As I type this, it still feels somewhat unreal to me.

I have released my first ever brand collaboration today. *screams internally*. Introducing, the Stephanie Yeboah x Ottoman Hands Collection.

In all my fifteen/sixteen years of content creation, this is my first ever thing. My baby, and I am so honoured to have been able to work with the amazing team at Ottoman Hands for this. I have been such a huge fan of their gorgeous jewellery for the past few years now; ultimately drawn to not only their intricate, ethnic-inspired pieces, but the fact that their pieces are size-inclusive and can be adjusted for all finger sizes.

With my collection, I wanted to celebrate my Ghanaian heritage by way of hand-designing some of my favourite Ghanaian Adinkra symbols. These are traditional symbols that each have its own concept and proverb. I wanted to bring Ghanaian-inspired jewellery to the forefront, and each piece is gold-plated (again, tying in with Ghana’s history of gold being one of our natural resources) set with an array of semi-precious gemstones.

Alongside this, keeping in line with my advocacy for size inclusivity, I was passionate about this collection being as inclusive as possible, which is why all the rings are size adjustable for different fingers, as well as the bracelet and necklaces being adjustable for different wrist and neck sizes.

It was an absolute dream come true to be able to create this collection, and I truly hope you all love this 25-piece collection, as much as I loved designing it! I can’t wait to see you guys rock your own pieces (if you do, hit me up and let me know using the hashtag #SYxOH)!

Below are a few more photos from the shoot, alongside some of the pieces and what they mean! Apologies for the quality in the photos (I took the product ones and I was in a hurry lmao)

Photography: Anna Ozerchuk // MUA: Ranti Adeyemi // Styling: Me! // Jewellery: Designed by me!

Pieces:

Anansi Ntentan: A spiders’ web. Named after the infamous trickster-God from Ghanaian folklore, Anansi the Spider. It’s a symbol of wisdom, crafitness and creativity.

Adinkrahene: The King of the Adinkra symbols. It’s a symbol of authority, leadership and charisma and rumour has it, was the inspiration behind all of the other adinkra symbols.

Nsoromma: It means ‘star’ (or ‘a child of the heavens). It’s a symbol of faith and the dependency of a higher being.

Adjoa – This Mother-of-Pearl set is literally named after my Mother! Her Ghanaian name ‘Adjoa’ means ‘Girl born on a Monday’.

Abode Santann – As symbol of the totality of the universe. The symbol incorporates the eye, the rays of the sun, the double crescent moon, and the stool (the stool – or the Golden Stool’ is a very important symbol in Ghanaian culture). The sun, the moon, and the eye depict natural creation by a supreme being while the stool depicts the socially created institutions and the creativity of human beings.

Mate Masie – Translates to ‘I have heard it and I have kept it’. A symbol of wisdom, prudence and knowledge.

Yaa – Named after one of the most important cultural icons in Ghanaian history, Yaa Asantewaa. This is available as a necklace and as a bracelet.