Cloth from Lagos. Held in Britain.
Kemja Designs began with a sister.
She sells adire and Ankara in Nigeria — hand-dyed cloth, cut into boubous and palazzo sets, sold to women who have worn this fabric their whole lives and know exactly what good work looks like. She has spent years finding the dyers whose indigo holds, and the tailors whose seams do not give out after three wears.
Here in the UK, the same women were being asked to wait three weeks for a dress. Order today, hope it clears customs, hope it arrives before the wedding. Most of us have a story about a parcel that came the Monday after.
So we changed the order of things. We buy from the same makers she does, ship it in batches, and hold it here in Britain. When you order on Tuesday, it leaves on Tuesday, and it is with you by Thursday.
What we sell
Adire and batik boubous, kaftans, and wide-leg palazzo sets. Hand-dyed, which means every piece carries small variations — a deeper pool of indigo here, a pattern that breaks slightly there. Machines do not do this. People do.
We buy in small runs. When a print sells out, that is usually the end of it. This is deliberate. You should be able to walk into a room reasonably confident that nobody else is wearing your dress.
What we will not do
We will not sell you something that will not suit you. If you email asking whether a piece works for your height or your size, you will get an honest answer, including when the answer is no.
We will not make you wait three weeks and call it a pre-order.
Say hello
The inbox is read by a person. hello@kemja.co.uk
You can also find us on Etsy as KemjaDesigns — same brand, same cloth, same people.