By Caroline Uliwa
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Silver earrings with cowries shells all sourced
from Tanzania by Buganzi |
At times all you need to lift
your spirits is being enchanted with trinkets that send shards of inspiration
to your soul all awhile seducing your senses. It started slow but now it’s all
the rage; pop up artisan shops in Dar es Salaam with delectable handmade
goodies. It was the Wonder Welders markets from the early
2010’s, which stamped this scene. Where now the Artisan Market at Oysterbay shopping centre with its bi-annual
showcasing, sits among the top must visit pop up shop experiences in the city.
Have you ever bumped into
goodies that seduce you to make a dent in your budget that you well, don’t
regret; until perhaps your tenth plate of rice & beans in a row for dinner
towards the end of the month? This is the case for jewellery from Buganzi,
baskets from Bella Ragazza & candles from Melba Candles. It was from my perusal of these pop up shops that I bumped into the
owners of these ventures and thought to share.
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Woven basket handbag and leather sandals
from Bella Ragazza made in TZ |
Anna Ambrose Lugenge, 38- Bella
Ragazza
Bella Ragazza which is Italian
for ‘beautiful lady’ as a name was captured by Anna after spending some time
with Italians, where she fell in love with their accent. Sitting down in wooden
chairs outside her shop located in Mikocheni, Dar es Salaam we traced her love
of designer baskets and the birthing of Bella Ragazza.
“Since college I was bitten by
the basket bug, I love them but I noticed to get good ones the flea market or
oversea shops were the answer. Yet I knew it’s possible to have quality baskets
made here. I am Hehe by tribe, hailing from Iringa it
was May 2018, when I made my first trip to Iringa for baskets. There’s this big
market there selling various baskets, I bought 53. My aim was not just to
resell but to upscale them.”
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Anna Ambroce Lugenge founder
Bella Ragazza |
With all but 500,000Tshs from her savings
Anna began this venture which to date employs 6 people, working with over 115
women from Iringa & Manyara to produce baskets, mats and leather sandals.
The main product for this venture is
baskets and from that first batch Anna knew she wanted to work directly with
the weavers. To ensure she could dictate the quality of her products, initially
she worked with one lady who took on two of her sisters in law in tow. Anna
would draw the shape she likes and facilitate its casting which the ladies
would then use to knit around to create these signature pieces.
“The reed grass is plentiful it just grows,
mostly in swamp areas they harvest it then let it dry, though not so much such
it cuts their hands but just enough for them to weave. I had to get innovative
in showing my potential customers how baskets are versatile and appealing.”
Anna shares how she uses social media to draw her customers in, the fact that
the products of Bella Ragazza are handmade. Ensure that each ends up being
unique and I tell you they are delicious.
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An iconic Bella Ragazza handbag
with leatherhandles all made
& sourced in TZ |
I was inspired by the way her eyes beamed
with pride as she spoke of her team. Like Mr Kiondo the leather artisan at
Bella Ragazza, he used to live in Arusha but now has moved to Dar es Salaam for
the first time with his family, all thanks to Anna’s business acumen.
“I am not an NGO so my first priority was
to make sure the business is profitable. But now as I hear the stories from the
ladies I work with, how this business has empowered them. As most of them have
decided to send their kids back to school because now they can afford uniform,
books. One bought her husband a bicycle
which he uses to help her deliver the baskets to town. Another lady was in an
abusive marriage, she managed to get out and stay at her sister in laws, all
awhile building her own place. That she has now moved into with her kids, these
stories really keep me going. For if I can do a business that makes such
meaningful impact then I shouldn’t stop.” Anna affirms.
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Handmade Silver jewellery sourced
and made in TZ by Buganzi |
Nancy Joyce Bondo- Buganzi
You know the swirly eye look from cartoon
characters, when they meet a python sending them a spell to draw them for the
kill. As Nancy shuffled in her bag of goodies, showing me one silver piece of
jewellery after another; I probably had that same hypnotised look.
Buganzi jewellery pieces are currently
found at Bold in Africa stores in Kampala Uganda as well the Ally Remtullah
shop in Masaki, Dar es Salaam. Buganzi which means ‘God’s grace’ in Kihaya
(from the Haya tribe in TZ) is a business with three partners Sakina Mbullo,
Antonia Kilama and Nancy Bondo as the executive.
