Like a diamond that starts humbly in the ground, Phatsima Jewellery Designs started in a 15 m2 wooden wendy house in a Johannesburg backyard and has recently begun to shine internationally.
Nontando Molefe’s boutique jewellery design company, which has since moved into its own workshop in Lonehill, Johannesburg, was recently featured in the British Vogue Magazine and caught the attention of overseas retailers and design houses.
It’s been a “scary but exciting” journey for Nontando, who started Phatsima in her aunt’s backyard after growing frustrated with unfair practices in the jewellery industry where she had worked as an up-and-coming designer and manager. Nontando, who lost both her parents and was raised by her grandmother and aunt, knew from very early on that she wanted to work with jewellery. Her fascination started when she paged through fashion magazines, and she followed her passion by moving to a school of the arts which offered design as a subject.
After studying jewellery design at the University of Johannesburg, Nontando had an early break when her work was entered into an international competition, and she became the youngest of the top ten entrants. As a sought-after employee, she received all-round experience in the industry, moving quickly from the design-desk to sales and management. But apart from finding the practices in the industry unfair, she was also struck by just how few pieces of jewellery sold locally are actually made in South Africa. Most of it is imported from China.
Determined to dedicate her career to local design, Nontando started saving up and buying tools for her own workshop one day, but with no clear plan in mind. Things crystalised quickly when she resigned in frustration in 2010 and started making jewellery for family and friends. Growth was slow and organic. For the first three years Nontando did everything herself, from designing and manufacturing in her aunt’s wendy house, to meeting clients at a nearby rent-by-the-hour office.
Three years in, Nontando was able to employ her first technician to help with the manufacturing so that she could concentrate on growing the business. Corporate pop-up exhibitions and trade fairs helped grow sales incrementally, and Phatsima, which means “shine” or “bling” in Setswana, was able to move to a rented workshop.
Access to the market was always the most difficult aspect of growing her business, says Nontando, but over the years she has developed sales channels through three boutique stores in Johannesburg, Phatsima’s own website, and via the online platform – Takealot.
Covid-19 dealt a significant blow to Phatsima’s growth as weddings and the demand for jewellery plummeted. But Nontando pulled through by emphasising marketing. In order to save costs, she teamed up with other service providers such as photographers and make-up consultants to market their services together.
Nontando came across Business Partners Limited online and thought she would apply for working capital to grow the business. But after careful consultations with Business Partners Limited, she opted for buying her own workshop in a secure office park in Lonehill.
She also took up Business Partners Limited’s offer of R250 000 in technical assistance in the form of an interest-free loan. She used it to buy and implement enterprise-management software for Phatsima through which she manages everything from the raw materials and stock to accounting and sales.
Bustling away with her team of five in her own workshop, Nontando has come a long way since the days in her aunt’s wendy house, but growth is far from over. She is determined to break through into the big fashion retailers in South Africa, and to one day own her own boutique stores, not only in Johannesburg, but throughout South Africa.
Phatsima has also drawn attention from the massive European and US jewellery industry where there is some interest in African design elements. Everything points to a bright, sparkly future for Phatsima.
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