Made entirely by hand, Zizou bags are designed to be practical and enduring. Working primarily with raffia, each piece is shaped by hand and made to be one of a kind.

 

Originally from Tāmaki Makaurau, I graduated from AUT with a Bachelor of Visual Arts and now create Zizou from my apartment in Te Whanganui-a-Tara.

 

Working with crochet allows raffia to guide each design. Shapes emerge intuitively, with each row building on the last. The bags take form organically, embracing the natural qualities of the material.

 

I hand-dye all of the raffia myself in batches, boiling the fibres in my kitchen using harakeke dye. The process softening the raffia and producing a range of earthy tones. Each batch brings its own subtle variations in colour and texture, this reflecting in each bag.

 

With the intention of minimising waste wherever possible, leftover dyed raffia is woven back into the designs as contrasting dots, stripes, or as bag charms. These small details make each piece that little bit more special.