Bring your dining table to life with a collection of statement woven placemats, handmade from durable elephant grass in a striking round shape. These woven placemats are handmade in West Africa using Veta Vera, more commonly known as elephant grass, which is a robust and fibrous plant that is strong and durable, perfect for everyday dining.
The woven placemats are created using traditional hand weaving techniques, which have been passed down through the generations, and perfected by the team of weavers working together with Soloko. As part of our mission here at Soloko, we aim to preserve these important techniques while also securing a livelihood for the members of the communities.
The process of turning elephant grass into woven placemats is long and complex, going through many phases beginning with harvesting the grass and allowing it to dry for several weeks before being split and twisted. Once the stalks are formed into the right shape, they are dyed and once again dried, ready for weaving. The weaving process itself is also difficult and complex, requiring much skill and practice. Once formed, the woven placemats go through a quality assurance process and then are shipped to you.
The methods used mean that each of the woven placemats is handmade, ensuring it is a one-of-a-kind, completely unique item filled with character. Of course, buying the woven placemats together will create a cohesive set that you can use as centrepieces and talking points for either daily dining or for welcoming guests to dinner parties.
There are a number of different colourways of the woven placemats available, some using the natural colours of the elephant grass together with a vibrant dyed colour to create a stunning pattern, while others combining into a single colour block to match your home decor - or add a statement splash of colour to liven up a space.
Designs of Soloko Woven Placemats
Blue Round Placemats
Green Round Placemats
Natural and Blue Woven Placemats
Pink Round Placemats
Turquoise Hand Woven Placemats
There are two options in terms of sizes for the woven placemats, allowing you to choose for a more subtle mat to fit under your plates, or a larger size that will peek out around the edges of your tableware and continue to add their bold vibrancy. Choose the right size for your dining experiences depending on the size of your tables, or where you are choosing to display the woven placemats.
Sizes of Woven Placemats
Small: 30-31cm Diameter
Medium: 39-39cm Diameter
The woven placemats are made together with our partner Atampoka Crafts, a group of weavers from Bolgatanga and the surrounding local communities. The group is made up of family and friends, sharing techniques and bringing their own flair to the products made from elephant grass, which also includes our hand woven storage baskets and the collection of woven shopping baskets.
All handmade home decor from Soloko including our woven placemats and hand woven baskets are eligible for free shipping in Germany on orders over €250, and free shipping in the EU on orders over €350. Other locations and prices are explained in our full shipping policy. You can also shop our woven placemats in person, simply browse our list of stockists to find a retailer near you
