On the Record: Jewelry designer from Ghana finds his niche in Maine
Photo / Jim Neuger
Ebenezer Akakpo in his workshop in the Dana Warp Mill in Westbrook. He is holding a board from which he cut out symbols for bravery.
Ebenezer Akakpo, an artist and entrepreneur from Ghana who works out of a studio at the Dana Warp Mill in Westbrook, incorporates Adinkra symbols from his west African homeland into designs for jewelry, apparel and other objects; they represent concepts including hope, strength, bravery and — his favorite — endurance.
Akakpo, who works full-time as a PC support specialist with the Maine Turnpike Authority, launched Akakpo Design Group LLC in 2017 and won a national award for a Portland bus shelter he adorned in 2022. With a background in metalsmithing and jewelry as well as industrial and product design, Akakpo has his sights set on expanding into architectural design.
Mainebiz sat down with him at his retail store at 132 Washington Ave. in Portland.
Mainebiz: When did you decide to start a business?
Ebenezer Akakpo: I decided to start my own venture after my master’s program at the Rochester Institute of Technology, in industrial design. My original intention was to design high-end luxury products. But after coming across a show called “Designing for the 90% of the World’s Population,” my plans changed into using design as a tool to help humanity.
For my thesis, I designed a UV system that removes harmful bacteria like salmonella and E. coli from drinking water.
MB: For those who don’t know, what are Adinkra symbols?
EA: The translation of Adinkra is “parting waves,” or “saying goodbye.” These are ancient visual language systems and symbols that are being woven into our culture. It’s not just from Ghana but also neighboring countries like the Ivory Coast.
MB: How many symbols are there, and how many do you work with?
EA: There are between 60 and 100 symbols. At some point I was using up to 60, but I cut that number down to 12 core symbols.
Over the years, I’ve started adding a few symbols like Sankofa, which means “going back to our roots and learning from the past,” and was used in the Netflix series “Raising Dion.” Then, in the sequel to the “Black Panther,” they were using the symbol for “God’s Presence.” I started adding those symbols because people were asking for them.
MB: Which one resonates with you the most?
EA: It has always been Endurance.
MB: Why?
EA: To leave a culture that you’re used to and move to a different culture, and to be able to survive, takes endurance.
MB: Any plans to blend your different product lines?
EA: I think I’ll be blending some aspects into a design — maybe a keychain, but I don’t know yet.
MB: How do you balance working full-time with your art?
EA: I practically have two full-time jobs, so anytime I get out of work is when I get to work on my art. The goal now is how do I move the small objects that I’m creating into larger objects, into more of an architectural-style paneling. Similar to the bus shelter.
For example, the bus shelter is a two-dimensional object. My goal now is how do I start translating that into a three-dimensional object, like for example wall paneling. That is my ultimate goal, how do I make it more sculptural, more three-dimensional, where it is larger than life — like paneling at a hotel, inside the governor’s mansion or government building. I want a larger scale, larger than life.
MB: What’s next for your business?
EA: What I’m struggling with now is how do I grow my business. Since it’s difficult for me to find somebody to invest in my business, I have to find a way to make it happen.
I’m trying to figure out how do I move into larger objects and work with architectural companies — because if you get larger contracts, then you’re able to make some money to keep your business going.
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