
Bamba
It’s tough to put words to Bamba - almost an injustice to the sheer kindness and pureness that emanate from his giant, ever present smile. Bamba is a silversmith in Soumbedioune Marché in Dakar, Senegal. In his small workshop scraps of molten metal become silver bullets. Add a lot of sweat and grit and eventually you have hand spun silver earrings. Or a necklace. Or a bracelet. Point being - this man has made every single part of every single piece of jewelry with his bare hands. This is important. This is the human behind our jewelry.
I met Laila of Äyna mere hours after setting foot in Senegal for the first time. This woman became part of my soul from the moment she drove my jet lagged husk to a beach party on that first day. About 5 minutes into meeting we decided to make a film about Bamba. Four days later we shot the film above. Äyna seeks out and empowers artisans, like Bamba, and together they make some pretty damn beautiful jewelry.