Mrs. Obama will be receiving an original pendant necklace from Sweet Charleston Designs. The Seewee Bay Collection pendant, complimented with a traditional 18 inch sterling silver Charleston Rice Bead Chain, is hand woven with 18k gold over sterling. (see photo)
The collection is an interpretive tribute to the historical art form of sweet grass basketry found in the Lowcountry of the US (Wilmington NC to Jacksonville FL). The craft of sweet grass basketry dates back over 350 years in the US, and examples of the art are currently on tour at the Smithsonian African American Museum in Washington DC: "The Grass Roots Exhibit". The exhibits last tour stop will be in NYC on 5th Avenue when the new Museum for African Art opens fall of 2011.
Other news....
Sweet Charleston Designs, at the suggestion of the US Department of State, donated a Sweet Grass Basket purchased and signed by weavers from Mt. Pleasant South Carolina who are descendants of the Manigualt Family. This basket is to be given as a diplomatic gift, by the President and Mrs. Obama when they travel post election to India and Asia. This is an honor for Sweet Charleston Designs to have such a small role of service, yet marks the fulfillment of one of the companies goals of bringing global awareness to the oldest documented African American Art Form. We learned about Mrs. Obama's great-great grandfather J. Robinson while touring the Rice Museum in Georgetown SC. Mr. Robinson is from the Lowcountry and is linked to Friendfield Plantation, where sweet grass baskets were woven to assist with rice harvesting. Sweet grass baskets are woven and sold by the highly talented weavers whose ancestors were once enslaved persons from West Africa.
If you visit the Charleston Area, please stop by an visit the various Sweet Grass Weavers. Our purchase was made from a stand on Highway 17, before the Seewee Post near Awendaw SC and is located on the left if going North, just past the Bulls Bay Golf Club.
Sweet Charleston Designs: www.sweetcharlestondesigns.com. Made in the USA
The collection is an interpretive tribute to the historical art form of sweet grass basketry found in the Lowcountry of the US (Wilmington NC to Jacksonville FL). The craft of sweet grass basketry dates back over 350 years in the US, and examples of the art are currently on tour at the Smithsonian African American Museum in Washington DC: "The Grass Roots Exhibit". The exhibits last tour stop will be in NYC on 5th Avenue when the new Museum for African Art opens fall of 2011.
Other news....
Sweet Charleston Designs, at the suggestion of the US Department of State, donated a Sweet Grass Basket purchased and signed by weavers from Mt. Pleasant South Carolina who are descendants of the Manigualt Family. This basket is to be given as a diplomatic gift, by the President and Mrs. Obama when they travel post election to India and Asia. This is an honor for Sweet Charleston Designs to have such a small role of service, yet marks the fulfillment of one of the companies goals of bringing global awareness to the oldest documented African American Art Form. We learned about Mrs. Obama's great-great grandfather J. Robinson while touring the Rice Museum in Georgetown SC. Mr. Robinson is from the Lowcountry and is linked to Friendfield Plantation, where sweet grass baskets were woven to assist with rice harvesting. Sweet grass baskets are woven and sold by the highly talented weavers whose ancestors were once enslaved persons from West Africa.
If you visit the Charleston Area, please stop by an visit the various Sweet Grass Weavers. Our purchase was made from a stand on Highway 17, before the Seewee Post near Awendaw SC and is located on the left if going North, just past the Bulls Bay Golf Club.
Sweet Charleston Designs: www.sweetcharlestondesigns.com. Made in the USA
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