Hello everybody,
If this is your first time landing on our blog, we hope you stick around and read more of our other blog posts, If you are a regular boo, we are happy to have you back. Because we are female-led and strongly believe the future is female, we are highlighting women in different industries who are exceptional at what they do.
If home is truly where the heart Is, what happens when it also becomes the office, the school, and the gym? Well, the answer is, Demand for all-things “home goods” spike. Home décor and furnishing is one industry that has led to many of us purchasing products made beautifully or sold by different companies or people and perhaps you have purchased pieces by the women highlighted in this article. With their creative and business skills, these women complete our spaces. They make our homes and spaces a sanctuary and here is why you should know about their home, décor and furnishing businesses.
1 . Rubi Trii Home by Sampa Nakamba
As a child with an affinity for imagination and aesthetics, Sampa spent a significant part of her childhood time day dreaming and embellishing anything and everything she could get her hands on with doodles and colour.
“For most of my life, I believed that creative expression was a pastime, and nothing more – until 2014 when I enrolled in an MBBCh degree at Wits University, and, for the first time in my life, I didn’t have enough time for imagination and creativity. I realized then what creativity was: a gift and a calling, and I felt a strong sense of responsibility to pursue it.” She shares.
Sampa’s first business was Rubi Trii – a thrift fashion business that cares about the environment and sustainability. Sampa went on to drop out of university to run Rubi Trii full time.
During the first wave of covid, Sampa realised how much she enjoyed being home alone, and has since had a growing passion for making her living space as homely as possible. “I create homemaking and home-cooking content on my personal Instagram page (@sampastouch) and recently launched the Home division of Rubi Trii (@rubitrii.home) – where I upcycle secondhand goods to be repurposed as beautiful home decor.” Sampa shares.
For Sampa, homemaking is an underrated expression of femininity. She love’s seeing women sharing their home related skills and crafts such as candle making, cooking, organizing, gardening, creating gorgeous flower arrangements, all of that is what aligned with Sampa’s energy and she believes in collaborating with women who express their femininity and creativity in their own unique ways.
Follow and Support Sampa by purchasing a Rubi Trii Home piece.
2 . Likota by Mutale Grace Sitali
Likota is a handcrafted and sustainable furniture business best known for it’s original pieces such as tables and desks, serving boards, tables, ottomans, furniture, racks, and bookshelves among others. This brand is luxury driven for your modern day home.
Mutale is a Business Administration graduate from the University of Kwazulu-Natal. Her love for beautiful spaces coupled with the strong belief in the great impact that small business have in both the immediate communities and the continent as a whole is what led her to establishing ‘Likota’ in December 2019.
“Amongst the many hats that I wear, business development and ensuring that we are sticking to our goals and mission as a team is my main role(s) at ‘Likota’. Since inception, a great percentage of our business has been generated through social media platforms. We have gotten really good numbers from the likes of Facebook and Instagram.” She details.
To enhance business sales, Likota uses tools such as Facebook and Instagram ads as well as giving out as much information about their products and services through their post’s. With more people having access to the internet and using social platforms, this works to the advantage of their business growth hence they are able to reach more people.
When asked about female collaborations in her industry, Mutale shares that “I strongly believe that no one person can serve the entire market on their own and that knowledge sharing and skills sharing can help small businesses scale up. Collaboration’s when done well are inevitable for business growth.”
Support and Follow Mutale by purchasing a Likota piece.
3 . Maison Studio by Christine Kakoma
Her brand vibes make us feel like everything is possible by owning a candle(s). Made with eco-friendly, fragrant essential oils mixed into the soy wax, giving off a pleasant aroma when burning. A Maison Studio scented candle is a nice touch in a bathroom, especially when guests are over, in a bedroom, or any room of the house. A scented candle can create an ambiance of healthfulness and well-being and that is why one of the best reasons to purchase Maison Studio scented candles is the benefits due to their aromatherapy properties or perhaps they will enhance the look and feel of your home. The name Maison Studio came from her mentor who is French-speaking/native (Maison = Home)
Christine Kakoma has an Economics background specializing in Business growth. Her business started unwittingly, but before that, she had always been a creative. While studying for her degree, Christine’s mentor advised that she get’s the real practice of a business synopsis, from the business plan, and strategy to execution. “At the time I had a fascination with sculptural candles, but I could not get them anywhere in Namibia (which is where I studied and first began my business). I researched how they are made, wrote up a business plan, got some equipment, and made my first candle. From there it was literally text book steps to operating a business (With no intention of actually fully launching).” she explains.
When it was time for Christine to put her products out there, she shares; “I took a few pictures and shared them on Instagram and the response was nothing less than amazing, that’s when I realized this is not just some exercise, this could be a real business. My candles are so niche-specific, that is why ordinary ads didn’t seem like the right fit to me, so I looked for influencers with home pages (which are big now) and had them advertise for me. All of my collaborations have been with Female business owners or Female home influencers.”
Many of us have been lighting more candles lately than we ever have before. Candles are a tradition in many cultures, a mainstay in many homes, and even a luxury to treat yourself and others with, it is also scientifically proven that scented candles can play an essential role in the physiological effects of mood, stress, working capacity, and overall mental health.
Support and Follow Christine by purchasing a Maison Studio Candle.
4 . Notion Designs by Emmanuella Lienda
Notion Designs by Emmanuella Lienda is a Home décor, furnishing, and Interior design business that curate’s a selection of timeless furniture and charming accessories bespoke to your liking. Her business creates furniture, pillows, interior design, scented candles, mirrors, wooden pieces such as tables and stands, and reupholstered services for all your old furniture and décor pieces.
Emmanuella is a self driven creative that always had an interest in art and it’s innovation over the years. Her love for interior design came at birth, after being in real estate for 6 years she had the opportunity of seeing different homes and layouts of design and décor. Because of how numerous homes looked and had the same aesthetic and touch, she decided to research more on this to understand why a number of households had the same set up.
“It’s been interesting over the years learning about the do’s and don’ts of design and décor styles because every year, there’s a new trend and you decide what stays and what goes with the year’s theme. My business specializes in interior design and décor and we make custom furniture as well. In as much as it’s been a great journey, we’ve had our usual business hurdles but the satisfaction from our clients encourages us to keep going and reminds us we’re doing a great job.” She shares.
With the growth of social media and the need to build strong social media strategies to help boost businesses online, Emmanuella explains that; Social media has been a great tool to her business because it’s enabled her to build an online audience which has resulted in potential customers. It also continues to be an avenue of engaging with future clients over what it is they’d like for their homes hence social media has made it easy for people to know about her business products and services.
“In the furniture and décor businesses, I’m actually impressed to see the work and know I’m not the only female that’s embarked on this journey. I love seeing women in construction, engineering, and the furniture business as well. It’s inspiring and encouraging to see us break the norms of a man’s world.” She details.
In ending the creative and hard-working C.E.O of Notion Designs shares that Interior design and décor should be everyone’s interest because 90% of the time, we are in enclosed spaces and It’s of importance how that space looks and feels
Follow and support Emmanuella by purchasing a Notion Design piece eg. Furniture.
As we continue to highlight amazing women shaping the world we live in today, these women in the home and décor business clearly prove that hard work, creative direction and determination are major factors in business development. See you in the next blog series as we showcase another set of brilliant women.
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