Life’s little moments, life’s little pleasures

Combining local African tradition with French design and quality standards, Ikken is a collaboration between jewellery designer Baptiste Bataille, a village of Touareg artisans in Niger and Georges Kamba, a renowned Parisian jeweller from the Place Vendome.

Founded a year ago, Ikken set up a unique project in Niger. Baptiste Bataille developed a line of modern and stylish jewellery founded in Touareg traditions. The duo then trained local artisans in Niamey in modern techniques of jewellery making and had the jewellery produced in Niger.

This has led to a collection of urban jewellery, made of the highest quality silver, ebony and stingray.

From a humanitarian perspective, Ikken generates local employment and raises the skills of the local artisans in Niger, thus creating a long-term sustainable future for them and their families.

In partnership with the French embassy, Ikken is looking forward to setting up a full training centre in Niger dedicated to jewellery making. The centre is scheduled to open in April 2008 a first in Western Africa. Fifteen artisans will be trained and have at their disposal all the required tools and materials to develop their skills.

The partnership between Ikken and Anedoti.com

Both Anedoti and Ikken stand for hand-crafted luxury, unique fashion forward designs rooted in tradition but targeted to a modern audience. Ikken met Anedoti founders Ed and Anne in Paris during a Net-a-Porter show in February 2007.

Anne de Kerckhove comments: “From the moment Anedoti met with Ikken we fell in love with their values. We met again in London a few weeks later and decided to work together to launch the Ikken products in the UK and Europe.”

To view the full collection, log on to Anedoti.com.