Having a bad hair day? Just doek it, besides even eNCA had to renew their dress code for it

Having a bad hair day? Why don't you just doek it and grab a matching clutch bag to go with it. 

Ankara print bags are for sale for R120 each

Besides even our  South African independent news channel eNCA  had to change their on air dress policy  to accommodate the doek. This after the  country came out in arms to defend and  support then  journalist, Nontobeko Sibisi whose story was not aired because  she was wearing a doek.

eNCA staff in support of doek for Nontobeko Sibisi ( picture supplied)

The hashtags #RespekTheDoek and #DoekTheNewsroom trended for days. You see most  African women- this including the high profile figures such as - former Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, minister in the Presidency for National Planning Commission, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, EFFs  MP  Makoti Sibongile Khawula and the late  Winnie Madikizela-Mandela- the doek worn as a sign of resepect.  At times for  either religious and  cultural reasons like a newly wed woman would wear the doek to respect her in-laws or to show respect at a funeral. 

You can choose which bag you want and are for sale for R170 a set, earings, bag,  bracelets and doek

But the other reasons we love these  headscarf is that they are a quick fix to a bad hair day. So not only are we queening our look with it. We are able to hide what might be solved by a hair dresser later.

Queening at the Feathers Awards

Queening with our print bag and doek

At Ndabeni Creatives, we have all the different types of doeks. All made from the Ankara print. We sell these doeks together with our handmade bags,earings and bracelets as a set or alone.

90% of our products are handmade and manufactured locally

We know our customers love to mix and match, so our jewelery always match what is needed by the customer.

Choose yours now or whatsapp 0763607744 for your order

Imagine our mobile shop at your door step

Imagine our mobile shop at your door step.. Just imagine making extra money

The chocker and the big necklace are from the Maasai tribe in Kenya

One of the thrills of being a hawker-A person who travels about selling goods, typically advertising them by shouting -I mostly shout through social media-facebook, twitter, instagram and now working on ways to venture onto the  video sharing platform You Tube and horn my arrival in the arts and craft market- is that, you get to interact with your customers at a personal level.
They are able to share with you their ideas of how they would like their piece of traditional, western items be made. With custom made products, my customers have the  freedom to design their  piece, choose size, color and  length. Of course the higher the demand of work spent on an item, the higher the price of that particular items. The other expensive staff in my shop currently is the Maasai jewellery. These are originally made in Kenya apart from their artistic beauty that makes them worth the price, they travel from far to get to us in fact according to Google  the distance between South Africa and Kenya is about 4816km and 67 hours drives that is about 2 and half day on the road.

An invite from MTN Head Office staff in Johannesburg, South Africa

With this size of the business, you celebrate and cherish the milestones that comes with it and grow as it grows. One of those special moments to me was honoring an invite to come and set up my table for  MTN's international guest.
My friend shared a bit about why I would be helping her and the team if I came to with my shop to their offices. I remember, they booked a boardroom table for display and in minutes we had people surrounding the tables and looking excitedly at the items we had brought. There in my first visit, I notice some of the people who were keen to buy did not have cash on them. Going to the ATM would chow a lot of time for them as they were also pressed against time.  But  I noted the lack and  need to have a speed machine so that people can just swipe products they want. It took me months before I could finally invest in a speed point and so happy that things will now be easier for both my customer and me.

This speedpoint machine will make all the difference in my business.
But I am happy that I have finally made the decision. It is hard to ignore that esistand siyakhula. Ewe sifundile lol!. With this machine  the mobile shop- a door to door service which we offer our clients who are based in Johannesburg central and northern clients when they buy over the price of R1000- will also function smoothly. This area and servicing cooperates are still need to grow, so far we have had MTN and Mango Airlines staff booking us to sell. 

One of the international visitors at the MTN headoffice. She was amongst a group that attended training in the company

To book the Mobile shop is easy and it has financial benefits too. Lets say you and your friends or colleague went through our catalogue and liked what you saw. You can total the amount of your item together, if the sales are R1000, the person who book us will get 10% of that money back. Should your colleagues spend more than the initial order of R1000, you still get the 10% of the total sales made that hour or two. Soon after we total the money made through your efforts, we give you 10% of it back. So if lets say, our sales are R5000 in total. You will get R500 cash back. 

