When Manqoba Khumalo and Thulani Shezi walked into the library to study for their exam one November 2015 afternoon, little did they know that they would end up in business together.
Khumalo, a Bachelor of Technology Business Administration student, and Shezi, a Office Management Technology second-year student, met at the library while studying for their final examinations. From that afternoon, Shezi and Khumalo shared business ideas that led to them creating the Blacker than me brand.
The two students have in the past been playing around with their creativity and love for making beautiful clothing. “I discovered my talent two years ago but it has never occurred to me that it could one day be economically empowering me,” said Khumalo. While Khumalo had been aware of his talent, Shezi who said he learned sowing from just watching his designer friends, only discovered his talent during early
2015 when he started making outfits for himself.
“I would make something for myself or my female friends and people would ask us where we bought our outfits from. At first, I was afraid to make clothing items for other people but the more people complemented my clothing style and the demand grew, that is when I realised that this could grow into a business,” he said.
Shezi, who is from Stanger, says it takes him an hour to a day to get an outfit done, while Khumalo, who hails from Pongola, says with him, to artistically add designs into an outfit only takes him 45 minutes to an hour. “This thing comes naturally to us, and because we love it so much, we don’t have to crack our skulls thinking about when we can start working on it. All a person needs to do is to give us a picture, we get their measurements or just by looking at the person we are able to tell what will suit them best. We also specialise in image consultancy,” said Shezi and Khumalo.
Those interested in seeing Shezi and Khumalo’s work can like their Facebook page Blacker than me.
– Noxolo Memela
Pictured: Flip-flops designed by Manqoba Khumalo and Thulani Shezi.
Also pictured are the designers (Shezi and Khumalo).
