Babazeka blog

I can’t believe that I have somehow missed the fact that Adri Shutz of Mielie has been blogging about her project since January this year. Take a look at Mielie Peeps if you’d like a look inside one of the most amazing socially conscious, and creative(!) businesses in South Africa.

I’ve had a soft-spot for Mielie products for ages - mostly because of their bright colours, the originality of their designs and concepts, and then of course, there’s the fact that they’re providing 50 ladies with work and are using old rags to make their products.

Adri is one the women who spoke in the video I mentioned a while ago, Beauty from our Hands. It’s worth listening to what she has to say. And below, you can see some of the amazing things that Mielie is creating. Aren’t they just beautiful?

Filed under: Handmade Things, Social Upliftment on August 19th, 2008 | Comments

So, I am now in the fantastic situation of having my first two international parcels gone “missing”. All the others have arrived safely, some even early, but now suddenly this. I am so lucky to have the two most understanding customers on the other side, but it still just feels embarrassing.

The more I look into it though, the bigger I realise the problem is. Spring Global Mail (who I don’t want to talk badly about, as they have been really lovely to deal with) basically can’t seem to give me an exact answer on where the parcels are, or were last accounted for. Although their prices are by far the best I have been able to find, I just can’t keep sending items when I have no idea if they’ll ever arrive or not.

So, now thinking that I just have to find a service who can guarantee delivery of parcels, with tracking numbers and at a reasonable cost, I’ve decided to call around again. It seems, however, that unless you use the ridiculously expensive courier services, at about R800 a delivery ($102 US Dollars or 54 UK Pounds) there’s no way of tracking your parcels. Plus, they get flown there in 2 days - not so good for Babazeka’s carbon count!

SA Post Office won’t insure or register international parcels over 1kg (huh?) and if you use surface mail, the cheaper option, it could take up to 8 weeks or more to arrive. They actually told me it could take a month before it leaves South Africa - waiting for a ship to arrive! The post office do have a more expensive service, EMS, which tracks the items but then again, flies them in in a few days. To me it wouldn’t make sense for a bag (which has been lovingly handmade from waste materials) to use half a tank of jet fuel to arrive at the customer. Sort of defeats the point.

So now what? Does anyone have ANY suggestions?  How can little online businesses like us (who need to sell to an international market to survive) keep operating if the postal companies don’t improve their offerings? What are we to do?

Filed under: Online Entrepreneurship on August 18th, 2008 | Comments

I’m finding it just the most amazing and exciting thing, seeing the products that I’ve created in my head and drawn on paper, materialise in front of me. Just love it. And so far, every sample that I’ve received has exceeded my expectations. Right now I feel like pinching myself. This is really part of my job, and not just some fun game that I’m playing.

Here’s a picture of a lovely guy, Fulton, making my beaded vase.

I’ve so enjoyed chatting to him and watching his nimble fingers bead. It’s a pity that I haven’t been there in person to watch our other products being made - it’s all had to be done over email and the phone. I can really see Babazeka heading more in this direction and becoming further involved with product design and development.

I also wanted to show you how great the bags (made by my sewing ladies) are coming along. They’re really making me proud.

Let’s just hope they ALL sell out at SA Fashion Week.

Filed under: Handmade Things on August 14th, 2008 | Comments

Just to say thanks to Garden and Home for mentioning our Womens Day offer and for their little write-up on Babazeka in this months issue.

Filed under: Press on August 12th, 2008 | Comments

This is one the most difficult decisions for entrepreneurs starting their own e-commerce business. If you have tons of start up capital, either your own or from a loan, the decision-making process will probably be a little easier. If you don’t though, it’s a tough one!

When I was researching starting up an online store last year, I chatted with quite a few people who had lots of business experience, and when it came to stock, they all said the same thing: “Don’t tie up your capital”. They warned me that buying stock upfront restricts your cashflow, making it harder to grow your business.

Basically, they suggested that I display pictures of products made by my suppliers on the website and then, when a customer orders, say a cushion, it is made up and then posted straight from the manufacturer to the customer. I had a few problems with this.

Like, how would I control the quality of the products? It could be sent with a hole in it and I wouldn’t know until I heard from the unhappy customer. I wanted to brand the parcels with a Babazeka sticker and pretty packaging (so that we’d get some recognition as the retailer). Would the projects do this for me, and would they wrap them nicely? If I had products in stock, I could dispatch the same day that I receive the payment. Would customers really be willing to wait 2 weeks for something to be made?

Because of worries like this, I decided against the advice I was given. I’ve always been a bit stubborn! After about 6 months of business though, I quickly learned the real meaning of “tight cashflow” and “tied up capital”. I have all these pretty products sitting in my storeroom, some moving off the shelves more quickly than others, some barely moving at all.

The problem is, the longer you’re in the industry, the more new manufacturers you learn about who’s products you’d love to sell. But you can’t, because your capital is sitting in the cupboard! With most start-up businesses, every cent that is made from sales, goes straight into covering operating expenses and replenishing the stock that you’ve sold. There’s no room for growth!

So, after lots of thinking, I’ve had to admit, I should’ve taken the advice I was given. I’m not scared to say that I was wrong. I’m a total beginner at this, and I need to fix my mistakes. A while ago I mentioned that we’re going to be making some changes, and the issue of holding stock is probably the most important one. We’ve decided to sell off what we’re holding, and then not hold any more.