MTN staff trying a dramatic piece

Please note, one of the reasons we ask for the order to be at least R1000, is for us to be able to cover amongst other things, petrol and pay our casual workers who are only called when we need assistance.

This Wakanda Godess piece has been a hit.

The other way of making money through us, is when you buy our items for resale in other towns your own area. I'm sure by now  you have noticed that most of our items are much cheaper that the prices in the market already. Please note the quality of all the items is of high standard. We can even claim that we meets the international standards when it comes to our products. But our prices are still lower. One of the reasons for this is that we also cater for the people-majority women- who by in bulk from us and resale in their areas. Their buying price is much lower than a walk in customer. 

This piece was won in Nigeria recently, again another MTN staff

If you also want to start this, it is easy, tell us in advance the items you need. Give us a few days to make and we will post them to you using,  Pick n Pay Aramx, Post Office and even the bus services. We still making inquiry on transporting our goods out of South Africa as we have had inquiries as far as Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe about shipping.

Mango airline staff, trying our Ndebele neck piece

The cooperate gigs normally last for less than  one hour most.

A MTN staff with our bags

Mango Airline staff trying to choose from the variety of jewellery we had for them.


To book our mobile shop or buy in bulk for resale please call us on 0763607744
follow us on twitter on ndabenik
facebook Ndabeni Creatives
Instagram Khanyiswa2

Mainstream news knows us

It is exciting when you start something not knowing if it will get the exposure you want.But when I saw this Youtube video by the Daily Sun Cl team. I was over the moon to see we have made it to the main stream media. Soon soon everybody will be talking about us... You cant stop a girl from dreaming. But in the mean time, please check out the video (see the link below and what went down at the market this past weekend. The Soweto VW market is happening every Sunday at the Maponya Precinct Soweto.

 https://youtu.be/01RDKVXy8gE

Thank you for making my dream come closer to reality

Sometimes it is easy to forget the people who started the journey with you.

Today, I want to honor those who were supported the business in the past four months. I would like to thank you from the bottom of my heart for your support in pictures. The team at VW Soweto market, friends who didn't mind being my models

award winning singer, Naima Kay with our Gold Ndebele Piece

two ways of wearing our long bracelets, either as a choker or an ordinary bracelet

A customer wearing a rastafarian colours beaded necklace

The first beaded transgender flag we did was for Yaya. She has been nominated for the 2018 Feathers Awards in the socialite of the years category

Niyabesaba Na! traditional beaded stick

Short beaded stick R150 long one R250

Today's article is inspired by a book I recently read, "These things really do happen to me" by a South African author and manager at Heineken South Africa, Khaya Dlanga.

in this book, Khaya Dlanga explains why Xhosa men and boys carried sticks

The writer - a Xhosa man who spent the early years of his life leaving in rural village in the Eastern Cape- gives an explanation on why his grandfather, Alfred Kaiser Boyce made sure boy or man carried stick, I quote from page 30 of the book, " A stick was a sign of manliness. You could use it to fend off attacks and troublesome dogs. You were never deterred from going where you supposed to, because you were always armed".

walking out of CCMA 23 September 2018

Recently, I attended a court case against my former employer. I took the fight very seriously, so serious that as a build up to the date I would do my primary war cry, Niyabesaba Na! over and over to build confidence and to assure myself I am doing the right thing, not only for myself but for my son as well. With the hope that he will know and  maybe my story will inspire him not to be a coward.

On the day before the seating, I had a chat with God I even called the spirit of  my mother, great grandmother, grandmother to be with me.
 To show I was not  backing  down in this fight. I carried my beaded stick with, a symbol that I am ready to attack and fend off any troublesome dog that might come my way.
 I wanted to win so bad but I was also mindful that the company might win. But I kept going, as evidence from the inboxes, and messages I got from colleagues, former colleagues other people who are still undergoing bullying at work. I was the face and the voice of what they couldn't, cant, wont and would never stand up against this. Instead they would rather suffer in silence and carry on with life as if nothing has happened while the action of their perpetrator chows every confidence they had at work.
The beaded sticks are available in all the colours you would prefer, for orders please whatsapp 0763607744

The story of an African themed Rosary

The first ever Rosary we made was inspired by a leader of my church group.

