Think Act Vote – The Futures Interview
Think Act Vote – The Futures Interview quizzes SOKO’s founder and director Joanna Maiden on her views and hopes for the future.
Suno Trainers
Suno limited edition trainers launched as part of their resort collection have been selling out fast!
SOKO managed this project and all trainers were manufactured by a factory close to our workshop. The trainers are made from offcuts of Suno’s signature kanga prints and the soles are made from recycled rubber.
Retailing for $65 with a donation from each sale going to the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, the only difficult choice to make is which print is for you?
Personally I think the cream and red bandana flower pair have my name on them… or maybe the spotty ones… or maybe both…
Shop for them online
More from me soon….
My African adventure….
Karibu means welcome in Kiswahili, it’s a word I have heard a lot since I arrived in Kenya last week. My name’s Jennifer and this is my African adventure.
For the last 3 years I have worked for fashion etailer ASOS.com. I began working on kidswear and then moved over to womenswear where I worked across 3 departments; coats, knitwear and ASOS Africa.
I’m an avid blogger, using my blog as my very public online diary for all the things I fall in love with, mainly fashion related (www.lovegettingdressed.com), I also write for other blogs (www.leblow.co.uk) and run my own vintage clothing boutique on ASOS marketplace.
Whilst I was on the ASOS Africa team I had the privilege of working with Jo, founder and director of SOKO as SOKO produced all the collections. When I finally decided to take the plunge and leave my job to start my own brand, Jo was one of the first people I contacted. I wanted the chance to come over to Kenya and see the work done here at SOKO to find out if it would be the right place to produce my own collection and also to see the real impact of ethical fashion rather than just reading about it in the Guardian.
I was meant to come over for a few weeks but its ended up being a little bit longer, ok a lot longer, 2 months, but I’m so glad as there is so much to do, see and learn here. It doesn’t hurt that there are also gorgeous beaches!
Right now I am soaking up all I can and taking inspiration from the artisan skills, culture and traditions of Kenya. I will be blogging for SOKO over the following weeks so I will keep you updated on my African adventure and the road leading to the creation of my very own collection.
Celebratory Lunch
SOKO delivered Lalesso’s first Spring/Summer 2012 order last week. This order is for all Lalesso clients based in Australia and South Africa and their Resort orders. We are due to start production on their second order on Wednesday. To celebrate the completion of the first S/S12 order and to thank all of our 30 employees for their hard work we organised a little lunch.
Lalesso S/S 2012 Pilipili Dress
Lalesso have stockists around the world – for the full stockist list visit their website.
Meet John… one of SOKO’s master tailors
John has been with SOKO since we first opened our doors in 2009, he is one of our most reliable employees and a super tailor. We always rely on John for sampling and leading the other tailors on complex tailored styles such as jackets, shirts and trousers.
Not only does John work for SOKO 6 days a week – arriving at 8 am and leaving at 5 pm – he also runs his own small workshop in Ukunda which he goes to everyday before and after coming to SOKO. John started his workshop in 1998, after being employed as a piece tailor in a local shop for a year. John’s workshop makes clothes for tourists and locals, and employs one tailor. All profits are put back into the company for buying materials and paying his tailor.
John hopes that one day his workshop will make him enough profit to be able to build a house that he can move in to with his future wife and children.
Choolips
All of us at SOKO are delighted to announce that SOKO will be manufacturing Choolips Spring/Summer 2012 collection. The ball is already rolling – it’s not all designing and creating – the logistics of getting a collection to the customer is not an easy task – there are productions schedules, importing of fabrics, finding the correct zips, quality control, stock control management and on and on.
Jo (SOKO’s founder) and Annegret (Choolips’ founder) have known each other for 6 years and they’re both so excited to finally start working together. The ethos and vision of the two companies are very closely aligned…. so watch this space!
Here is a bit about Choolips SS12 collection:
Inspiration Choolips’ Golden Coast collection is inspired by the soul of Ghana’s streets: its music and its people. Fairly traded with fabric made by local batikers in Ghana, the collection is colourful, bright and bold.