This means we have to trust. Trust that our customers will wait for their cushion to be printed, and trust that the project will print the cushion flawlessly. It also means that we now can grow. Far more quickly. We can take on more suppliers, and market far more of each supplier’s products. That means a greater choice for customers, and hopefully, more sales for the projects we support.

So, if you (or anyone you know) is thinking of starting up an online store, take it from me (even contact me to chat about it!) it’s not a good idea to hold stock. This might feel scary and risky, but in the end, there’s far more opportunity for everyone involved.

Filed under: Online Entrepreneurship on August 6th, 2008 | Comments

So, as I mentioned last week, I flew up to Joburg to visit the Handmade Collection at Decorex. I’m glad I went, as it’s important that I stay in touch with what’s out there. The overall organisation was great, and I was really impressed with the branding of the expo - like the posters and booklets, all looking fabulous with contemporary background designs.

I also loved the all-in-white display which greeted us as we arrived.

There were tons of different stands to look at but obviously my attention was drawn to the ones showing things made by social projects. One of my favourites of these was Khumbulani’s - actually, I think they won a gold award for it.

Then there was Aid to Artisans, with the most gorgeous woven products on display. So nice to see traditional skills being used to create contemporary designs. Just adore the pink flamingos!

It was also really good to chat to the employees of this organisation about some of the amazing things that they’re doing. I so hope that Babazeka and ATA can work together in the future.
And of course, there was the wonderful Mongoose. Their products as popular as ever.

I managed to find some new suppliers who I hope to bring on board. One of them, Tswelopele, make bags out of old billboards. I’ve seen this before in magazines, so was really pleased to see their things up close - love the fact that they’re recycling, and also just love the bright colours.

Anyway, all in all I really enjoyed the visit and all that the expo had to offer. I’m hoping, though, that next year I’ll be visiting as an exhibitor - showing our new Babazeka Designs. Here’s to that!

Filed under: Handmade Things, Things we ♥ on August 5th, 2008 | Comments

One of my favourite things about being self-employed, especially with an online business, is that you get to choose your level of formality when it comes to things like dealing with customers and suppliers, and how you hold your business meetings.

Here’s a picture of Scott and I having a very serious meeting on his couch this weekend. We got through everything we needed to, and had a laugh at the same time. Who says business can’t be fun?

Filed under: Online Entrepreneurship on August 5th, 2008 | Comments

For the month of August we’re giving away beautiful flower brooches to all women who make purchase a from Babazeka.com. Each flower has been lovingly hand-crocheted by Projekt, in Hout Bay, Cape Town. You can see six of them below.

For those who don’t know, Women’s Day is celebrated on the 9th August each year in honour of the 20 000 brave women who marched to the Union Buildings in 1956. The women handed over a petition in protest against the pass laws of apartheid. The March was lead by Lilian Ngoyi, a trade unionist and political avticist. On the 50th anniversary of the march last year, the name Strijdom Square (where the Union Buildings sit) was chanted to Lilian Ngoyi Square in honour of all those who took part.

We really hope that you’ll support all the special women who are trying to make a difference in their own lives, and the lives of others, by using their talents and skills to hand make the unique products you see on Babazeka. And like I said before, for your support, we’ll send you a Projekt brooch to say thanks.

Filed under: About Babazeka on August 1st, 2008 | Comments

I’m in Joburg at the end the moment and am feeling pretty excited. A bit of a case of “bright lights, big city” for a Knysna girl, but also I’m so looking forward to visiting this year’s SA Handmade Collection. It’s showcasing at Decorex and promises to wow the crowds.

I’ve just received a newsletter from the expo planners, and they say “The fusion of traditional craft techniques and high-design are evident in hanging lamps inspired by beaver’s nests and grass mats woven by nimble hands. Age-old practices like felting, weaving, beading, carving and ceramics are used to make beautiful comtemporary design with a resonance that just cannot be found in mass-produced items.

The traditional represents the time-honoured way the modern looks toward the future with humour and lightness. Eco-conscious by nature, South African crafters are adept at forming old materials into gorgeous new shapes as they find design inspiration in the once-discarded. While South African’s diverse craft offerings are individualistic, they share a common bond -creating emotionally expressive work, drawing on heritage for inspiration”.

Sounds amazing to me. I’m sure it’s going to be an injection of inspiration and will hopefully expose some exciting new suppliers for Babazeka. For those who are interested in visiting, it’s in Hall 2 of Gallagher Estate until Sunday 3rd August, and entry costs R60. Hope to see you there.

Filed under: Handmade Things, Press on August 1st, 2008 | Comments

One of my favourite online publications, SA Good News, mentioned a South African who has recently won the title of Social Entrepreneur of the Year. Rael Lissoos started a company, Dabba, which provides the township of Orange Farm (south of Johannesburg) with cheap to no-cost phonecalls. Dabba aims to spread their work to other communities in our country and to bridge the digital gap between the rich and the poor.

Rael has apparently been working in the areas of technology and education for a while. He started with a system that lets schools connect their computers to one central hub which holds lots of educational content. The network gives schools access to huge amounts of information that wasn’t available to them before - without the costs of the internet. From here they started a wireless network, and then free phonecalls for the schools involved. This is obviously what led on to Dabba.

I think it’s so fantastic that poorer communities have a future in sight which will allow for easier communication and access to information. It doesn’t seem right that these are limited to a select few. Well done, Rael, for an amazing concept and for winning a Social Entrepreneurship award. Babazeka thinks you deserve it!

Filed under: Social Upliftment, South Africa Love on July 24th, 2008 | Comments