Kazuri Beads

The Akin girls shopped till the BOYS dropped. They really were such troopers as we dragged them from store to store for several days. One morning the girls decided to go without the boys to the Kazuri Bead factory-and it was a good thing they weren't with us because we took forever choosing what we wanted. I am obsessed with the Kazuri stores, but had never gone to the factory before. There was so much more jewelry to choose from-it was almost a little overwhelming and we just wanted it all. I think we had an addiction :) 

We also enjoyed getting to tour the Factory where all the beads are made and painted. Seeing the workers made me appreciate my jewelry in a whole new way. These women amaze me and are such hard workers.

This is about 1/5 of the jewerly selection! They also have some beautiful pottery.

Some pictures from our tour.

Last but not least, the real reason we went to the Kazuri Factory, was so that I could pick out beads for my tree. I know that sounds strange, but this was my inspiration:

I first spotted this tree in a store back in November of last year.  I told Paul I wanted one really bad, but I totally didn't think they were for sale. I jokingly asked the saleslady if it was for sale, and she told me "Yes, for 30,000 shillings"-which is almost $400. Ha, yeah, right! 

However, a few months later I walked past one of their stores and got so excited when I spotted smaller trees. These were much more reasonable and affordable for sure. And I just love acacia trees! Paul had promised to buy one for me as a souvenir before we left Kenya, and since we were leaving Kenya way earlier than expected, it was time to buy one. At the stores, I never could seem to pick which tree I liked best. One of the workers suggested that I go to the stores factory and pick out my own beads for my tree. So that's what we did...and it was a perfect idea.

The Factory only had one tree in stock that day, so since Anna was leaving the next day, I let her take that one. We had so much fun picking out the beads!  We felt like little kids at a candy store :) 

Look at that cute tree!

So, I went back the next week to pick mine up and was sooo happy to finally get it. Here it is:

Yay! I LOVE it! It will forever remind me of my love for acacia trees, for my obsession with the Kazuri shop, and my time in Kenya :)