By Joe-Chintha
WINDHOEK, July 6 – What started off as grandmother-to-granddaughter teachings has become a source of income for young Gift Kavera who also goes by the brand name Goddess Ma.
“My love for art and fashion made me do it, the beauty of turning something so plain and simple into something fancy drives me.
“My grandma made bead items and we had a short session together in 2020, that’s when I decided to start the handbag-making business,” Kavera said.
She makes handbags from beads with her hands. The brand started in 2018 as a hairdresser (faux locs installer) and on 20 October 2020, she started advertising the handbag business little knowing it would be popular with the youth.
This made the College of the Arts graduate decide to be an entrepreneur.
Because the business is still on a small-scale level, she has not employed anyone else although she plans to do so in the near future.
“Making the bags is not as fast as the advertising videos make it look. You get back pains from staying up all night,” she said.
Her latest collection called the ‘Icy Collection’ is an inspiration for the cold weather the country is experiencing.
“It was really the cold that inspired my ICY bags. I love how the crystal beads sparkle. They have that fancy shine, the icy look” she explains.
The gift has dreams of seeing her handbags in clothing shops in the near future.
“I would love to see my bags in shops. Imagine walking into a store and seeing GODDESS MA on the shelves. Who wouldn’t like that? And what if I have my little store, that would even be greater” she adds.
The youthful demographic of young people. Age ranges 9 years – 35years are her market. She designs bags that complement their lifestyles. “9 years – 17years that’s the age that we start to like and buy cute things. And we make the cute bags that the girls love. Ages 18 – 35 those are the put going youths” she furthermore explains. The demography is geographically represented and the segment mostly makes use of a variety of social media. For now, collaborations are enough, maybe in the future, she might look into partnerships.
