It is a well known fact that one’s appearance can tell quite a lot about the person. This is not just limited to their attire but also includes their accessories such as a handbag. Most ladies never leave the house without a handbag. They have so many things to carry ranging from phone, notebook, makeup kit, umbrella, snacks, keys, toiletries etc. A lady’s handbag has to match her outfit and most ladies have a variety of bags to go with their different outfits.
Drucilla Msinga is one such lady. The type of bags she carries can tell you she is a true African at heart as she carries Viondos – an African bag made out of sisal. She loves African bags and wherever she goes people seem to be in love with them so she decided to exploit this venture. At some point, she realized that she was getting multiple enquiries about her bags and an idea came to her,
“Why not buy these bags and sell them instead?”
That was the genesis of Drix Classic Viondos.
First, she had to figure out where she would get her merchandise from. African bags are quite expensive and if she bought them from the market, she would not be able to make substantial profit. She had to go to the source and that meant traveling to the rural parts of Kenya to find the women who specialised in making these bags. She did not want middlemen. Lucky for her, she found an older woman who made beautiful Viondos and a partnership developed.
“This lady makes the bags and I pick them once they are done. The bags come in different designs depending on the client’s preference.”
Sample Bags from the Drix Classic Viondos collection
The partnership has been working well despite a few challenges that she faced at the beginning. For one, the lady who made the bags didn’t own a phone and so getting in touch with her used to be tricky. Drucilla would just visit her hoping the orders are ready but sometimes she would get there and the orders would not be ready and it became a waste of time and transport money. The woman, also being elderly didn’t understand the current trends and Drucilla did her best to explain the kind of designs she required her to make but sometimes it would get lost in translation. There has been improvement though and there is better communication in their partnership.
“I have come a long way even with the lady who makes the bags for me. I started with two bags but now as we speak I have sold so many. My greatest support is my friends and family. My sisters have all bought bags from me with one sister having bought up to eight bags! They have also done some marketing for me. I tell them for each bag they buy they should tell people about Drix classic viondos.’
Drucilla is very passionate about African bags among other artifacts. She says it fills her heart with pride to see ladies carrying them and that is what motivates her everyday to keep on doing what she does. “I thank God for my clients and the doors He has opened for me and for the other entrepreneurs out there, keep pressing on.”
