THE TRIBAL DRUM

DECEMBER 2011

As the rainy season begins and we draw closer to Christmas we wanted to look back over the years’ many highs in this second edition of the Tribal Drum.   2011 has been a great success and seen the development of stunning new products, designs and colourways as well as individual staff achievements and new Tribal Textiles’ stockists opening up worldwide.

As ever we have continued with our creative development.  Due to the incredible feedback we received from our last newsletter we are launching our Butterfly design which will be available across our whole product range in hot pinks.  We have revived the iconic Feather design by launching it in the smoke colourway and have experimented with a new flower design called Lily in a powerful new colourway called Peony.

We were also delighted to have yet another very successful year at the Zambian Art and Design Show (ZADS).  This show was founded by our Director, Gillie Lightfoot, with the help of artists Charles Barr and Butterfly Bishop.  An annual event dating back to 2008, the Fair started in Gillie’s back-garden and has now grown into the largest one day craft event in Zambia.  This year it was in central Lusaka under huge marquees with thousands of residents and tourists coming to do their Christmas shopping whilst also enjoying food, beverages and festive entertainment (www.zambianartanddesignshow.com).  Gillie helped us create a stunning stand featuring some of our latest designs.   Our products were very sought after and we were rushed off our feet helping clients find their perfect Tribal Textiles piece.

Did you know that Tribal Textiles is one of the largest employers within the Mfuwe area in Zambia?  In peak season we employ over 100 workers.  On average every worker employed has at least 6 dependants meaning, through supporting Tribal Textiles, you will be positively impacting the lives of over 600 people.  So in traditional Zambian thanks we would like to say Zikomo Kwambili.

After such a positive 2011 it was important to thank those responsible for helping Tribal Textiles to flourish.  Our annual Workshop Christmas Party took place on Saturday giving our artists, handy men and shop staff time to enjoy a Christmas meal, drinks and to relax in Zambian style.  Prizes for outstanding achievement and contribution were awarded for each department and three employees also received additional bonuses for their incredible attendance record – in 9 months of production they missed not a single day of work.  The Tribal Choir also made a welcome return entertaining staff with African tunes for the event!

Whilst all our artists have worked hard we wanted to highlight the incredible work done by Tereser Mbewe in this newsletter.  Tereser works tirelessly behind the scenes to ensure her dispatch team sends the correct order at the right quality to our stockists worldwide.  Tereser has had a tough life, although by her warm smile each morning you would never know.   She was a single orphan at the age of 6 and the youngest of 12 siblings.  Tereser was lucky enough to find work with Tribal Textiles in 1991, having tragically lost 8 siblings, and as the only bread winner her job was essential as she supports 4 orphans and her mother. 

Tereser started out at Tribal Textiles as a stock controller where her sense of calm and eye for detail lead to her promotion to the Sewing Department in 2003 where she worked for 7 years.  In 2010, she was promoted to Head of the Dispatch Department which she runs with astounding efficiency! Tereser was one of the staff members to receive a bonus for attendance this year and her incredible work ethic has helped us achieve our highest yielding year in production; she is a huge asset to Tribal Textiles and when asked what she liked most about working here she replied ‘the chance to learn new things.’

We are already excited about our future projects for 2012 and are using the rainy season to focus on some essential staff training.  We are sponsoring our Head of Production, Moses, and Senior Accountant, Ivan, to take driving lessons; our Stock Coordinator, Kizylous will attend an Excel, Word and Accountancy Training course in Chipata; and our electrician, Mordecai, will take an intermediate electrician’s course.  Our accountants, Nathan and Ivan, will also be revising hard and sitting Accountancy in Business and Level 2 Advanced Taxation and Business and Company Law exams respectively.  Our shop will remain open throughout the rains only closing on Christmas Day with our Retail Manager, Rosie, carrying on her inspiring projects to ensure it looks innovative and beautiful.  Kirstie, our General Manager, and Kate, our Sales & Marketing Manager, will be working over the rainy season to help you place fresh orders for next year.

We will be keeping an eye on the water levels as we start 2012 and hope to avoid any flooding and open our workshop in early March!  In the meantime the team at Tribal Textiles thank you for all your support in 2011 and wish you a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

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