In general I like to focus on the positive aspects of travel. For me the positives outweigh the negatives and I feel like the media tends to tell the bad stories more than the good ones. The reality, however, is that sometimes things do go wrong and sometimes plans don’t work out. It is these challenges though which can actually lead to meeting someone or experiencing something, which you wouldn’t have if things had gone perfectly. That is how, in a hostel in Joburg (Johannesburg), I met Jane Mphaki, an ambitious young fashion designer who I am convinced will be famous one day.
Staying in Joburg was never my initial plan. In Cape Town the previous week, I fell for a scam and had two of my credit cards stolen. I have been exceptionally lucky in all of my travels, but this time I let my guard down too much and wasn’t paying enough attention and maybe I had become a bit too nonchalant because of my previous luck. This was a wake-up call. Anyway, that is a story in itself, one that I am still embarrassed about because I feel like I should have known better. You can ask me about it next time you see me or ask my bank because I had to write it all up for their fraud department.
Then I got sick right before the New Year. It was just a cold but it made me feel like sleeping instead of celebrating. Being sick when you’re alone is one time when it’s easy to feel sorry for yourself because nobody seems to care or bring you tea and soup to feel better. The New Year did turn out to be a highlight because by chance a friend from the US who I hadn’t seen for 6 years was in Cape Town. We got to catch up and see the start of 2020 together! My first accomplishment of 2020 was climbing Table Mountain under a time constraint because I only had few hours before I needed to pick up my washing from the laundromat and get on a bus to Johannesburg.
The plan was that when I arrived in Joburg a guy I had met on a previous trip to Africa, and clicked with, was supposed to pick me up at the station and we would road trip north to my next destination. In my mind the whole story of how we met and would reconnect seemed like the plot to one of those romantic movies but, in reality, the whole thing fell apart before the opening scene. While I was on my 20 hour bus ride, I learned that he had also gotten sick and run into some other major problems so was unable to do the trip. On my own again, I went onto booking.com hours before my arrival and randomly selected this hostel in Joburg because it was cheap and looked nice.
Upon arrival at the bus station, I disembarked, hoisted my massive backpack onto my back and my ripping duffel bag onto my shoulder and entered the sea of people. I followed the signs to the exit, which happened to be a market place filled with vendors selling clothes, fruit, shoes or probably anything else one might need. I had booked an Uber. People were hustling around and I got some looks, probably because I looked out of place, the lone white girl with all of her luggage. My Uber was not finding my exact location and I was trying to identify a landmark other than the market to tell him where I was. I had to get my phone out to text him (one issue I have with Uber as there are times one really doesn’t want to get the phone out, as in this particular case). At this point a Mama approached me and told me that I was about to get robbed so she invited me to wait with her and her husband at KFC. I gratefully accepted. Thank goodness for mamas! When my Uber arrived she went with me to check it out and make sure I was safe. So that’s how I ended up at this hostel in Joburg. I was exhausted so I went to sleep early.
The next day I stayed at the hostel and kept busy making new plans and writing up the story of my scam for my bank’s fraud team. While I was typing at the hostel, a photographer approached me and invited me to do a lingerie photo-shoot! To be honest I don’t think I had packed any lingerie that looked anything close to modeling material and though I was informed that nude was an option, I felt like I had had enough experiences for the week. Next someone else came and started telling me about their journey with God and then the problems in South Africa. The conversation moved to crime including some scary stories of what had happened blocks from the hostel in the past week. It was getting dark at this point and I hadn’t had dinner yet. I headed back to my room and found my roommate there. After the crime talk, I wasn’t too keen to go out alone in the dark so I asked her if she wanted to join me for dinner. She said yes, and that’s how I met Jane Mphaki!
Over pizza, we discovered that we had a lot in common and agreed on a bunch of life topics. As we talked, I thought: Wow! I need to interview this ambitious lady! Despite our common ground, Jane is definitely dressed more fashionably than me. She’s wearing a Leopard print form fitting dress. She designed it because she noticed that animal print was on trend. She says that she loves the fabric because it’s flexible and any body type can wear it. She’s also wearing a checkered headscarf and a pair of sandals that she designed.
