Meet Tamu Thomas

March 1, 2011 in Events, Fashion

Founder & Creative Director
Kenema & Co

Kenema & Co is a London based women’s wear label that combines contemporary fashion design with African fabric. The company’s goal is to defy the myth that African fashion is only for people of the African Diaspora.

Founded by Tamu Thomas in April 2010, Kenema & Co’s collections are manufactured in Sierra Leone and the company supports the charity Kenema’s Big Sister, which raises funds to provide school scholarships for girls attending the Holy Rosary Secondary School in Kenema, Sierra Leone.

Kenema & Co also co-host The First Lady events with Sonia Meggie of Inspirational YOU, providing a showcase for emerging brands, designers and musicians.

Why did you decide to start your company?
Kenema & Co is a brand that was born out of a passing comment by a friend who saw me wearing a beautiful dress made by an innovative Sierra Leonean seamstress using beautiful African fabric. The suggestion was that I import more dresses and sell them.

That was a good idea but not enough for me, I am creative and have always aspired to working for myself so I decided that I would make my own clothes in Africa using African fabric and the basis of Kenema was born. The company idea started to really form in January 2010 and became a reality on 25th April 2010.

I work with Alizé Demange, who is an up and coming designer with great ideas and design skills. Alizé helps me bring my ideas to life; she also helps with branding and organising events. The concept of The First Lady event was actually Alizé’s idea.

What’s the story behind your company name?
Kenema is a district in Sierra Leone that was ravaged by the war from 1991 – 2002. Kenema is an area that is well known for its gold and diamond mines and abundance of palm trees. If you were to visit Kenema today you would see that the people are poor but you would not necessarily guess that they were war torn less than ten years ago. The people are very resilient and just get on with it.

I hope that Kenema & Co represents the area, resilient like the people; high quality and desired like gold and diamonds and something that can used by all, like the palm trees.

What was your career path prior to starting your company?
Prior to and currently I am a social worker. I work with children and families in need of support.

Can you tell me more about the inspiration for your collection and where can I buy it?
The Zia collection is made up of pieces that can be worn in the summer or winter. We wanted to show people that African prints can be worn through the seasons. For example the Audrey dress looks great with a long sleeve t-shirt underneath, tights and a pair of boots or on its own in warmer weather. The maxi skirts look equally great with a chunky cable knit jumper or a fitted white t-shirt in the summer.

In terms of shapes we looked at eras we like and tried to adapt their style, for example the inspiration for the “Leah” dress was the ‘”Doublet” style skirt worn by men during the time of the Tudors. The Audrey dress was inspired by Audrey Hepburn and the 50s style that seemed to be about really accentuating the curves of a woman’s body.

This collection is available online at http://kenemaco.bigcartel.com/ and you should also check the website www.kenemaco.com and my Twitter @kenemagirl for updates as we sell at events too.

Tell me more about Kenema’s Big Sister, when was your charity founded and who does it support?
Kenema’s Big Sister was founded at the same time as the company but it became an entity in its own right when I realised that there was a real interest in the charity. There have been people that have been unable to attend the events but wanted to donate something. I also think that it helps with transparency so that people can see exactly where their money is going.

The charity has been set up to support women in Sierra Leone and to help provide access to the basic things they need to make positive changes. Aid can only do so much. Sierra Leone has one of the lowest literacy rates in the world. Currently Kenema’s Big Sister supports two girls attending the Holy Rosary School in Kenema, Sierra Leone. We hope to raise funds to support more girls that have the ability and would like to attend school.

We would also like to support Heaven’s Gate Nursery, which is a bit like a Sure Start children’s centre, that was started and funded by Heaven’s Gate Church in Majay Town, just outside Sierra Leone’s capital city Freetown.

Tell me more about “The First Lady” events, what do they feature and how were they conceived?
The idea for The First Lady came from Alizé. We both observed that ‘urban’ pop up shops tended to be male dominated and focussed on street wear. Alizé suggested that we organise our own event aimed at women and the rest is history.

I came up with the name The First Lady as I am a Michelle Obama fan and I think that she is the epitome of the title ‘The First Lady.’ Some may comment that the first lady is merely the president’s wife but I do not agree. Especially if you look at someone like Michelle Obama, she is a leading lady in her own right, she is educated, sophisticated and a phenomenal woman.

We teamed up with Sonia Meggie of Inspirational YOU as I met her at an event, attended Inspirational YOU and admire her tenacity and energy and felt that she could add a lot to the event – and she has!

The First Lady is a female focused retail event which provides a platform for emerging brands and musicians to reach new audiences by performance, promoting themselves or selling their products. The products range from skin care to clothing and the guest speakers are positive women from any walk of life with an inspirational story to share.

We charge a small door fee of £2.00 and use this money to raise money for Kenema’s Big Sister school scholarship fund. The next event is on 22nd May from 11 – 5pm at The Queen of Hoxton, 1 – 5 Curtain Road in London. We have a range of brands selling their products and exhibiting on the day.

We have guest speakers and performances that I am very excited about including you! Octavia Goredema is guest speaking about constructive networking, we have DJ Nikki Beatnik – DJ to a number of A-List stars and official DJ for Kelis, she is also a dope producer too! Nikki will be guest speaking about being a female DJ and doing a DJ set! I am also pleased to have Christina Daniels, CEO of The Cool fashion website, on board talking about the art of blogging.