Soon after I left my previous job, I told everyone I knew I would be beading full time. While wooden and stone beads were my speciality at the time, but it became interested in exploring the skills to more traditional South African bead work. This was also motivated by our clients at the Johannesburg shop. Many would come wanting the traditional Zulu beads nesiXhosa.

When I told the group about my new career change, they gave me ideas of what I could do. The purses initially for the church, heels and my first ever Rosary. This request came from Saagar, a collector of Rosary. I didn't know he had a genuine interest then. I saw how appreciative he was when I delivered them to him. 

This is what he had to say about the African Rosary

Many cultures around the world have beads ingrained in them, however there is a deeper significance than just jewellery. The Rosary for example comes from the Catholic Church. Each bead in the rosary is meant for one prayer. The prayer is usually the "hail Mary" or the "Lord's prayer". A meditator would hold onto a bead and chant the prayer once then move onto the next bead and repeat the prayer. This goes on until all the beads are complete. A very similar practice is found in India for the Hare Krishna devotees. 

I've always been fascinated by the beauty of a Rosary and the Holiness it represents. I've been collecting them since childhood. I've always had the picture in my head of an African themed Rosary. Thanks to you, Ndabeni Creatives, you have managed to make this picture a reality. This to me is an amazing union and representation of my Indian and African roots combined with my love for God and the Christian faith. 

The Gogo getters

Meet our contributors in your jewellery, the team ayiphelelanga #proudlysouthafrican#proudlyAfrican

The woman who taught me all I know about African jewelry, the industry and above all taught how to trust in God

My starring, whatever design I ask, I get la

I will never forget this cold winter day in Johannesburg. 

If I have ever said I'm doing this alone, please know that I was lying. I had  team of these ladies with me. They   taught me many things but the one that stood up was to be proud of who you are, where you come from and dont even be afraid to showcase what you truly about. I wish the government could have taken this skill to our black schools, especially primary level. This is something that anyone can survive by. Especially a black South African, it teaches you your culture, while making money too

don't you just love her neck piece?

Besijabulile Maponya Precinct Market

Beku MNANDI!!! beku lit! This past weekend e VW Soweto. Our  day at the market in Pictures. No caption just letting pics do the talking

If likes were converted to money, SAs hustlers would be rich

Me and my brother, Xolani Ndabeni off to sell at MTN head office

I would be lying to you if I say I started my businesses because I felt the need to solve something.

To be quite honest, initially I crafted for fun and they joy of  helping  my friend, Cynthia who had a stall  in town then. 

I became a partner when I could see she needed financial help with her business. At first, I would borrow her money needed and she would pay it back with interest of course. This went on for two years. Yes I played with the idea of starting a business whilst employed as a full time journalist, but upon consulting and doing research on my own. It was rather a bad idea to start a business and not be there physically to run it.

But this crave was fulfilled when I was bullied at work and left with no option but to resign.

At the time, I had many things I wanted to do, like write my book and other South African stories. But I knew I wasn't well equiped  for those project yet. Art and Craft or rather beading for me at the time was going to provide money for the basics, ie food everyday, my child's school fees etc. I felt the  company I had worked for had  wronged me and I needed to challenge it using other means as my voice within the company was not heard.

 But I didn't want to starve while doing that, I wanted my two-year-old  to continue getting all the things he was now used to. I didn't want him to suffer because all of sudden grew some balls. No! It wasn't going to happen.

So I started the journey of being a hustler, it was and still is not an easy road to travel.

 On social media, hustlers like myself portray an image that everything is good, we even posts messages of encouragement on our timeline and our followers get so inspired and motivated they treat us like their idols. Little do they know that we are suffering in silent. 

Our products are of the highest quality you can find hence we count thousands of likes and attract followers. But  dololo money coming in. Majority of South Africans will never support us. You get belittling remarks from your fellow white South Africans in the market. While your own black people would rather buy a Chinese imitation at a higher price than to buy your product.