Though Jane grew up in a village in South Africa called Chebeng and I in rural Wisconsin both of our childhoods were mostly about playing. She tells me “We grew up playing on the streets, even at school we were playing more than anything else”. She says they played many traditional African games, which involved using stones to act out scenes. She says they were always socializing, going to the neighbor's house to play or to a relative’s house for a sleepover, but now that is not happening any more: “Because of technology the world is changing, everyone has smartphones. Children are not playing and we are not socializing. Life has changed"
When Jane was young they did not have electricity and were using candles and cooking with wood. “It was a poor life but we were growing well. We were happy.” She says that now everything is here but the social life is missing because we socialize with phones instead of visiting each other or playing in the streets.“We don’t go to the neighbors anymore and ask for sugar or salt. We are living well but not happy like when we were growing up.” She also says there used to be more respect for other people. “These days we don’t even talk, sometimes not even greet each other. I think technology changed everything, even the power of money. Everyone is educated and looking nice but doesn’t care about the other person.” Jane and I are on the same page that we would rather talk to people than be glued to our phones.
Jane went to public school in the village. She attended the University of Venda for the first year and then the University of Limpopo for two years to complete a bachelor of commerce in accounting. “It was nice but a challenge for me because it was the first time going away from home, living alone without siblings.” Jane says the course itself was also challenging but she managed to complete her studies within the time period and never failed.
Before attending university Jane had stayed at home for three years while she was looking for a school or a job and after university she stayed at home another two years but was unable to find work with her degree. “I started Fashion designing because I was tired of staying at home and I thought no, I have to go and do something.”
Jane’s father was a security man and her mother a domestic worker but her mom is where the fashion came in. Jane’s mom went to Fashion school for a year in 1990, which was unusual at that time. Jane says her mother is the only one who succeeded in continuing in the industry from her class. “My mother gave me the strength because she was already in the business of designing. She was working cleaning offices, but at home she was sewing and doing designs for weddings.” Jane said that when her mother left for “work” she would finish the sewing projects. “I was helping her and I ended up making it a career. I realized after having been to university that I could make it a career”.
To get started Jane sat down with her younger sister and her mother. “We decided to take my mother’s salary and holiday bonus and start a business”. Thanks to her mother they already had the equipment (sewing machines) and fabric and getting more fabric was affordable. All they needed was the venue. “We struggled to find a place but finally we found one that was small and affordable and since that time we were busy until we found a second bigger space.” They first opened in 2015 and their second store opened last year (2019). The new space is big enough that it can be a shop where they sell clothes and fabric.
Victoria’s World is the brand name and business name in honor of Jane’s younger sister who passed away at 6 months of age. It was a tragic accident that occurred when Victoria was only 3 months old. “She crawled to a kettle and pulled the plug and the hot water tipped over her. Even the skin was removed from her body.” Victoria survived for 3 months in the hospital before passing. When the family sat down to choose their business name Jane says that all three of them thought of Victoria but were too shy to say it out loud. “We all wrote the name we thought the business should have on a paper and when we shared, we had all written Victoria.” Jane says that since they named the business they feel they are doing something for her.
Jane says she is an artist and thinks drawing led her to designing but she inherited the necessary skills from her mother. “She’s the founder and she taught us how to sew. One day she called us and said: I want to show you how to cut a dress. She showed us how to take measurements and how to cut. We learned the basics from her. Let me say we learned everything from her.” Jane says she learned more skills through watching design videos online and got inspiration from watching project runway. “I looked at them and I wanted to be one of them.”
It’s a family business and Jane says they all come up with designs and do the marketing. “We are a team. Most of our clothes are traditional African print and design but we can design almost everything… shoes, jewelry, hats, children’s clothes, men’s clothes, wedding dresses, etc.” Most of their clients are walk-ins and they usually do custom designs but sometimes somebody comes from a school with a tender like 100 hats for the world cup or something similar.
They are successful and have many clients but Jane says they also have challenges in this business. “Sometimes this work is stressing. It’s worth it but it’s tiring because many clients want their things at the same time and we don’t want to disappoint clients.” Jane says that many people are satisfied with their work and bring new customers. “We strive to satisfy everyone. If you are not satisfied we refund 100%.”
