Earlier this year, during our travels in Addis Ababa, we came across a group of special pieces in a local marketplace. We purchased them from independent artisans and small businesses and brought them together with graphic cotton accessories to create the UnoEth Cotton Capsule: a small collection made for everyday use, gifting, and collecting.
The capsule pairs black cotton totes and zipper pouches with handwoven straw wall basket sets. Across the collection, language, art, craft, and function meet in pieces meant to move through real life—not sit untouched.
What is Amharic fidel?
Amharic is one of Ethiopia’s most widely spoken languages. It is written in the Ethiopic script, often called fidel. The script developed from Ge’ez and is organized around consonant-vowel combinations, so many characters represent a syllabic sound rather than a single letter in the English-alphabet sense.
On the Amharic Alphabet Canvas Tote and Cotton Zipper Pouch, the shapes of fidel become a bold blue graphic pattern: an everyday celebration of Ethiopian language and visual rhythm.
The story behind the Many Faces print
The Many Faces print is a contemporary design inspired by the bold outlines, frontal faces, and expressive eyes seen across Ethiopian visual traditions. Historic Ethiopian illuminated manuscripts and icon paintings often use simplified, clearly defined features and direct gazes. In some Ethiopian talismanic and healing-scroll traditions, stylized eyes and faces also carry protective meaning.
The pouch does not reproduce one specific historic artwork. Instead, its repeating faces translate this broader visual language into a playful modern pattern, with each expression bringing a different bit of character.
What are the Selam wall basket sets?
Selam means “peace” in Amharic. Each Selam set contains three round straw pieces woven by hand in graduated sizes: 7.5, 9.5, and 11.5 inches in diameter. Hang all three as dimensional wall art, use them as trivets or pot holders, or layer them beneath serving pieces for a colorful table.
The sets come in four colorways—Meadow, Forest, Onyx, and Fuchsia. Slight differences in weave, color, and shape are part of the handmade character of each set.
Made for everyday life
The Amharic Alphabet Canvas Tote is sized for books, market finds, and workday essentials. The Cotton Zipper Pouches organize makeup, toiletries, chargers, pens, and the small things that tend to disappear inside a larger bag. The Selam sets bring handwoven texture to walls and tables.
Together, they make up a capsule that is practical, artful, and full of Ethiopian language and design.