Aspiration As well as introducing craftsmanship and high quality back into fashion, Choolips‘ aim is to harmonise the mindset of producers and consumers.
Ethos Choolips’ collections are traded fairly, produced locally and have a small carbon footprint. Their beauty lies in a seamless blend of cultures, traditional crafts and innovative techniques, furthering equitable trade with each print or stitch made.
Beshlie McKelvie
Designer, Beshlie McKelvie collaborated with The Sophia Forum, the UK Chapter of the UNAIDS Global Coalition on Women and HIV, to create a collection in collaboration with SOKO.
She sourced all the fabrics locally in Mombasa and spent a week here with us developing the collection.
All profits go to The Sophia Forum for more information visit Beshlie’s website.
Meet Mirriam…..
Mirriam is a SOKO employee and since joining the team in August 2010 she has become an assistant manager within her team.
At the age of 15 Mirriam became pregnant with a boy who was two years above her in school, she had just started secondary school. Her parents really wanted her to finish her education so when her son was born Mirriam’s mother took care of the baby. Mirriam went to school for 4 years and got her KCSE (Kenyan Certificate in Education). This is a very unusual achievement for a young mother here in Kenya.
When Mirriam was 28 she gave birth to a beautiful daughter but tragically during this pregnancy she found out the she had been infected with HIV. Once a month Mirriam visits the local HIV/AIDS clinic with her daughter to collect their medication and take part in support groups.
Working for SOKO has helped Mirriam to pay for her children’s school fees and buy healthy food for herself and her children.
(To respect this lady’s privacy we have changed her name and not included a picture. HIV is still very misunderstood here and none of her colleagues know)
Letter to Michelle Obama
I sent the letter this week – it’s a long shot but I thought worth a try! Here’s a picture of The First Lady in ASOS Africa and the letter I sent to her…
Dear First Lady Michelle Obama,
I am writing to you from SOKO in Kenya. We are the small production unit that manufactures for the ASOS Africa collection.
I wanted to say thank you from all of us here at SOKO for choosing to wear the ASOS Africa shirt and beaded jacket during your trip around Africa.
The impact of your choice of clothing on those days had a ripple effect all around the world. We were featured in numerous publications, websites and blogs and the work of SOKO and our partnership with ASOS.com reached a huge audience and gained us many more supporters.
There are 25 of us at SOKO and we were immensely proud to see pictures of you in our clothes. The tailors could not believe that The First Lady was wearing a shirt that had been made here using their own hands.
SOKO was set up in 2009 with the aim of offering skills training and creating fair employment within the community where we are based – a community that currently has 50% employment.
I am passionate about trying to create a sustainable future for the fashion and apparel industry and believe that the clothing industry offers the opportunity to make a lasting impact on people and the planet.
During your next visit to Kenya we would be delighted to host you here at SOKO and for you to meet the amazing people that make up our team here.
We are currently producing for the following companies all of whom are passionate about producing their clothes ethically. I would like to ask that you consider wearing their clothes and in turn support our work here in Kenya. Your choices have a profound impact on the world and the choices of thousands of people.
ASOS Africa www.asos.com
Choolips www.choolips.com
Lalesso www.lalesso.com
SUNO www.sunony.com
From all of us here at SOKO I want to thank you again for the impact you have made on our project here in Kenya.
Yours sincerely,
Joanna Maiden
www.soko-kenya.com
ASOS AW11
Despite it being the height of summer in Britain the fashion world has already started thinking about Autumn Winter collections. So SOKO has begun production on AW11 collection of the ever popular ASOS Africa – and it looks fantastic! This season the collection has been built around a gorgeous print bought in Mombasa and includes quilting, bright jersey and heavy twills.
Here’s a sneak preview of the new collection… it goes live on the website in September so not long now until you can own some of these gorgeous, fairly produced pieces. But if you can’t wait to own some of the ASOS Africa collection then take a look at the Spring/Summer collection on sale now.
