Wax and Looms was founded by Dr. Fauzia DELSOL.
She is a Climate-Smart Agriculture Specialist by profession who has over the years worked with various types of organisations including government, NGO’s, research and the United Nations.
Her hobbies include experimenting with new recipes, designing of clothing and accessories, the latter which has resulted in the establishing Wax and Looms with the hope of not only making accessible authentic handmade clothing made in Ghana and Mauritius but also sharing the stories, culture and traditions of the producing communities and using fashion as an agent for sustainable development and change.
Fauzia has a bachelor degree in Biochemistry, masters’ degree in Environmental Science and a PhD in Agroecology. A Ghana born Global citizen resident in Mauritius.
A journey from the Equator to almost the North Pole and to an Indian Ocean Island
I was born and grew up in Ghana which lies a few degrees north of the equator. I had my studies till the bachelor degree level in Ghana. After which I worked a couple of years until I was awarded a scholarship from The Netherlands to pursue a masters’ degree in Environmental Science and Technology. After one year of studying in The Netherlands, I received another scholarship to conduct the research aspect of my study in Switzerland and spent some of my time travelling within Europe. I returned home to Ghana, after my masters’ degree where I worked for another couple of years till I was employed as a PhD researcher in Denmark during which time I worked on a project based both in Ghana and Denmark with 75% of that time spent living and working in Denmark.
As an agroecologist and development expert my career has always been people and community centred in Africa and abroad. As a fashion enthusiast, I love handmade Ghana clothing and accessories. During my travels for both education and work around the world, I got local artisans to tailor traditional fabrics with a modern twist that allows me to wear Ghana handmade clothing and accessories everywhere I travel. I always had something for everyday wear be it formal or informal and something for special occasions. Be it to Greenland (almost North Pole) and to Mauritius (an Indian Ocean Island), where I am currently residing, I received a lot of feedback with regards to my clothing with people asking where they can purchase similar clothing. I always responded Ghana and they were disappointed they could not get access to it. A few times, some told me they have come across other Ghana and African made clothes but found them different from my clothing. That was when it dawned on me that my travels around the world, interacting with different people and different cultures has shaped my choice of colours, the cuts of the prints and clothing in a way that remains true to Ghana but allows them to be worn internationally.
This realisation led to the birth of WAX AND LOOMS on the beautiful island of Mauritius a brand of handmade, well-tailored clothing and accessories made in Ghana and Mauritius using Ghanaian traditional techniques of cloth making by wax, weaving by looms and beading using traditional ovens that can be worn by everyone and made accessible globally through our online store.