ABOUT  US

The Collector and the Artist

From traditional to contemporary, telephone wire baskets tell stories and amaze with their pattern and detail.  The rich tradition of the Zulu nation and traditional patterns from sources including beadwork, basketry, clothing and houses inspire the weavers and are apparent in their work.  Not simply design but stories and commentary on mythology and history can be found in the baskets. 
 
As an introduction, I am David Arment, an art consultant and collector based in Santa Fe, New Mexico and Dallas, Texas.  I have been called the telephone wire Fundi, a complement I love.

My partner in all  things telephone wire is my African sister, Marisa Fick-Jordaan.  Marisa is the designer. collaborator and source of the best wire work coming out of Durban, South Africa.  She has collaborated with everyone, from Herve DiRosa to Christian Dior.
Her company ZenZulu is the best place to source baskets.
  

WHY  THE  
​WIRE  PLATES?

Several years ago I was traveling through Southern Africa with friends Jim Rimelspach and Trisha Wilson, collecting baskets in Joburg and Cape Town.  At the time, Marisa Fick-Jordaan was frantically working with the weavers of Siyanda, helping to turn an urban craft into an art form, supplying baskets to our mutual friends at Art Africa and other shops.  Although we were one step away from each other, we shared a passion for telephone wire baskets and were best friends waiting to be introduced, we simply hadn’t crossed paths.
 
But a close mutual friend, the icon of South African fashion, Marianne Fassler changed that, and brought us together.  Our first day was spent in the informal settlement of Siyanda; a hot awakening for a Texas boy used to high rises and air-conditioned everything.  On a steamy evening in Durban after a life-altering day, we plotted our book’s future over Whisky Prawns. 
 
We both knew that a book on Telephone Wire had to be written, and I immediately started working the publishing world to find the right place to help the project get off the ground.  We had our storytellers, Marisa and Paul, who were there in the beginning, encouraging and promoting, and we had my planning and marketing skills, but unfortunately we could not find too many visionaries in the world of South African publishing.
 
But Jim and Trisha would not let us give up.  I kept up the search and found support very close to my home in Dallas.  Trisha Wilson’s foundation stepped in to help with the funding of the project, and things just started falling into place. Over dinner in Santa Fe, David Chickey came forward with project facilitation through his new company, now Radius Books, and Andrew Cerino, a Dallas photographer looking for a new project joined us.  Our mutual friend Karel Nel agreed while battling Malaria to add a preface.  The result was our 2005 book. 
 
Since publication, so much has changed.  We have lost so many talented weavers and friends, and the globalization of everything had an impact on the quality and production of this unique art form.  Our initial goal was to recognize the artists and ensure they made a livelihood based on their art.  Marisa and I continue this effort, but unfortunately not everyone selling baskets is as "fair trade" oriented as they claim.   

This web site may be a bit of a vanity project, but so be it.  For now, my only objective is to put some of my collection on line to share my passion with all of you.
 
David
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