Daphne Kasambala has always been creative, designing, and making her own clothes for as long as she can remember. So when she found herself unable to find the types of authentic and inspiring pieces that she longed for on the high street, Daphne decided it was time to take matters into her own hands, leaving a highly successful corporate career in banking to launch her own brand, Sapelle.
Sapelle is an ethical lifestyle brand based in the UK offering beautifully designed contemporary fashion, gift, and home decor products for design lovers with a discerning eye. The brand offers a fusion of global style inspired by Africa and ethically made by skilled artisans and designers from around Africa and Europe.
Highlights
Challenges
- Self-care and self-management are some of the things I still have to remind myself of.
- Sometimes I have a tendency to set myself unrealistic challenges
- The retail space is very crowded. The barriers to entry are very low. It can be very difficult as a small start-up to get traction.
- It’s very difficult to get capital when you are in a mature sector like retail.
- Because it is a creative sector a lot of us tend to work alone and so we are losing out by working alone because there is power in collaboration.
Words of Wisdom
- We have to dream big in order for those dreams to be realized
- Set yourself milestones
- Run the business frugally without starving it of cash.
- Go for it and try and find somebody you can do it with
It’s going to take longer, it’s going to be harder, it’s going to cost more, but it’s going to be much more rewarding than you ever imagined.
Resources mentioned
- Slack
- Grum
- Hoot suite
- Shopify
- Dropbox
Contact
Connect with Sapelle on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook
@sapelleonline
