Mbanga follows her passion

Nnasaretha Kgamanyane | Friday November 10, 2017 14:54

 

The young woman from Nata village makes various items such as clutch bags and earings from cardboard and covers them with either African print fabrics or German print. In an interview with Arts & Culture, Mbanga said her creativity was a God given talent. She said she did not go to school for it.

“I love fashion and I really like playing with stuff. I would, for example, just pick a water bottle or a drink bottle and make earrings or bracelets out of them. I can pick a card board and make earrings or clutch bag from them,” she said.

Mbanga explained that she started doing art crafts when she was still in law school. She pointed out that since law was a very hectic and challenging course, she decided to find a hobby that would ease the pressure she got from her studies and that is then that she started craftwork. She said she started off with crocheting where she made herself a bikini set. However, the underwear could not fit her.

“I never did home economics or art at school so I watched some videos on YouTube. I started off by making myself a crop top before making a bikini set. So I noticed that African print is on fashion. I started making earrings and one of my classmates saw them and she loved them. She asked me where I bought them and I told her that I made them. That is when I started making things for people. I made different models and shapes. I made chokers, neck pieces and wristbands,” she said.

However, this was just the beginning of the young woman’s quest to revive the local fashion industry as she started rescuing a lot of people whom are mostly women from losing their favorite pairs of shoes and handbags. As a woman who loves her shoes dearly, Mbanga decided to renew her old pair of shoes by covering them with a fabric. This move became the best move she had ever done as people started showing great interest in her work.

“I have that one pair of shoes that I can’t get enough of. But then it got worn out, immediately I thought I should renew it. I knew it wouldn’t be as new as from the shop but it also wouldn’t look old. That’s when the idea of covering it was born. Since I could cover my shoes, I decided to cover bags as well. So I took my old clutch bag and covered it and then made matching earrings,” she said.

Even though she never thought of that as a big thing, more people proved her wrong as they started showing interest in her work. Some even wanted to learn how to do all the work that she does.

She said since she started advertising work on the social media, she achieved a lot because she got many clients. She has also turned her work into a career and does it daily. She said she has proposals coming in, where people invite her to showcase her talent while others offer her places to do business.

However, she also comes across challenges. One of the challenges she faces includes lack of materials that could be used on shoes and not being able to reach customers as far as Tsabong, Mojenje and others. She said she also has clients across the boarder such as in South Africa and Lesotho.

“I really plan to own a boutique in the coming years. I want to have my own brand. My dream and my passion are to see myself as a fashion designer. I want my own brand. I want to have my own designers’ bags and clothes. My work is my hobby. The hobby that keeps my mind and hands busy; the hobby that puts food on the table and pays off debts,” she concluded.