Welcome to Woven Roots! We are so excited to build and grow this community. First, we would love to tell you who we are and why we created this business.
Dianna was born in Los Angeles, California, and considered herself lucky to grow up in a culturally diverse community. In 2014, with the birth of her daughter, Dianna was given a Moses basket, and was drawn to the African culture that was embedded in the pattern and design. Shortly afterwards, she started Plum + Sparrow, a company that was centered on sourcing similar beautiful hand-made Moses baskets from Ghana, West Africa. In 2020 after several years of curating her product line, she started a series of projects rooted in a desire to connect with more women and mothers around the world. She identified the first mother for a nursery make-over, Lillian Bradley.
Lillian was born in Ghana, adopted at age three, and raised in Heber City, Utah. At age 13, a trip to her relative’s home in Ghana ignited a flame to reconnect and give back to those who didn’t have the same opportunities she had. Lillian aligned herself with non-profit organizations ranging from prevention of human trafficking to agricultural optimization in rural communities all while working on a masters degree and raising three children. Lillian was delighted and humbled to be chosen as a recipient for Dianna’s nursery make-over project in 2020, which resulted in a beautiful, modern-boho african theme for her and her new baby boy.
After the nursery make-over, Lillian and Dianna quickly cultivated a deep friendship with a mutual goal of starting a company where community, culture, and artisan craft would be at the forefront of their international journey.
Between Lillian’s connections in Ghana and Dianna’s years of experience with artisan baskets, the two of them combined efforts to create WovenRoots. Together, they seek to revitalize the procurement process of home decor goods with a focus on artesian well-being, high quality products, and ample opportunities to help rural communities throughout West Africa. They knew that to ensure these goals were met, they would need a closely connected team in Ghana, so they flew to Africa to start at the grassroots (literally). They strived to understand everything from the various types and seasons of the elephant grass, to the types of natural dyes used. More importantly in their minds, they spent the majority of their trip connecting with the weavers and forming relationships with those whose hands would be cutting, rolling, and weaving these one of a kind baskets.
Since the soft launch of their basket operation in Bolgatanga, Ghana, WovenRoots has been able to provide nearly one hundred men and women with consistent work. They have been able to provide accessible water to those in the local Zaare community. Lillian and Dianna rely heavily on the design suggestions of the local weavers and prioritize quality over quantity in every scenario.
With a combination of home decor, and baby goods, there will be products that everyone can add to their workspace, home, or nursery. WovenRoots as a company couldn’t be more excited to begin sharing the craft of African basket weaving with all of you!
-The Woven Roots Team