Where'd You Get That?

What: Namibian Necklaces

Where: Little Kulala, Sossusvlei

Cost: $15-40

The Lowdown: I know you’re supposed to go to Africa to look at the animals, but my dirty little secret is that I really go there for the shopping — the jewelry, in particular. Call me shallow, but there’s something about the pieces from Africa that have that instantaneous from-somewhere-else quality.

The pathway to Little Kulala. (Photo: Jonathan Bloom)

So when my husband and I were doing a safari/shopping/adventure/shopping jaunt through Namibia last fall, it killed me that the curio shop at Little Kulala seemed to be closed whenever I wanted to go in. The first morning at this amazing hotel on the edge of the Sossusvlei dunes, I discovered that the night watchman had accidentally taken the keys home with him. When we came back from hiking the towering dunes, it was shuttered at lunchtime (the shopkeeper must have needed a break from the 112-degree heat). That night, we got back too late from a bonfire in the desert.

So our guide promised that he would open the boutique early the next morning before our flight to the coastal town of Swakopmund. It was probably the fastest that I have ever packed, and I admit that the selection was limited — but it was incredibly curated with pieces from African artisans. I bought almost every necklace in the shop while my husband wasn’t looking. (I am an independent woman, mind you, but it was still a bit excessive.)

I gave away several of the necklaces as gifts, but these multi-strand glass beauties — on hand-knotted strands — are the ones that I kept and find myself wearing all the time. I don’t know much about their provenance, but what I do know is that I traveled many miles and across many sand dunes for this piece of the continent.

The open-air lounge off our room. (Photo: Jonathan Bloom)

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