We also have emerging artists including Cherri Prince and Jane Fraser, amazing poetry by Amber Phresh Mentality, Ola The Poet and so much more. I am awaiting confirmations from some exciting people! Not forgetting that we have a panel of young women aged between 16 – 23 years who will be talking about what they are up to and where they are headed. I am very proud of these young women. We are also fortunate to have Roses Gabor host the event for us again.

The aim of The First Lady is to shop, network, listen to future stars, have some fun and be inspired by some leading ladies. If you are a positive woman with an inspiring story to share or an innovative product to share please contact me for our next event.

What are you working on at the moment and can you describe your typical working day?
Currently I am working on our Spring Summer 2011 collection The ‘Mende’ collection which draws on influences from the Mende tribe of Sierra Leone. I am planning the next First Lady event – The First Lady Roof Garden – this will take place on the fabulous roof garden at the Queen of Hoxton in Shoreditch. I am also working on Kenema’s 1st Birthday party!

My typical working day consists of waking up at around 6.00 doing some yoga to try and calm my mind. Then I do some work for Kenema, then I get my daughter and I ready for work and nursery. I go to work from 9am – 4.30pm then race home to collect my daughter from nursery so that I am able to spend some quality time with her before dinner and bed. Then I do some more Kenema work or social work stuff until about 11pm. Some nights I attend meetings or events.

This pattern is new and is working as previously I would stay up until the early hours and still have to wake up early and repeat. My health suffered and I felt like I was forcing myself to be bright and bubbly for my daughter – this could not continue. So now I treat myself like a human!

What are the highlights of running your own business?
The biggest highlight is reflecting and realising that I did this. I actually did it. It is very surreal at times especially when I think that I have potentially transformed two families’ lives forever by providing school scholarships and whilst introducing people to African fashion, particularly those that thought it was all puffy sleeved tops and fish tail skirts!

It is also a highlight to see my daughter absorbing all of this and thinking that having your own business is just an everyday part of life. She doesn’t understand it all but she knows I do ‘fashion girl’ work which she says includes ‘Africa parties’ taking pictures, drawing clothes making them and giving people money to children. That makes my heart warm.

What is the hardest part of running your own business?
The hardest thing is being organised. I create naturally but being organised and focusing on one thing at a time are not my forte and I am sure this trait is exacerbated by things like Twitter!

The other hard thing is raising capital to bankroll the whole project as I do that by myself. I am resisting the proposals of investment as I do not want the burden of someone else’s money affecting the business and creative process. I am very determined.

What has been your biggest triumph to date?
My biggest triumph has been actually starting this business, I have had so many ideas over the years and sat on them. Obviously they were not made to be. When I think about all the elements that make up Kenema & Co I feel very proud. I actually got up and made this happen!

What’s the most important business lesson you’ve learnt so far?
Be organised! My goodness it is one thing being unorganised when you work for someone else but when you depend on you it’s another thing all together. Being organised enables you to make plans that you can see, work towards and achieve. This is essential, without this you have no business in business!

If you could pick one person you’d love to dress who would it be and why?
Of course it would be Michelle Obama. She is a woman that reaches so many women, regardless of race so many women can relate to her. I think that she is graceful, charming and more than able to hold her own with the most qualified scholar to a girl attending a school in a poor inner city somewhere. Apart from Mrs O there are many women I would like to dress from Lady Serena Williams to Jessie J.

What, or who, inspires and motivates you?
My daughter is my biggest motivation and inspiration. I have a responsibility to be the best role model I can be. I am also motivated by the idea that I could change people’s perception on African fashion and that Kenema is giving people opportunities they may never have been able to have.

I am also motivated by a really buzzing UK creative scene; we have a large number of talented positive people, particularly young people, pushing the boundaries and doing their own thing, making their own rules positively.

I’d also like to add that I find our Twenty Ten Club meetings very motivational, I learn something new each time we meet and walk away feeling like ‘bring it on’!

What advice would you give to someone who is considering starting a fashion business?
My advice would be:
1. Do your research.
2. Have a plan.
3. Do not be put off by competition. Focus on your unique selling point.
4. Do not be put off by the opinions of others especially when they have limited understanding of your business.
5. Do courses and learn skills that will enable you to overcome hurdles and future proof your business.
6. Network, network, network.
7. Don’t stop learning.
8. Don’t keep all your ideas a secret – someone could say one thing that makes your idea better.
9. Know that if you really want to you will always find a way.

What are your future goals for your company?
The future goals of Kenema & Co are to keep doing what we are doing and master our craft. I want to be able to provide products at wholesale so that retailers will be able to stock our products and we will be able to expand internationally.

We would like to raise more money for Kenema’s Big Sister. I would also like to organise a range of events that will shed more positive light on the UK ‘creative scene’ – there is too much talent here not to.

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For more information on Kenema & Co visit www.kenemaco.com and the online retail store at http://kenemaco.bigcartel.com/

You can also find Kenema & Co on Twitter and Facebook.

For more information on The First Lady events visit http://thefirstladyblog.wordpress.com/

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Tamu Thomas was interviewed by Octavia Goredema, founder of the Twenty Ten Club.

The Twenty Ten Club is an award-winning networking organisation for Black female entrepreneurs. You can also find Twenty Ten Club on Twitter and Facebook.