This is a struggle that is probably behind the mental breakdown of Sbu, the young entreprenuer behind the brand a men's socks brand, Skinnysbusocks.

  Like many, he probably thought he had ticked all the correct boxes for his dream to fly. Maybe in his township and around the people he grew up with, he was a role model. Probably had the media eating from the palm of his hands with his mind blowing idea for these socks. But what happens when the sales do not stream in like the hype created when it started? What if we fail in our endeavors? After all we are humans, yes we want to support the vision of creating more employment in the country. Hustlers do not want to be part of the unemployment stats. To some like me, you opt for business for survival during the tough times. With our background, we take the leap of faith even when we are not financially schooled on how to run it. Now I'm not saying that was a case with the owner of Skinny Sbu Socks. To be quite, I know little about him except for the information shared with me during The Hook Up Dinner (THUD) session in Maboneng yesterday.

But this left me wondering, if Skinny Sbu Socks were this high quality( I bought myself two pairs) why was he struggling? Surely there was a market and he has done his part researching his idea before spending thousands in it.

Skinny Sbu, like all the other hustlers in South Africa needed the support from of his people, from his family, church, area of the township he lived in and South Africa as a whole.

We need an aggresive way of telling people that we are here, if you buy from a South African brand you creating a job for another South African. You contributing to the growth of the economy. We need to go to churches, clubs and everywhere that there's gathering and preach the gospel of buying locally produced goods.

I for one do not know where this hustle will take me, but I spread the message where ever I go.

PS CATCH US ON MAPONYA PRECINCT MARKET THIS SUNDAY AT VW SOWETO GROUNDS

The love and support from friends keeps me going

Asanda and Mbali Kani at a wedding in Johannesburg. Asanda is wearing the Xhosa beaded scarf and blue and white necklace from us.

If  two of the world's most richest men, Bill Gates and Mark Elliot Zuckerberg were assisted by friends to build their wealth.

Then, I would like to believe that I am on the right path and have chosen friends carefully over the years in order to build my business empire.

The marketing of the beads business is strongly  driven by people whom I have known for years and those around me now.

From its inception back in 2015, this was  when my Zambian friend, Cynthia  and I used to buy time by creating simple patterns of wood necklaces, bracelets, earings to more complicated pieces that makes a dramatic entrance, to the ones that add that African thing to a classy outfit.

Not only did these people spread the word about what I and the team do. The moment I announced I was going to do this business full time and  showed them what I  and the team can do, they gave me ideas of how they would like their items. This breaking our traditional way of designing a piece.  It is these people that suggested the idea of partnering with local bead artists.

Amongst those that trusted us in the early days were former entertainment journalist at the Sunday Times, Gabi Mbele. Our very first dramatic net piece was worn by her at the BET awards earlier this year.

My connect group leader, Saagar Gokul planted the idea of making a Rosary then R branded purse by other members in my connect group. These were meant to be submitted to our resource centre at Rivers Church but stopped pursing the idea when I learnt they were other women already supplying and providing training in beadwork at church.

But I sold the R online and people asked for other alphabets, the shoes, t-shirts, takkies and hats were ideas mostly generated by friends. Through them, I met other strangers, one a Nigerian man who planted the idea of stone bracelets for men. I'm pleased to say we now make these message of piece bracelets for ladies too.

Friends from back home in Port Elizabeth were also very supportive of this new found hustle and constantly got messages of support from them.

Due to the friends I have  kept and the people I came across over the years, I survived the first difficult three months of an entrepreneur's life. With them on board, I would like to believe that I have built a solid foundation for this business to fly.  My  favourite saying  is "if it is not made in South Africa or Africa, then it is not us"

Communications Manager for VIMN Africa, Gabi Mbele at the BETAwards2018

Nelson Mandela University Media Mananger, Zandile Mbabela

The R purse was initially made for a presentation for resource centre  at Rivers Church and it is now a demand 

My connect group leader, Saagar Gokul, a collector of Rosary asked us to make him a beaded unisex Rosary.