Well crafted

Izibele owner Abigail Pugh shares her love of southern African objects through her Toronto shop

At Izibele in Toronto, owner Abigail Pugh has brought her love of craft and travel together under one roof. Pugh, who lived in Botswana as a child and regularly travels to Cape Town with her family, says handcraft is a creative pursuit she wanted to share and support.

Pugh says that she hopes to help others see that crafts are contemporary in style and make a beautiful addition to the home.

“We can easily find things that look like they’re handmade, even with the little dents made by the fingers and the brush misstrokes, but they’re actually not handmade,” she says. “I think there’s a hunger for the authentic and the handmade and the slow made and I also really want to help my makers and give them a market that they wouldn’t otherwise have.”

Most of her products are sourced from southern Africa, with a focus on items for the home, apparel and design objects. For the holiday season, some of her gifting items include teas, beaded ornaments and sculptures. Her Karoo Angels are made entirely by hand from beads, wire and sustainable local ostrich feather, while her magpie peace dove is made of recycled plastic milk bottles.

“They’re designed to last forever, they’re not something that you throw away at the end of the season.”

Izibele, 1124 College St. W., Toronto, 416-820-1587, izibele.ca.