Kangamama

Ashley Skaftouros is an inspirational lady that is passionate about her business which sells handmade African print head wraps, baby wraps, accessories and much more.

"When I was pregnant with my son, I was researching ways of doing mamahood naturally. I found the trend for a front carrying baby wrap on YouTube and made one for my son. That was in 2013, and so the journey of Kanagamama started," she said.

It seems as though she is building an empire inspired by all that she has learned on YouTube. She taught herself how to knit, crochet and sew from watching different tutorials taught by people from all over the world. She taught herself the necessary skills with which she could create her own products that have since enabled her to travel and showcase her products.

The baby wraps have gone from a solid colour to having a neutral base with a panel of African print on the front. I will also launch my knitted luxury yarn range this Winter in Cape Town at TM Collective that can be found inside 15 on Orange, a 5 star Marriott Hotel from the 31 March till 2 April. All the yarns have been locally sourced and manufactured from the best suppliers in the country.

My knitted and crochet range will include shrugs (an awesome jersey like product), beanies and scarves. All these products will have a hint of African in them by marrying the items with the African print fabric as well as some traditional beads.

I am currently recruiting new artisans to do some of the sewing and crocheting for me so the hunt for new hands is on.

Who is Ashley Skaftouros?

My first love and identity is found in Christ so in Him I find myself. I have a love for this rich African soil and so does my Australian husband. My two multi-cultural kids, that are at home with me, are a great reflection of the way I see life, diverse.

I was born in Springs, grew up in East London and Isipingo Beach but spent most of my life in the creative hub of Durban, Glenwood.

Now that I have started knitting, my little bag with my newest project on my needles is an ever present site. There are very few moments in the day where my hands are not busy doing something.

Please tell us what the aim of your business is

My aim as a business is to create an African alternative of anything from clothing to carpets, #everydayafricanness!!! With my love for most things African, I started incorporating excellent, unique African print fabrics into my work.

My intention as a brand is to show the world that as we as Africans have a value much higher than our gold, oil and diamonds! That we too can produce products for a high end market and that our creativity doesn't stop at the curios at the beach front. We are, and will continue to be creative and produce goods worthy of any currency.

Where do you see yourself in the next 5 years with regards to business accomplishments and personal growth?

In the next 5 years I want to have my own store in at least 3 cities, they don't all have to be in the same country. I also want to have a staff body of around 15 people . I also want to be a recognised brand all over the world that creates beautiful, daily-wearable African centred products, no matter the season.

How did you notice your talent?

I never knew I could do any of what I am doing now until about 3 years ago. I bought a sewing machine 3 months ago and am now making my own clothes. I learned to knit around 2014 and now I can't stop, no matter how humid the day.

A friend of mine suggested in 2009 that I try knitting, I laughed and told her to take her granny things away from me, look, who's the granny now?

• How would you define fashion?

This is a hard one since it is such a subjective term. I would say fashion is the voice of a generation and a reflection of the culture as it evolves.

• What have you achieved so far?

What I have achieved this far may not seem like much but I have learned 2 life skills that could save my bacon if ever times for really tough. We will always need clothes to wear and something to keep us warm. These are also life skills I would like to pass down to the next generation.

I am also helping to helping destigmatize these important skills by making them part of my young life and showing others that knitting is cool, even in Africa it's cool.

• New projects that you might like to talk about?

I would like to print my own fabric one day soon... can't say too much about that but watch out world!

• Highlights

Marjorie Harvey and Beyonce's mom have some of my products. This may be something super exciting for some but career highlights for me are really that I am growing as an individual, having to learn to navigate different personalities and circumstances in business.

• Please explain your creative process

This too is a hard one! I try new things, put them out there to see if they work. If they don't, I just try something new.