About Us

Ananse Design Essentials offers unique, quality wood jewelry and other handcrafted accessories that captures the essence of natural beauty. Each one of the pieces are handcrafted with care and dedication. This line of jewelry grew out of the founder's love for natural beauty, desire to create and design beautiful things, and need to express herself. Initially, she created a few items for her personal collection. Eventually, these items became a small business endeavor. Today, Ananse Design Essentials offers a wide range of African inspired handcrafted accessories.  All of our products have been skillfully designed and created by the Crafty Ph.D.

The company's name is drawn from the Ghanian term, Ananse Ntontan, which means spider's web. Ananse Ntontan symbolizes wisdom, creativity and the complexities of life. Ananse was selected to represent her creativity inspiration and complex life as a college professor and small business owner. Dr. LaShawnda Lindsay-Dennis founded Ananse Design Essentials in July 2013 by making and selling wooden earrings.  Since this time, the company has increased its scope to include custom earrings, necklaces, handbags, and more!