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Ep 2 Siyanda Mbele | Talking design, manufacturing, and facing up to the realities of building a business when you have no Plan B

Behind The Design

Release Date: 09/12/2019

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You are listening to Behind the Design the Studio Lessons. Which brings us to the end of season 4. I want to thank all of my guests for taking the time to chat and give us a behind the scenes look into their design journeys. We’ve had insightful conversations. And despite the uncertainty that continues to surround us there is a lot of hope and optimism and just getting on with things because we cannot and will not let a pandemic stop us from expressing ourselves and achieving our potential.

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Welcome to season 4 of Behind The Design.

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You are listening to episode number 6 of season 3. And joining me on the show is Mariatu Turay-Akar. Mariatu is the founder of Gitas Portal a London-based mid-luxury fashion brand that uses vibrant African wax cloth textiles to celebrate and promote cultural diversity. We talk about using fashion to inspire and empower women to be bold, how her faith helps her to stay motivated and push past the challenges of running a business, and how Gitas Portal has become a place of healing for her clients.

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You are listening to episode number 5 of season 3. And joining me on the show is Jomo Tariku. Jomo is an Ethiopian / American artist and furniture designer. His company Jomo Furnitures creates pieces inspired by classical African design icons. In our conversation, we talk about diversity in African creativity, pressing pause on his design business then reviving it, the underrepresentation of black designers in the global design world, and being good enough as African creatives to interpret our own culture.

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More Episodes

This is episode 2 where I am joined by interior and furniture designer Siyanda Mbele. 

 

ABOUT SIYANDA: Siyanda Mbele is the founder of Pinda Design, the design studio he set up in his hometown of Durban, South Africa. He designs and manufactures hand-painted furniture inspired by South Africa’s diverse cultures.

 

We talk about:

  • The financial implications of starting design business - finding funding and getting support from family to support his dream

 

  • The costs of manufacturing, and finding the right manufacturers to work with

 

  • Who turns to for advice and business support

 

  • The early mistakes he made and how he fixed them

 

  • Learning to connect and negotiate with global buyers

 

  • The challenges of getting his product to market, logistics shipping internationally from the continent and how he works around the challenges

 

  • The role of culture in design, the impact it has on society, and why it's important for him to express his culture in his designs

 

  • Cultural shifts in South Africa, and the emergence and impact of young black furniture and product designers making a name for themselves and contributing to the South African design aesthetic, and what has changed to make this possible

 

Links and resources mentioned in this episode

Durban University Of Technology - https://www.dut.ac.za/course/bachelor_of_technology_interior_design/

Design Indaba - https://www.designindaba.com

SABS Design Institute - http://design.sabs.co.za

 

Where you can go to find out more about Siyanda

Instagram: @pindadesign | @siyandambele

https://www.behance.net/Pindabysiyandambele

 

Get the full show notes at: www.atelier55design.com/podcast 

This podcast is brought to you by atelier 55