Kobe Twins' magic hands process leather merchandise
Nnasaretha Kgamanyane | Friday June 5, 2020 15:31
Having beautiful natural hand-sewn merchandise is a dream-come-true for many.
That is why businesses like Kobe Twins whose hands work wonders with leather make women truly drool and daydream as they picture themselves in such fineries.
Enter Tlotlang Ketlilwe and his twin brother Tlotlo Kobe. The 29-years-old lads are co-founders of Kobe Twins, a leather products manufacturing business.
They completed their BGCSE in 2010 at Moshupa Senior Secondary School where they later went separate ways to pursue their different passions.
However, with their different skills, the pair embarkedon this family business that they do as their side hustle while still following their passions. It started operating last year, registered and named Kobe Twins under CIPA.
“Art is part of my system. I have always loved it since primary school to date. I won many art competitions since then. I even took part in different art exhibitions like Children’s Art Competition to mention and others. Realising that I am talented in the arts, I decided to study for a Secondary Education Diploma at Molepolole College of Education where am doing Art and Music. The leather business started during my teaching practice where I helped a few Form 3 art students with their end of year art projects,” Ketlilwe explained.
The latter (Kobe) said he started making his own findings about leather because he also wanted to do demonstrations for the students in leatherwork. He explained that in art, they do many projects like crafts and fine arts. He added that he further did more research on leather bags whilst at the same practising what he saw in videos by big brands like Gucci when making their bags.
He said he went through all the processes leading to a final product. He also watched Rolls Royce videos where they showcased how they made leather seats using only hands and a few hand tools. That is when he realised that could be a good business venture.
He then got leather and started practising by making bags until he was confident that he could make quality products that could be a drawcard on market. He later on confided in his twin about the business who was immediately impressed with the idea and joined forces with his brother. According to Ketlilwe, the business was inspired by the above mentioned business brands as the pair aim to grow theirs and have their own clothing line.
For his part, Kobe who is the company’s production manager noted that coming from an art-oriented family, they naturally had their own skills, but acquiring more through YouTube videos was a bonus as they enhance their skills. He further explained that all their leather products were handcrafted using hand tools. He said they do not have any sewing machines even though they are yearning to have them in future. However, he said they would continue to make their bags using hand tools even when they have sewing machines.
“Machines are the most important aspects of the business because there are other products that require the use of specific leather machines like making gloves, wallets and phone pouches. Other than bags, we have quite a number of leather products we manufacture which include but not limited to bags (travel or language bags, briefcases, laptop bags, moon bags, cross shoulder bags), horse brindles, sandals, water bottle holders, dog harnesses, watch straps, belts, wallet or purses, hats to mention a few,” he noted.
The two company owners also explained that they purchase their leather from Morongwa Stores, LEA and Kala Investments in Gaborone. However, they sadly lamented that even though Botswana was famed for producing a lot of beef and leather from millions of slaughtered cows, most of the leather was unprocessed making it unsuitable to make some products.
Therefore, the set up forced them to buy expensive leather from their suppliers since they import them from South Africa. They added that sometimes the leather suppliers run out of stock and they are forced to wait and therefore this slows down their production.
Despite those challenges, the pair boasted to have been able to successfully run their business. They have also built a good customer base in a short period that wholly trusts making deposit for their orders without fear of losing their monies which is good for a newly-established business. Their targeted audience includes ministers, artists, lawyers, business-owners and the community at large.