In the Albanian language “Dhe” and “DhÉ” are very different. The former is a conjunction meaning “and” while the latter means “soil”. It is an apt name for a brilliant, small, business that has gone from strength to strength.
DhÉ is the brainchild of Granita who offers handmade, hand-painted, air-dried clay goods made with love. Jewelry, postcards, Christmas decorations and many more things can be found here. She launched her atelier just over a year ago and provides a space for other women to thrive through collaboration.
Everything in the shop is fabulous and quite a few gifts can be personalised with names of recipients making them thoughtful gifts.
You’ll be hard-pressed to select just one item – beaded jewelry with traditional Albanian motives, decorative plates, ornaments, coasters – take your pick. I picked out five drawings of famous trail-blazing Albanian women and a couple of mugs. I love not just the artistic part of it, more so the revival of the history of these women who are rarely mentioned nowadays.
This is the third and the last article of the series. You’ve noticed that all business owners are women; while the pandemic has affected all, women have been hit the hardest and they deserve a fair fighting chance.
Always good to help fellow humans!