I've had a lot of interaction with Zulu sandalmakers and am fascinated with the rubber straps that they use for making their sandals. These straps are carved from old, discarded whitewall tyres. These tyres are used mainly by the local taxis, of which there are plenty.
I would like to show the background to these rubber strips and all the ins and outs of how they are produced. Naturally, being a jeweller/designer I am continually searching for ways in which to use this intriguing material so there will be a steady stream of products that are based on or made from these elaborately carved straps.
But first.... a taxi. Note the white stripes on the tyres. The next post will show the structure of the tyre..
Dominic helps me with the production of the whitewall jewels. He finds the rubber cutters and then collects the strips from them after they've been cut. We then develop prototypes together and he then makes the 'jewels'.
