NAMIBIA CRAFT CENTRE

Mewiliko Gift Shop opened for business in 1999 at the Namibia Craft Centre, and stocks a unique range and collection of affordable and useful gifts. The shop is owned and managed by Anna Hango, who takes a keen interest in the needs of her customers. On the shelves of Mewiliko are handmade products made almost entirely of natural materials and ingredients found in Namibia and a wide variety of unique wooden products from Kenya. Rare souvenirs made of bone, horns, ostrich shell and a range of cosmetics such as soaps, bath oils, body lotions and lip balm made with locally sourced natural oils. Anna Hango’s inspiration for her selection of gifts is the variety of high-quality, attractive craft items produced all over Namibia and she particularly favours ancient Namibian motifs, like the ‘White Lady’ rock painting in the Brandberg Mountain, north-western Namibia, which dates back 2 000 years.

Johanna Shilongo produces all the clothing sold at her stall. The distinctive striped material used for the traditional dresses worn by Namibia’s Owambo women, represent the three different tribes – the Kwanyama, Ndonga and Ngandjera. Traditional the pink colour was obtained by grinding stone, and the fabric is known as Ondelela. Johanna also buys traditional Owambo baskets and wooden utensils and animals from the north of Namibia. Anyone desiring to have a taste of Owambo customs and tradition in their homes, must visit Ondjaba stall.

NamPost offers a one stop shop for mail, post banking activities, airtime, settle your bills, send a parcel, stationery. NamPost is committed to the following: • Delivering on its mandate of providing postal services while gradually transforming and repositioning to remain a beneficial presence in all Namibian communities; • Contributing to financial inclusion of Namibian residents by expanding financial services and making services more accessible to low income people and to those that are currently not served; and • Enhancing its capacity and service delivery in the courier and logistics space to provide Namibians with an even better service and convenience.

Shoopala books has one of the most extensive collection of Namibian and Southern African titles. Wildlife photographer, Hentie Burger, knows the Namibian landscape has a million different photographic angles and that they all make for great photographs. He established Foto Namibia in the Namibia Craft Centre to showcase a series of breathtaking photographs featuring Namibian wildlife, vegetation, society and culture as uniquely as he sees it; like a tourist, for the very first time. When Hentie retired late in 2018, he sold his shop to Angela Hofmeyer who has changed the name to Shoopala books. In addition to the stunning photographs of various scales and sizes, Shoopala also has an impressive selection of rare Namibian coffee table photo books and albums of Namibian landscapes, fauna and flora, all in hardcover and glossed for additional durability, the perfect gift or reception area frontispiece.

Unique, upscale resale, repeat consignment and retro boutiques since 2017. Born in Zimbabwe and USA. Based and loved in Windhoek and Swakopmund, Namibia. Thrift, re-love, vintage & consignment shops at the Craft Centre in Windhoek. We feature carefully chosen (curated) clothing items, books and accessories for men and women. Beautiful fabrics, well tailored new and gently worn brand clothing, unique eclectic finds. Out of this world jewellery, quirky accessories and handbags, blogger, designer, fine artist and stylist collabos. We hope to grow into a reliable consignment business while helping to advance the understanding of the concepts of thrift, reusing, re-wearing and the importance of good quality versus fast fashion. We feature incoming items and new arrivals; follow us on Instagram and Facebook pages as well as on our website. Pop in for great items from reliable brands and great prices. Our online shop offers incoming items for a limited period.

An engineer by training, Roland Lösch bought the Craft Café at the Namibia Craft Centre in 2005. The balcony is stylishly designed with an industrial-look in the tables and chairs, softly framed by the leaves and branches of evergreen trees standing at the entrance to the Namibia Craft Centre. With ample natural light and unglazed ceramic crockery, the overall ambience is modern, urban rusticity with a hint of European nostalgia. Lösch is a lover of Italian cuisine and this is apparent in the neat, simple and delicious fare available at the Craft Café. The fresh health bread baked daily is a staple of many a fine diner’s table and even regulars to the Craft Café struggle to recall favourite menu items. Filling, scrumptious quiche, mouth-watering cakes, huge breakfast muffins, generous coffees, dark sticky brown sugar, foaming fresh milk, freshly squeezed juices and garden-fresh salads are just some of the appetising items on the menu, justifying the popularity of the café.

The !Ikhoba Textile Project was started in 1983 by sisters Heide, Karin and Ute Lacheiner on their family farm outside Otjiwarongo, in northern Namibia. !Ikhoba is the San word for the riveting Namibian antelope generally known as ‘gemsbok’ or ‘oryx’, or collectively as ‘wild animals of Africa’. The wives of the farmworkers on the farm produced unique, distinctively African embroidery, frequently inspired by African wildlife, which were in great demand and sold quickly. The Lacheiner sisters decided to create a sustainable market for the women’s embroidery products via the !Ikhoba Textile Project and collected embroidery from as many as 400 women, at one time. Each embroiderer worked at her own pace, in the comfort of her own home and produced unique, embroidery pieces which were then washed and sewn into beautiful bedspreads, T-shirts, tablecloths, wall-hangings, cushion covers and table mats to name but a few. The surface fabrics are 100% cotton and machine-washable.

At Rosa Marukuavi Kahuna’s stall visitors will find a provocative collection of eco-friendly, low-cost jewellery handmade from natural materials such as glass beads, calabash, bone, horn, seeds, even recycled paper. Rosa was taught how to make ear, neck and arm/wrist adornments by the previous owner. She now manages and stocks the stall herself, expressing her fine sensitivity for the diverse preferences of customers who desire a combination of contemporary and rural traditional designs. Hand-painted leather key-rings, wooden and ostrich shell hairclips, handmade greeting cards and an assortment of wire-craft are also available. Rosa also supports home-crafters by purchasing selected items from them she knows will suit her particular group of customers, and in so doing, has stimulated a small, mutually beneficial eco-system around her stall.

Out Of Katutura is a collaboration of two projects, the IYaloo Project and the Matukondo Doll Project. The IYaloo Project was started in 2005 by four unemployed women of Katutura. Kornelia, Beata, Maria and Emilia combined their skills to alter, repair clothing and make pet baskets for cats and dogs, and later expanded to include the production of beanbags. While making beautiful beanbags, the IYaloo women also started making unique and interesting handbags using discarded vinyl LPs. The Matukondjo Dolls Project was founded in 2003 by a former kindergarten teacher, the original eight members of the Matukondjo Dolls Project are still the primary producers of a charming collection of 100% child-friendly rag dolls. The range of includes a Big Mama doll, a Sister Baby doll and a Simple Doll Dress.

Miracle Arts & Crafts is a relatively small stall in the Namibia Crafts Centre but what it lacks in size, it more than makes up for with a resplendent and truly amazing variety of small to medium sized handicrafts from every imaginable corner of Namibia. The woman behind this ‘tiny shopping mall’ of crafts is Elisabeth Hangara, a crafter herself. Elisabeth has a generous, curious and creative spirit which manifests itself in the depth of the range of crafts in the stall. Everything and anything you can imagine from ear adornments, bangles, postcards, greeting cards, handmade paper, Namibian flags and key-rings, scarves to hand-embroidered cushion covers, placemats, ceramics, wire craft, wood craft…the list is endless. She so thoroughly immerses visitors to her stall in the variety of craft products available in Namibia.