by Brigette Mashile, founder of Roka Roko

There is an idea formed by many of us that people who run businesses, or at least render some service to us, are not human like us.  For some reason we see them as the ‘lady at the coffee shop’ or the ‘petrol attendant’; we never ever relate to them as people who sleep at night and wake up in the morning.  This experience is the same for me.  I believe a lot of fashion business people like myself feel like this...no…just me? Ok LOL. I have seen that many clients are not aware of the things they say that could be offensive or just make no sense at all.  Most of the time, they say things that benefit themselves. 

by Brigette Mashile, founder of Roka Roko (South Africa)

Last year I decided to make my sister a long lasting birthday gift, something I believed she could keep for a long time.  So I decided to get her a 100% leather bag set.  I got this idea after seeing some leather items at a market one Saturday afternoon (done by a supplier from Bloemfontein with a long track record and equipment to produce and engrave). Their quality was amazing and I took their contact details. I had an idea to make her a weekend bag, a hand bag and a wallet. Then I would find a way to personalize it so she always knows it’s from her big sister.

by Brigette Mashile, founder of Roka Roko

A month ago I decided it was probably time to look for help again. This was driven by the fact that I had been off work for a few weeks due to personal struggles and was more than just behind on everything.  Plus this, I had a wedding coming up. So the panic and anxiety and my friends made me do it! Well, great advice from them, though I was in no space to be my 100% self. I needed help, as any other human being does on this earth. I needed to hire.

by Brigette Mashile, founder of Roka Roko

We are the first, in many ways, in this entrepreneurship boom happening currently.  Most of us are first amongst our families, friends and generally in all of history.  You know what this means…it means we have to find out, teach ourselves, and excel at something we have no history of from a personal perspective. Having a parent who had previously run a business, whether it failed or succeeded, would be just bliss.  Someone to ask specific questions to; someone to check in with all the time.  

by Brigette Mashile, founder of Roka Roko

I have always said that I am more fearful of my success than my failure.  I mean what is failure? How many rejections have you been through at this age; try and count and you will fail.  In my case, from my first attempt to touch a candle flame, or my mom refusing for me to not make it into the NETBAL EERSTE SPAN in high school, and to the tertiary Dmerits! There have been failures, but yet I am here.  So failure to me is just a T-Junction on a road - I went right but I was supposed to go left.  But…success… you see success is a new can of worms I have never experienced. It demands another me I have not met before, and definitely feels like growing a new tooth.

by Brigette Mashile, founder of Roka Roko

The journey of building my own business empire has been many things, including amazing, challenging, surprising and painful. Luckily, God is kind enough not to allow these experiences to happen at the very same time. Instead, they are spread across time. I believe this is the 5th year this year. Halfway to a decade, imagine! I think I should one day sit down and write all the major events that have happened during the building of my business, Roka Roko, and look at them as an audience rather than as the main character involved. Maybe I might cry from the sheer multitude of what small actions eventually add up to on this entrepreneurial journey.

by Brigette Mashile, founder of Roka Roko

I have cancelled my gym membership. I can hear a wave of horror and disbelief riveting through my people. I mean how dare I in this age of green healthy bodies. What am I doing? Honestly, it feels like freedom and something I have been trying to do for a long time. I have been signed up to some or other gym for the longest time all because someone said I must be part of a gym. They are right, but I do think there are other ways of achieving fitness? Other than being committed to a contract, I have failed over and over to honour.

by Brigitte Mashile, founder of Roka Roko

Would you believe I have been creating dusty pink bridesmaids dresses since the inception of  Roka Roko?  My second group of bridesmaids in 2014 was a chiffon and lace dusty pink dress design; and that experience was terrible.  Well, not because of the colour, but you can imagine I have had a few scary attachments to this colour.  I have had a love hate relationship with the colour dusty pink for a while now.  I think it is because as a creative you come to accept that things change and you expect the world to move with you…well no!

by Brigette Mashile, founder of Roka Roko

In the 4 years of this business, I have had ‘gazillions’ of collaboration offers and maybe 1 of them actually happens, maybe!  I don’t know if it worked or not.  Collaborations are agreed to and pushed forward because, well in life and in business we need each other. I am yet to be part of a real collaboration and see it through. There are many reasons why I haven’t been in one, some are real and others probably imagined! Have I lost out? Probably! Who knows what we can achieve when we come together for a common purpose. I have compiled a list of reasons I still haven’t done a collaboration; maybe some ring true for you as well?

by Brigette Mashile, founder of Roka Roko

In the four and a half years I have been running Roka Roko I have been rejected just about a million times.  Each time there was a reason why of course. A reason I couldn’t understand but reviewed deeply to better myself.  At each of these times when I tried again and again after each rejection, I would feel like I am insane really. Why am I trying again? There is a saying that goes, doing the same thing expecting different results is stupidity; and some times I have felt stupid.

by Brigette Mashile, founder of Roka Roko

I don’t work on Sundays. No wait, I don’t do anything on Sundays! And this seems to boggle a lot of minds. People have numerous reasons why I should see them on Sunday. It’s fascinating. I have thus far taught my body to refuse all when I wake, I can literally spend the entire day (10 hours) in bed reading, eating and watching things on the laptop.  Lazy right? Yep, yep, yep. But I have my reasons - give me a chance to explain.

by Brigette Mashile, founder of Roka Roko

The world follows the US and UK for everything…literally everything.  Maybe it’s because these places monopolize our media? It’s tougher to find out what is happening in Malawi than in Los Angeles.  And see how far Los Angeles is compared to Malawi and to us?  In fashion as well, retailers do their research in the UK and US first; then the rest of Europe.  We are one season behind, so we are well set up for this follow-on game. But I can tell you that South Africans, just like Africans, have their own preferences.  We take some of the trends, leave some, and make others in our own way.  This is a list of what I have noticed this year making clothes for South African ladies.