Wandile Solombela uses his passion for fashion design to teach people from disadvantaged communities to sew dolls using the uniquely South African shweshwe fabric.
By Ayanda Sitole
Born in Butterworth in the Eastern Cape, Wandile says it was his days as a teenager watching American soapie The Bold and the Beautiful that piqued his interest in fashion design.
While volunteering at a Soweto-based NGO called African Children’s Feeding Scheme in 2006, he and a few friends joined forces to teach community members how to sew dolls in order to sell and make an income.
The success of his project saw him being invited to participate in an HIV/Aids awareness programme in Swaziland called Designing Hope.
His Shweshwe Poppis creations caught the interest of international business students visiting South Africa. They decided to use his project as a case study. Their interest opened doors for him to attend the Richard Branson Centre of Entrepreneurship in Braamfontein, Johannesburg, where he would meet the business giant in person.
“Meeting Richard was awesome,” he says. “While studying at the School of Entrepreneurship, I would have to give presentations on my business and receive feedback from top business professionals. I developed self-confidence in a way that I had never imagined before.”
The dolls are being sold at pop-up markets across the country while some are retailing at stores such as the Motherland coffee in Hyde Park, Out of Africa souvenir at O.R. Tambo International Airport as well as Heartworks, a creative hub for artists in Cape Town. On average, stores sell a combined total of about 400 dolls per month.
“Our busiest time is during the festive season when people buy the dolls as gifts for their loved ones,” he says.
Wandile will be showcasing his dolls at the KAMERS/Makers exhibition from 25 to 29 April.
