothing goes to waste — even the bone dust from sanding is turned into resin for bead making by other artisans.

Preparing the bone is a time-consuming process: first it is boiled clean, then dried, shaped, and sanded smooth. Patterns are drawn in wax to act as a resist before dip-dyeing. Finally, the wax is removed to reveal the design, the bead is polished, and holes are drilled for assembly into jewellery.

Creating batik bone beads is a highly skilled process that can take years to master. Many artisans eventually specialise in particular patterns or styles.

Collaborations

Fun fact: Omondi Jewellery collaborates with our soapstone jewellery makers! Once the soapstone components are shaped and coloured, they’re delivered to Nairobi. Ishmael then handcrafts the brass fixings and adds our signature Siesta ‘S’ tag — each one made by heating a tiny brass disc and stamping it by hand.