Jabu Mdlovu, Quazi jewellery designer
Things have changed a bit for Jabu Mdlovu. When she holds a magazine, other than looking for stories which will convert her into a superior woman, she looks at the beautiful and colourful pages which are likely to be transformed to breath-taking designs.
She works for Quazi Design and she has been with the company for the past six months. The smile on her face when we sat down for an interview at the workshop said it all; she is happily settled with Quazi which transforms waste magazines into jewelleries which they then put on the market for their customers all over the globe.
“I love reading and I always have. Buying magazines then exchanging them with my friends is something that has been going on for quite some time. I have since developed so much love for magazines, such that now I hold on to them mostly when it is made up of beautiful pages. More than anything I now look at the texture of the pages and think to myself what product that paper work well on,” said the 26 year old lady who herself loves the diamond paper earrings, adding that this was the first piece she learnt how to make.
Interestingly enough, six months ago she knew nothing about Quazi Design until she met the Director of Jerem-Paul Khulekani Msweli who told her about the company. She was fast to admit that after reading her magazines she would throw them away not knowing that they can be so useful.
“I was never into handcraft. When I grew up I always wanted to be a nurse because my mother was a nurse”.
Jabu is now so zealous about handcraft. She says handcraft is the future of Swaziland. It empowers so many women and it will be given full acknowledgment in the near future. With the low employment rate in the kingdom she wishes that young women would venture into handcraft and forget about making themself up every morning and looking for office work. She now prefers getting her hands dirty than looking all enchanting for that job she will never have. She says moreover, seeing someone wearing a Quazi product on a magazine makes her proud and that she takes that page and shows it to the ladies at the workshop. With the ladies she also shares the email she receives from their customers appreciating their good work.
Every morning she welcomes the day with a bright smile and looks forward to new designs that the ladies come up with. When she is done with her administration work she goes down the steps to pick up and share ideas with the ladies. Every time she spots a nice neck piece or any design on TV she calls the ladies to make sure that they are watching and picking up new ideas.
“Quazi is now my second best home. We are one big loving family. If you do not know you would think I have been with them since they opened the workshop. The ladies are so welcoming. They have so much love,” she said with the widest smile ever.
