Connie Cebekulu, assistant managing director for Jabu Frames, chats to us about being in the business of home decor. By Fundiswa Nkwanyana
We create home decor pieces and furniture using recycled material. The items we use include rubble from demolished houses, old, genuine pressed ceilings and skirting wood. We turn these into distressed ceilings, as well as wooden and zinc photo and mirror frames. We also make chest of drawers and wooden pedestals. I love that my job ties in well with my love for art, home decor and recycling.
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Breaking into this competitive market was not easy. The business was started by Jabu Motloung in 2006 before I joined him in 2010 after resigning from my job as an office administrator. I now have the challenging role of growing and marketing Jabu Frames. This involves knocking on many doors to get clients and I had to develop a thick skin to do this. It’s slowly paying off because our client base is growing.
We are excited about exhibiting and selling our products at the upcoming KAMERS/Makers in Johannesburg this month. We will be introduced to a lot of new clients while getting a chance to network with other creatives in the industry. We are looking forward to engaging with our customers and get their feedback.
We are planning to open a retail store to create more jobs. We have 10 employees, and ensuring that they keep their jobs to support their families is important to us. We hope to open a Jabu Frames store in Maboneng, Johannesburg, so that people can have more access to our products. This will also help grow the business.
Look out for Jabu Frames at the KAMERS/Makers exhibition to beheld from 25 to 29 April at St David’s Marist Inanda in Sandton.
