Our story

We create sustainable, handmade bags, home decor, and accessories from dhow sails. 100% handmade by heartmade.

Our Story

It all started in 2004 on Lamu Island. Ali was a fisherman from Lamu and Daniela a dreamer from Switzerland who traveled the world in love with the magic of life. 

One day when the sea was rough and impossible for fishing Ali asked Daniela for a job. Unfortunately she didn’t have one but asked him if he knew where she could buy one of these old dhow’s sail, known as ‘tanga’ in Swahili, because she always admired the texture of the old sails. The sails are like a piece of art designed by the wind, sun, sea water, rain, and the many years traveling over the Indian Ocean. Ali came back few days later with an old tanga. The color was magnificent, a brownish color impossible to reproduce, the weather and the years were the master of the piece of art. 

As Ali opened the big tanga Daniela noticed a big hole on it, a hole created by the power of the wind mixed with sea water splashed on it. Daniela looked at it and said to Ali, “If I paint a red heart around this hole it will look just as the hole I have in my heart at the moment created by the powerful pain of love mixed with tears”. Ali came back with a tin of red paint and started to paint a big red heart around the hole. Daniela then took the brush and wrote “LOVE AGAIN FOREVER WHATEVER”. 

They framed the piece of art and hung it in a friend’s shop. Two hours later the broken heart was sold. From that day on Ali and Daniela started to paint broken hearts that went all around the world, later the work evolved into flying hearts, donkeys, stars, and more on bags, decor and other items that are heart-made and handmade. From that first broken heart evolved the Ali Lamu determined to grow and help the community.