You’ll Love Every Piece from Ohiri’s Jewellery Collection – The Outlines

The core design element of its key pieces, the guiding line, is the silhouette of a half-submerged crocodile!

Ohiri is a creative studio that exists to be a bridge between ancient arts and crafts and the contemporary landscape. We reinterpret the aesthetics & symbolism of body ornamentation made by ancient cultures for today, using jewellery as a platform not only for adornment but for object art.

The Ohiri Kréation adventure begins when, at the age of 9, Akébéhi Kpolo damages his mother’s jewel. While trying to fix it, she discovers a passion for creating jewelry. From there, she takes pleasure in making adornments for herself and those around her. After a Master II in Sustainable Development in 2011, she made her childhood dream come true and launched her brand in collaboration with Ivorian artisans. She imagines a contemporary, refined and original line made with Akan weights (West African ethnic group). Between tradition and modernity: philosophy of the house, Akébéhi gives life to beautiful pieces for a unique and original style.

Now based full-time in Abidjan, OHIRI creative director Akebehi Kpolo looked to Côte d’Ivoire’s folklore to inspire the third installment in a trilogy of collections: Outlines, a gift for the legendary King Crocodile.

“In Akan animist Culture, the crocodile is a complex and mysterious animal. Depending on his posture, he represents something. I have selected 3 representations of the crocodile. Alone, he is a symbol of adaptability because it lives both in water and on land. Siamese crocodiles symbolise unity in diversity. Two crocodiles biting the other’s tail are a symbol of dualism, particularly of male and female gender symmetry.” — AKÉBÉHI KPOLO

The core design element of its key pieces, the guiding line, is the silhouette of a half-submerged crocodile. A vivid blue lapis lazuli stone is set as its ominous, roving eye, dangerous & captivating. Striking pieces like the Crocodile King crossbody necklace capture the regal magic that comes alive in their stories, while subtle pieces like the paw-shaped lip ring quietly hint at the tales’ dark edge. The brass-accented woven bag, OHIRI’s first foray into accessories, is modeled after a traditional Akan stool and speaks directly to the legend by representing one of the gifts left on the water bank.

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“The whole collection is an offering I would like to make to the King Crocodile. In my imagination, I gave him the collection and he sent me his messenger to check the pieces. It seemed logical to me to also pay a tribute to the city of Yamoussoukro, forgotten capital of the Côte d’Ivoire, yet so rich in history and culture.”

[Yamoussoukro is the birthplace of Félix Houphouët-Boigny, the first president of Côte d’Ivoire, and is home to an artificial lake filled with the region’s magnificent crocodiles.]

“Everything in this city constantly reminds of the presence of the (king) crocodile, so invisible and so present at the same time.”