I’ve always shied away from fashion assignments, preferring documentary photography because I’m not the greatest person when it comes to directing models. So when Nzilani from Bawa Hope called and asked me to shoot their new line of jewellery, my first thought was to recommend someone else. Then I thought, ‘Why not?’. I got out of my comfort zone, sipped some porridge and took on the assignment.

It’s no secret that several of the jewellery items appearing in foreign fashion advertisements are made by Kenyans in Kenya. A lot of this is possible through the work of Bawa Hope, a fair trade company that works with handicraft artisans, linking them with clients from fashion houses in Europe, Asia and the Americas.

For their 2018 collection, we selected Nairobi’s Arboretum Park as the shoot location, and had Wamaitha show how good the different items can look on you.

The crew from left: Brian (photography), Grace (make up), Nzilani (Bawa), Wamaitha (model) Wendy (styling) Mwarv (photography) and Andrew (Bawa).