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Entrepreneurial
Women's Digest
Start Your Dream Business
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Inspiration, Ideas & Resources | |
Entrepreneur: Carole Nevin
Art on Linen
by Marcia Niles {December 2007}
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"I started painting textile from my garage in 1993; it is hard to believe that 13 years have passed! It all started with a desire to earn a good living doing something creative and contributing to poverty alleviation in South Africa. I was not trained in textiles and if I look back over the years, many of them tough, I realize that it was pure passion for colour and design and sheer determination to create something beautiful that forged the path to where we are today." ---Carole Nevin
Carole Nevin and her staff on the beautiful world-renowned city of Cape Town, South Africa, produce an exciting range of handpainted linens that includes tablecloths, aprons, cushions, bed linen, laundry bags, and kitchen accessories. Her exclusive designs and quality products have been a major factor in the success of her business. Her exhibit at Heimtextil in 2004, resulted in her entire product line, along with the furnishings, being bought by a department store in New Zealand. What started in a garage has become an international brand with retail stores in South Africa and stockists in a number of countries. Creating jobs and training for unskilled and semi-skilled workers at Carole Nevin Designs makes this story all the more inspiring.
Here is my Q & A with Carole:
1. When I read your bio, I found it very inspirational. You had no training in textiles, but your passion for color and design and that sheer determination you speak of has created a company that is internationally known. Share with us a little about the initial reception of your products and the turning point from garage to where you are today?
In fact my background was school teaching, I studied modern languages at the University of Cape Town and went on to teach French and English. However, I desperately wanted to change my career direction and do something more creative and uplifting for the previously disadvantaged community. I suppose that I always had a passion for textiles, colour and design and luckily the possibility of starting a hand-painting design business coincided with a major boom in Cape Town tourism where there was a market for the interpretation of African designs onto fabric. I suppose our imaginative, fun designs along with consistent quality have insured our success, we also took the risk of moving from a small craft market to a boutique shop at the famous Cape Town Waterfront which gave us access to a huge foreign tourist market.
2. You are helping many disadvantaged individuals earn a living by employing and training them for a better quality of life. That is to be commended. It adds a certain value to your product that makes it all the more appreciated. Give us some insight into your policy of job creation.
From the start of the company, we employed and trained unskilled and semiskilled previously disadvantaged individuals from a local informal settlement. Many of these women had never worked before, had families to feed, had no or limited English Language skills which are much needed in the workplace. We provided hands-on-training, they learn paint mixing, painting and English communication skills. We hold creative workshops with our employees to draw inspiration from their tribal heritage. We continue to recruit both skilled, semi skilled and unskilled workers providing a career path.
3. Cape Town is considered to be one of the most beautiful places in the world. It's where you draw a lot of inspiration for your designs. Describe the creative process for you; is it often spontaneous or does it take a while to decide on a concept?
Yes, Cape Town is a very beautiful and inspirational city in which to live and be creative. I get a lot of inspiration from walks in the mountains and on the beach as well as from the cultural diversity of the region. Sometimes designs come spontaneously and other times a seed can be planted and take years to develop. Sometimes, creative designs come from workshops with our staff. We use art books, objects from nature, plants, animals etc for our inspiration.
4. Do you do any custom work as well?
Originally we undertook a significant amount of custom work, however, more recently we have standardized specific design and products which are easier to manufacture and are highly saleable. However, we do undertake customized designs, custom products or sizes if the run is sufficient to make it commercially worthwhile.
5. With your varied range of products all being hand made, it must be quite a labor- intensive process. Give us a sense of the production. How do you keep up with wholesale and retail orders?
Yes, it is always a challenge to produce hand crafted products and retain quality. However, we have a highly efficient, well trained team as well as systems in place to ensure that we fulfill all our orders and meet all our deadlines, whilst retaining quality.
6. What are some of your marketing and promotional channels?
We sell via our internet website www.carolenevin.co.za , we well directly to the public via our shop at the Waterfront, Cape Town. We have a US and UK distributor and we supply a few dozen retail shops in South Africa and abroad. A full list of our stockiest is provided in our website.
7. You export to a number of countries including the USA. Name a few places where our readers can locate your products in the US.
We have one US distributor Vici International who supplies directly to the public as well as to a number of retail outlets in the US. We also have a permanent exhibit at the Atlanta Exhibition Center. For further details, please contact our distributor at:
Vici International, Inc.
2660 Holcomb Bridge Road
Suite 214
Alpharetta, GA 30022
Phone: 678.795.1337
Fax: 678.795.1387
Email: info@carolenevin.com
8. What is a typical day like for Carole Nevin?
I wake up, walk the dogs on the beach, go to Tai Chi have breakfast, go to the factory where I meet with key members of the staff, get involved with production issues, design and product development. I also tend to work a lot from home where the environment is calmer and I can create more peacefully.
9. What advice would you offer to ladies who want to start their own businesses?
For a craft business I am a firm believer in organic growth. Keep it simple and keep your overheads as low as possible. Don’t listen to negativity, follow your dreams, work hard and don’t give up.
10. Share a business tip that helps you in your everyday work.
Nurture your staff as they are the backbone of your business.
ã Photos courtesy of Carol Nevin Designs.
For more information, visit Carole's website at www.carolenevin.co.za
ã Copyright 2007 Entrepreneurial Women's Digest. All rights reserved.
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