THE TRIBAL DRUM 

AUGUST 2011 

Welcome to the inaugural edition of Tribal Drum a quarterly newsletter from the Tribal Textiles team here in Mfuwe. ‘The Drum’ will feature both product and design news as well as personal stories and an insight into life in the African bush, helping you get to know the amazing story behind our beautiful creations.

2011 has seen a comprehensive revamp of our flagship store in Mfuwe with the aim of giving our customers a better shopping experience than ever before.

The shop now boasts stunning contemporary showrooms and a traditional African room with ornaments, curios and hand-carved wooden sculptural pieces.

Did you know that Tribal Textiles was established 20 years ago? Our founder, Gillie Lightfoot, set up her ‘design studio’ under a tree with 3 staff members, producing textiles for friends in the valley. We now employ 100 local Zambian staff, supporting over 1,000 family members in the Luangwa Valley, and export textiles to 21 countries around the globe.

Currently on display you will find Gallery, the Tribal signature design that brings together all our creative and technical expertise. Only a handful of our most experienced artists are able to starch and paint these items, they take twice as long in our workshop as our traditional textiles, each piece is completely unique. They make a breathtaking addition to the range on offer at Tribal, and after a long time in development we are delighted to be able to finally offer them to our local and overseas customers.

We continue to develop and improve our comprehensive range of products, designs and colourways. 

2011 has seen the arrival of a brand new bag range, a re-launch of Mali in Moroccan red and Clay and Black, launch of a new best seller – African Circles, introduction of the new Smoke colourway and a stunning new Butterfly design.

Details of all new ranges and colourways will be made available on our website.

This year has also seen some key changes with our General Manager of 4 years deciding to return to the UK. In her place we have welcomed Kirstie Heslop. An Oxford Graduate with a background in architecture and interior design, Kirstie has quickly settled into life at Tribal Textiles and is bringing new energy and focus to our work here.

Meanwhile Kizylous Zulu, a dispatch assistant with Tribal since 2005, was recently promoted to the role of Dispatch Co-ordinator and Stock Controller. Kizylous showed ambition and initiative by taking advantage of computer and accountancy training programmes offered by Tribal Textiles. Having shown himself to be both capable and diligent he was a natural choice for promotion and a lot of you will have already enjoyed his enthusiasm in this key role!

As well as enjoying the retail success brought about by the revamp of our shops we are also delighted to continue to introduce new wholesale clients to Tribal Textiles. We have recently welcomed dynamic new stockists in Kenya, Nigeria and Australia and are delighted by the success they have enjoyed so far.

The remainder of the year is packed full of exciting projects, including the development of our new flower design and the addition of an exciting new kid’s design. We will also be taking part in the prestigious Arts & Craft Fair in Lusaka in November, an annual pre-Christmas event here in Zambia.

We look forward to keeping the Tribal Drum beating….

For any additional information about Tribal Textiles or to place an order please contact sales@tribaltextiles.co.zm