MY HUSTLE: I’m a jack of all trades and master of one

Maryne Keseri says she "sells anything she can sell' but fashion is the business she loves and has mastered. PHOTO| BENJAMIN OPIYO

What you need to know:

  • It started in 2015 when I was only 19 years old.
  • I started wearing deras and everyone liked it but they couldn’t buy the dresses because one had to go all the way to Mombasa to source the traditional dresses that has now become common.
  • Do you have feedback on this story? E-mail: [email protected]

Maryne Keseri is a jack of all trades and master of one: fashion. The 22-year-old fashion designer and stylist who “sells all she can sell” won the House of Legacy Female designer of the year award.

 “I am really into designing and styling ladies wear. I also design African handbags,” she says in a bubbly tone as we settle for the interview. She is wearing one of her elegant designs, a pink head wrap, flowing green dress with African detail and her signature African handbag.

“I also sell my ideas to other people because I can’t do the knitting and tailor work.”

Her business acumen doesn’t stop there. Maryne sells Ankara fabric, men’s shoes, dera dresses (a Somali cultural dress that was adopted by the Kenyan Swahili community) and mabuyu, a type of candy made from the seeds of the Baobab tree fruit.

“You seem to be selling everything, what would you say is your major product or service?” I ask.

JANE OF ALL TRADES?

“Fashion designing and styling, I design fashion items, such as head wraps and dera dresses,” she quickly defends her jack-of-all-trades nature.

Her master is women's fashion. She is currently working on a wedding project due in December which  this entails designing garments for the bridesmaids and grooms and styling them too.

“The income from my side businesses, such as, mabuyu, is for supporting myself. Selling mabuyu is profitable, I use the proceeds for my transport and food hence I don’t over rely on my fashion business.”

Where did it all start?

“It started in 2015 when I was only 19 years old. I started wearing deras and everyone liked it but they couldn’t buy the dresses because one had to go all the way to Mombasa to source the traditional dresses that has now become common.”

Maryne Keseri says she "sells anything she can sell' but fashion is the business she loves and has mastered. PHOTO| BENJAMIN OPIYO

This was a business opportunity and she jumped right in. Her plan was to travel to Mombasa and buy the dresses then sell them to her customers in Nairobi at a slightly higher price, but she had no money.

“In this world, no one wants the best for you though there a few people who mean well. I had this burning idea so I approached a family friend who lent me Sh5000.” “There are incredible humans out here, I had never went to Mombasa neither did I know anyone from there but, miraculously, I met a lady who guided me and ensured I got the fashion items from Marikiti.”

The business was an instant success.

“I was selling the dresses at Sh500 yet I bought them at Sh200.That's how my business started.”

She kept restocking her dresses.

“I brought in quality deras with unique patterns,” she says. Acknowledging this grew her customer base. Being the designer she is, Maryne started designing the dresses by adding a bit of African detail into the mix. This was because deras had become common and she wanted hers to stand out.

THE BIG BREAK

She got fully into fashion when Fredrick Kyule of House of Legacy saw her fashion pieces on Instagram and called her to dress his models.

“I have a passion for African style. African (culture) is rare and beautiful, it’s not found anywhere and I try to embrace our culture by making African themed head wraps, handbags and dresses,” she says enthusiastically. Her point is that westerners are embracing African attire and Ankara fabrics so Africans should learn to embrace their own before aping the West.

On an average month, she earns Sh35,000 from selling her fashion ideas, self-designed dresses, head wraps and handbags. She charges Sh 1000 to dress models with her head wraps for photo shoots and Sh3000 for a handbag piece. For dera dresses, a price is given upon inquiry.

Like any other business, she has experienced challenges.

“There was a time business people in Eastleigh joined in the dera wave and started making cheaper and poorer quality deras. That hurt my business,” she says, acknowledging every fashion creative's nightmare. Getting capital for her business was a mirage.

“There are low seasons in business, sometimes things don’t sell,” she says of external factors that she, as a business woman, cannot control.

Models displaying some of Maryne Keseri's headwraps. Maryne says she "sells anything she can sell' but fashion is the business she loves and has mastered. PHOTO| COURTESY

But life has never been a bed of roses for her. Maryne grew up in Nakuru, a first born in a family of five. Her parents had financial difficulties until Arap Moi's Children’s home came to their rescue. The home sponsored her education up to Diploma level. She completed her Diploma in Journalism course in 2016 before enrolling for a degree. She has nice words for the Children’s home:

“I thank God from them, and I want to make them proud. I didn’t give up after they stopped sponsorship, I decided to fend for myself and that has worked because I can’t remember the last time I asked for money from my parents.”

THE ONLY WAY IS UP

Indeed she is shaking off the stereotype that students must rely on their parents.

“I pay for my school fees and upkeep. I think am straining but I can manage,” she reveals. She also pays school fees for her siblings. Recently, her mom fell ill, thanks to the money she gets from her business she managed to offer her better health care services through established hospitals.

Maryne doesn’t want to settle for less.

 “I want to have my own fashion brand, full with a photography house, a clothing line and a designer studio.”

She wants to give back to Arap Moi's Children’s home by sponsoring kids.

Maryne Keseri is a jack of all trades and master of one: fashion. PHOTO| COURTESY

“I intend to take a fashion course after completing my Journalism degree. This is just a stepping stone. I hate being limited to one thing so I’m going to be a make-up artist too,” she says.

She has never stepped into fashion school but is learning the ropes in that field. How?

“It’s just in me. It just came, I started doing head wraps when I was in class eight. When you are a designer, ideas just pop up.”

Maryne doesn’t mince his words.

“I hate working under supervision and that’s why I’m into business. I am my own boss.”

Her social media pages are; Facebook-Queens of Headwrap
Instagram-Keseri Headwraps

Do you have feedback on this story? E-mail: [email protected]