Right now Jane is in Joburg because at the same time as running a business she is in the second year of studying a Bachelor of Commerce in economics. While in the big city she also gets a chance to buy new fabrics and get new inspiration. So how does she balance study and a business? Jane says she’s a multi-tasker. “I don’t want to focus on one thing.” Apparently the whole family are multi-taskers… “My mother still works the office cleaning job, my sister studied and designed at the same time. We are all doing two things. We work under pressure and we work under time. We don’t sleep especially in December.” Jane says often they go to bed at midnight and wake up at 3am and that sometimes her mother can go two days without sleeping. “If you get into this industry you will never sleep.” Luckily they have each other to rely on. Another of Jane’s sisters who is doing social work helps them when she can. Yet another sister who is a teacher comes to help over the school holidays. At peak times they also hire people to assist them.
From the sounds of it, Jane is only getting started.
“I’d like to see myself in the fashion industry competing with popular fashion designers like David Tlale (popular South African Designer), Channel and Gucci. I would like to see myself there.”
Jane’s plans don’t end in fashion either. She says when she was growing up she wanted to be a singer and she still dreams about that. “I like R and B and cool music. When I sing I feel emotional like I am in my own world. I still love singing and I still feel in the future I will pursue that dream before I die.” There’s more too and she does have a lot of skills. “I like acting, producing movies, I was also writing dramas but they aren’t published. I wrote many books; in the future I am going to publish them. I am also a tutor and I still love that. I like to teach people skills and share what I’ve learned. I like to travel and explore, read, write, I would like to do public or motivational speaking, and learn. I like knowledge in everything.” Jane laughs and I am happy to have met someone else with a lot of ideas because sometimes I think I am unrealistic.
I don’t question that Jane can make these things happen though because she has drive and ambition. After the interview she is staying up and working on a new idea for an online tutoring business. Jane thinks that many of the challenges South Africa faces today are due to unemployment. “There is no employment these days so I don’t regret starting this business. I feel proud because I think otherwise I would be at home doing nothing and looking to my parents for support.” Jane says many people go to teaching because there are still opportunities there. With her online teaching business Jane wants to teach people how to start a business.
“I need to empower people to start their own business, to be positive and to do things on their own instead of looking to the government. I need to encourage people. Stand up and do things on your own!”
Jane encourages other women who are looking to start in business to start small with what they have and what they can afford. “You start small, you plan you save you budget and you grow slowly. You will get there. Always be positive. Even if the world is difficult and life is hard, as long as you dream and be positive one day your dream will come true.
Despite the fact that Jane didn’t get a job in her initial degree she still believes everyone should be educated because she says it opens your mind. “It’s the key to success. If you are educated and unemployed one day you will be employed.” Jane also believes that education never stops. “Even if you are 60 years old it will never stop. You can study anything anywhere and become successful.”
There’s another important thing to do: hustle, but nicely not rough. “You don’t have to go to do a deal with criminals. Do something to keep you busy. The moment you get busy your mind becomes positive. If you just sit you think too much and become negative. Being busy is healthy for your mind and your body. Volunteer somewhere, you will get noticed and you can network.” Jane explains that people get to know you when you are doing things but if you are staying at home nobody knows you.
In order to succeed, though, people should persevere. “There’s no nice easy job here even if it’s a dream job so persevere. Think forward.” Jane says that even though she likes fashion design it becomes stressful so you have to be patient and persevere. “Never stop dreaming.”
One of the things I really like about Jane is that I can see that she not only talks the talk but also walks the walk. Ambition seems to be radiating off of her and I don’t doubt she will accomplish many of her dreams. The interview is over and I leave Jane at her laptop to hustle some more and plan her online tutoring business until the early hours of the morning.
As for myself, I’m grateful that the string of unexpected challenges led me to meet Jane and I head off for a few more interesting hostel conversations and some sleep to be ready for whatever unexpected challenges and gifts I will be presented with next!
Thanks to Jane Mphaki for taking the time to do this interview and supplying the photographs of her designs!