ONCE you've seen one piece of LeJu jewellery, you'll recognise it anywhere; the brightly coloured statement pieces are created from a sustainable material called vegetable ivory, which gives them the distinctive, smooth texture of elephant ivory - minus the cruelty. Each piece is handmade by Dutch-born jewellery designer Lenny Trines, who, with the backing of business partner Juan Munoz, ensures the designs remain 100 per cent sustainable. The vegetable ivory is dried out and then sliced or carved into beads and unique shapes, before being coloured using natural plant extracts and oils. "We discovered vegetable ivory expedition to South America in 2004," explains Munoz. "We travelled down the Amazon River through the Amazonian rain forest for eight weeks, stopping in different villages to explore and meet the people that inhabited them. We went for walks in the jungle with a guide who showed us the different uses of plants and trees for medicine, plastic and so on. It was in this way that were introduced to the palm seed, Tagua, or vegetable ivory, and other tropical seeds that were naturally vibrantly coloured. Lenny was amazed by the prospect of being able to make jewellery with sustainable plant-based products and straight away felt a connection to the Amazon and a compulsion to design and create jewellery." LeJu exhibited at London Fashion Week last month and Trines admits she was overwhelmed by the level of positive attention the label received. "There is a connection between nature's colours, shapes and energy and people, and our customers love to see that we use natural sustainable materials to create such unique pieces," she reflects. For more information, visit www.lejudesigns.com.
(October 22 2007, AM) Leisa Barnett
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