6 Selling

Both Adinkra and Kente makers sell locally. They often negotiate requirements with a local buyer.

And he knows the meaning of the symbol, so he chooses only four symbols. This is ‘Jiname’, ‘if that goes you can’t do anything’. And this is ‘Akosombo’, where we get our electricity. And this is ‘Dowichiko’ ….

Anyone can buy from me. Once you have made your choice, I can weave it for you.

Both cloths support sales through local shops.

You know, if you have, if you are a rich man, you can wear expensive one for wedding. And if you not have money as much you can easily spend lower prices.

Both cloths are sold outside Ghana, in the African Diaspora.

You’ve got to be able to come up with new designs, new patterns, in order to sustain the interest of your old customers. So that, every time I go to Chicago,….. anywhere, I will call my customers and tell them I have something new. Something that they’ve not seen before! And if you are an artist, you are playing with colours, you know, you change, this bit, that bit, you change the line here and so, and you always have something new. And that’s the only way to sustain people’s interest.

Makers, buyers and sellers can form a circle of interactive tensions in the creation of textiles. These creative tensions are most evident in our final case-study.