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Nancy Joyce Bondo co-founder
Buganzi |
Buganzi was launched in 2017 before that
these three ladies, who are friends, were selling mostly imported retail
jewellery. With time they evolved to working with precious metals from east
Africa bringing designer handcrafted jewellery to their audiences.
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Silver jewellery sourced & made in
TZ with sea glass |
“For me I like to be different. So yes we
like to work with silver & brass but we don’t offer you those standard
designs, our pieces are all handmade with accent materials that tell a story.”
Nancy shares, sure what makes Buganzi stand out is its handmade metal pieces; with
its pairings of precious metals and rustic objects. Allowing them to ooze an
intimate yet elegant feel, where the odd marriage between cowries’ shells and
brass, sea glass & silver, ebony wood & silver, poetry & metal, sea
worn ceramics & silver; become a cherished norm.
Buganzi works with a silver smith, where
Nancy takes the lead in curating the designs and choice of pairings. “I draw
I’ve been investing in that, doing these little free online courses, recently I
got myself a compass, remember the old school compass with stencils and stuff…Cause
with jewellery you have to be exact in measurements to ensure synchronicity.”
Nancy adds.
Melba William Sandi, 29 -Melba Candles
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Packed with scent these are Melba Candles
made in TZ |
It was Melba’s frustration with finding a
lasting scented candle that began her journey into the world of candle making.
She recalls buying a candle from the Mall being so excited as it smelled good,
yet when she got home to light it. There was no hot throw (the coined term for
the whiff from a burning candle), soon after it was a candle souvenir from a
wedding that again didn’t deliver; which had her throwing the napkin to visit
Mme. Google.
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Melba William Sandi founder
Melba Candles |
“I went online searching how candles are
made and bumped into this whole other world. Learned there is a lot of waxes, beeswax,
soy wax, coconut wax, paraffin, gel wax…I have been disappointed before as
there are so many candles that smell good but what’s the point of a scented
candle, if you can’t light it and feel that scent wafting in the room.” Melba explains.
When I first inhaled a Melba Candle, I
thought it some kind of witch craft from the way it smelt so rich. These
candles have no leftover factory scent using soy wax; their scents include
Mango Papaya, Vanilla, Raspberry Vanilla, Hazelnut Coffee, Orange Blossom,
Caramel popcorn & so forth.
Melba began her journey into candle making
with a lot of trial and errors in fact her first attempt back in 2016 had her
abandoning the project altogether. Until she got back to it in 2017 where by
Sept in the same year, she launched her brand. You can find her shop at the
Slipway in Masaki, Dar es Salaam. She recanted to me with teary eyes how she felt
so proud when she got the keys to this shop which was her dream location.
Her advice on turning a hobby to a business
“I keep telling people everything is online, like you just need to be patient
and take your time and practice. Because many people want to wake up today start
a business, make millions but you have to be patient with yourself. And don’t
put all these big goals from the get go, first just make this thing.”Melba
shares.
Unifying Traits
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The basket weavers from Iringa that Anna works
with, you can spot her she is the one
wearing glasses in a white T |
For Buganzi & Melba Candles in the
beginning they had challenges with packaging, one time Melba after getting her
first big order had to resort to ordering glass jars with lids from China.
As all these businesses work with handmade
products which take time to produce they face the challenge of supply not
meeting demand. Which is why Anna’s taskforce has increased so steadily over
the years, yet she still struggles to meet supply. Whereas Melba still does
most of the production fearing copyright infringement if she shares her skills
with another candle maker.
The price range for these sumptuous goods
is fair, with Bella Ragazza starting at 15,000-75,000Tshs, Melba Candles from
18,000-50,000Tshs with Buganzi jewellery pieces ranging from
40,000-160,000Tshs. All their goods are handmade with raw materials from
Tanzania. These brands since inception attribute their success to social media
and the beloved pop up shops, ensuring all by now have provided bulk orders for
clients both within and outside the country.
n.b. this article was first published in the East African newspaper magazine on the 26th of June 2021
