ETO - Connecting Cultures

💜💙🩵💚💛🧡❤️🩷

One of Accra’s best-kept secrets? The train. 🚆

When people think about getting around Accra, trains rarely come to mind. But there is a passenger train connecting the south and north of the city—and it’s a surprisingly comfortable way to travel.

We decided it was time for an ETO day out. Florence, Sandrina, Bertha and Doreen joined the trip (Cynthia and Edith unfortunately couldn’t make it), and together we spent the afternoon exploring the city by rail.

Some of our best ideas don’t come from sitting behind a desk. They come from spending time together, sharing conversations and seeing familiar places from a new perspective.

We were waiting for the promised summer. Berlin had other plans.

Luckily, a handwoven Kente scarf is just as useful on chilly evenings as it is beautiful.

Handwoven in Ghana and full of colour, it’s the kind of piece that stays with you long after summer is gone — or when it never came in the first place.

Link in bio.

How are you surviving this Berlin summer? 😄

Think ironing is boring? Then dressmaking might not be for you 🤣

At our seamstresses’ workshops, ironing happens at almost every stage.

Before cutting the fabric.
Before stitching.
To attach interfacing (an extra layer that makes the fabric stiffer and helps it keep its shape).
Between production steps.
And again when everything is finished.

A well-made garment spends more time under an iron than most people would expect.

One of those small details that nobody notices—until it’s missing.

🎶 Summer soundtrack

From time to time, we love introducing you to artists from across West Africa.

Today, we’re featuring the Lioness of Africa: **Wiyaala**.

Not too long ago, we travelled through Ghana’s Upper West Region, the place Wiyaala proudly calls home. A landscape of wide plains, red earth and endless horizons.

Her music blends traditional rhythms, including the talking drum, with contemporary Afropop. Beyond her music, Wiyaala is also a strong advocate for girls and women, speaking out against child marriage and female ge***al mutilation.

If you’re looking for something new for your summer playlist, give her a listen 🎧

What’s currently on repeat for you?

One of the workshops we visited during our travels through Ghana.

Fabric everywhere, conversations crossing over each other, music playing somewhere in the background and pieces slowly coming together one by one.

Summer in Berlin: straight from the office to the lake.
A good book, watermelon, a summer breeze… ☀️🌊 Don’t forget to make the most of the warm days while they’re here.

☀️

Cynthia came by the workshop during her maternity leave to help with some new designs — baby included 💜💚🧡

One thing we often notice in Ghana is how naturally work and motherhood are woven into everyday life. Babies move from one lap to another, conversations continue, fabric gets cut, ideas get shared.

Not always easy. But often together.

Kintampo waterfall feels almost unreal after hours of heat, dust and long roads somewhere between Bolgatanga and Kumasi.

One of those oases that reminds you to stop for a moment and just take it all in.

Life is short 🌿

Top by trousers by .connecting.cultures

In Ghana, turning 60 is a big thing.
It’s the age many people retire.

Florence just turned 60 —
and immediately started planning another business.

So retirement doesn’t really seem to be her thing 😄

We probably shouldn’t say too much yet 🤫
But hopefully we can share more later this year.

Happy birthday again, Mama Florence 💜🧡💚