Seaweed International

Seaweed International was founded in 1993  by Dr. Marcia Tate Arunga. Dr. Arunga moved back to her birthplace in Seattle after an eleven-year stay in Kenya, where she and her husband had four children. When she returned to Seattle, she received so many compliments on her attire and was inspired to establish her own clothing label using African fabrics and fashion-forward designs. Seaweed International was a wholesale operation of imported clothing and accessories that she sold at her store, located at the bottom of a three-story building on 29th and Jackson. The building was owned by her family in the historically black Central District of Seattle, WA. Marcia lived on the second floor and had her shop on the street level. It was there that she would continue to raise her four children as an entrepreneur and cultural custodian in her community. Decades later, two of her children revived the business and are continuing the legacy.

Today, Seaweed International is a company that specializes in jewelry and accessories, led by Ebony and Nia Arunga. “We have found a profound healing through African adornments, and are passionate about continuing to feed the African Diaspora with the richness of the continent’s adorning products. We grew up understanding that African cultural representation was important in shaping how we perceive the world and ourselves. We had a direct visual of Seaweed’s impact on the community, watching as the neighborhood strolled down the street adorned in African garments like a scene out of Coming to America. These beautiful, one of a kind designs, instilled confidence, self-determination, and regal affirmation.  People who had never been to the African continent felt connected. This inspires our work. We now use jewelry to provoke a new consciousness of social justice and beauty.”