You can transform beads into pretty much anything if you’re creative enough, and one talented fashion designer from Nigeria is a case in point. Ibeh Maryjane Chiamaka found viral fame by crafting magical bags made with nothing but beads under the moniker Lala the Beadmaker.
Lala the Beadmaker is now followed by 155,000 people on Instagram and 45,000 more on TikTok, but her beginnings were pretty humble. This brand was launched by Ibeh Maryjane Chiamaka from Abuja, Nigeria, who started beading her bags from her mother’s dining room, oblivious to the fact that millions of people around the world would get to see her work.
“I used to sit there every night with a little torch, my back bent, and my creativity in full gear as I brought to life another piece of beaded jewelry that had inspired me. It all started as a little girl’s dream, but now I am proud to share it with you,” she wrote on her official website.
This talented artist is now on a mission to put African art on the map, one bead at a time. Her bead bags come in all the colors of the rainbow, and she uses different types of beads to make them truly pop.
