Like many young women her age, Lorna Maina’s discovery that she was pregnant was quite an unsettling experience. 22 years old, at the eclipse of campus, strict parents and with no income, she didn’t think she was ready. Two years down the lane now as the proud owner of a fulfilling business and mum to a beautiful baby girl, there is no doubting that it’s probably the best thing that ever happened to her. In fact, had it not been for Tori she wouldn’t have taken the bold step of harnessing the potentials of a weakness she has always had.
Lorna loves clothes; she lives for fashion- bold eccentric fashion. Her sister describes her as chick, African yet urban. But as an economist in a family that places a lot of emphasis on academic and professional success, she never really considered taking it up as a life pursuit. That’s until Tori came. First it was mother and her little baby stepping out in matching African print. Her friends saw and they were amazed. Then came questions on how they could get tailored pieces of their own. And since it was her elder sister doing most of the sewing as a hobby, she limited herself to delivering for only a few friends and family and for a small token, nothing serious. But then the orders kept coming, more and more as her friends and their little ones stepped out looking equally drape. Before she knew it, delivering to clients had become a fulltime occupation.
“That’s when my grades started to tumble. And since I was hardly available and I looked rich, everyone thought I had a sugar daddy. And coming after Tori my parents were particularly alarmed!”
She says with a chuckle
“That is when I thought about taking it up full time; complete with a business name and premises – my mother’s house”
She says amidst laughter- quite a sense of humor
“But would she support you considering her bias for “serious” careers?” I ask curiously.
“She had to, the money was good and we are Kikuyu (she shrugs her shoulders, smiles then winks cheekily), plus she would at least rest easy knowing that I wasn’t out trying to find Tori a brother!” we all burst out laughing.
“But I had to be independent of my sister, at least support her as she was doing the bulk of the work. I requested my parents to buy me a sewing machine so I would make little dresses and pillows for my baby. With time I realized I was becoming better and better at it with no formal training. I also later learnt how to make play mats, nursing pillows and stuffed animals from YouTube. I began selling to friends some of my products and they would love them. I would receive orders whenever there was an upcoming baby shower for gifts for the expected baby. I also opened up a Facebook page where I would display my designs for friends to see. Turns out people liked my designs and they would call to order and I would deliver to whenever they were in the country through courier services. That’s how TORI MAY KIDS started,” she says.
Asked about how many people she employs and how much she makes, Lorna emphasizes that her’is only a start up as the idea of children dressed in “vitenge,” “lesos” and other African print is one that is only beginning to take root in Kenya. Plus there is quite some competition from cheap exotic imports.
She therefore doesn’t have permanent employees. She does most of the sewing on her own- with the help of her sister – and only contracting extra hands when orders are overwhelming. She is a little coy with details about her earnings only saying that she forgot about her undergraduate specialty of mathematics and economics long time ago!
“TORI MAY KIDS provides unique African inspired baby items. I take time to make each item perfectly ensuring they are soft, comfortable, fashionable and baby proof. I prefer not to take in so many orders at a time in order to ensure I spend enough time on each and every product. Clients are also free to choose fabrics and colors for use in making their products. You see, my heart just melts at the sight of little babies all dressed up looking so adorable in clothes I made. Making beautiful things gives me so much peace of mind and that’s all I want in this life. Young people should consider taking advantage of their life passions and talents instead of waiting on white collar jobs that may not come, let alone be quite as fulfilling,” she says.
