"The First Collection: Echoes of a Dream"
When I created the first collection of Maison Motema, I wanted to begin by explaining where it comes from and what it carries.
Echoes of a Dream is the name I gave to this chapter because it reflects how Maison Motema was born — not as a finished idea, but as a feeling shaped over time. A dream that returns again and again, becoming clearer with every gesture, every sketch, every hand that touches the material.
I design our bags in New York, but they are handcrafted in Africa, in an atelier where making is a language passed down through generations. Each piece begins slowly: leather is cut with care, bronze is cast by hand, and every stitch follows a rhythm that cannot be rushed. This repetition — shaping, holding, transforming — is the same gesture I refer to when I speak of echoes.
The First Collection is deeply rooted in land and home. It honors the women who carried us, who taught us patience, precision, and resilience. Their presence lives in the way our bags are made — not as decoration, but as structure, strength, and intention.
For me, Maison Motema is a space for considered luxury. A house where objects are created to last, where form emerges with meaning, and where craft is never separated from memory.
Echoes of a Dream is not only the beginning of our collection.
It is the foundation of how we create.
Echoes of a Dream — where memory shapes form. Discover our full collection, available now.
Thank you for being part of our journey. Love always,
— Verlaine Diane
Founder, Maison Motema