Hello there & welcome,
My name is Shaina - I am a proud Zambian girl brought up on the outskirts of
Lusaka and the heart and hands behind Beyond Me Designs.
My journey here hasn't always been linear nor refined - a bit like my designs.
After completing my MsC in Learning for Sustainability at Plymouth University, UK -
I worked with Conservation Lower Zambezi (CLZ) after doing my research and
dissertation with them. CLZ is based just outside the Lower Zambezi National Park
(Zambia). It was here that my love for wildlife, conservation and community
deepened - and continues to shape everything I design and create today.
Life threw in a plot twist...
After falling for a dashing yet rugged Southern Province Farmer - I found myself in 2020 packed up and moved onto Bantron Farm outside Choma.
It was here surrounded by open skies, dust and Zambia's wild heart that I picked up and old love - silversmithing.
Years before, I had done a short silversmith course in Cape Town and had fallen in love with the craft! But it had never been more than a glorified hobby. Back then I worked with anything I could find - mainly old cutlery, limited equipment, limited time and limited resources.
But in 2020 as many other people around the world time was now not an issue.
So here on the farm, with a little more courage and a lot more heart Beyond Me Designs began.
Silver & Wildlife
Beyond Me Designs - Silver & Wildlife is rooted in Zambia.
Every piece is handmade in silver & inspired my the wildlife and wild spaces that have shaped my life. From pangolins to elephants, each design carries a wild story.
Having worked in conservation, I have seen firsthand the pressures that wildlife face. I have also seen the resilience of the communities living alongside it. That is why giving back has always been a part of this brands DNA. Selected pieces contribute towards selected organisations working on the ground to protect the very species that inspire my work.
This isn't just jewelry.
It's storyttelling.
It's conservation.
It's Zambia - cast in silver.
Growing Beyond Silver
From those silver & wild beginnings, the business has naturally grown.
Beyond Me Designs now also offers custom laser engraving through our Laser Studio - working with wood, leather, stainless steel bottles and flasks and more. to create personlised, meaningful pieces for individuals, lodges and businesses.
While silver remains at the heart of this website, the Laser Studio is an exciting extension of the same creative spirit.
If you would like to explore that side of the brand, you can follow along here:
@beyondmedesigns_laser
Both branches sit under the same umbrella - same heart, same maker, same quality, more ways to create!
Beyond Me Designs is shaped by wildlife, sustainability, community, love, dust & a slighlty unexpected path.
And it continues to grow.
Beyond me.
Thank you for being here and being part of this wild journey of wild stories.
