One To Watch- Virginia Afrika Abimanya

This week i am doing the first feature of the much anticipated ( at least by me)One To Watch series .In this series i will bring you inspiring young people from around the world that i think you guys should watch out for . These are young people chasing their dreams, trying to make in business, careers and basically life. We all need a little inspiration from time to time and this will be my way of bringing it to you.

Our very first OTW is the lovely Ginny from Uganda.

How would you describe yourself?

Adventurous, creative,loving and lovable,simple girl who loves God.

What do you do?

I design and make jewellery under the label ZEKI jewelery. I have been doing this for almost a year now.

Did you always know you want to do this?

No i did not My dream careers changed as i grew up. At first I always wanted to be an air hostess ,then a gynecologist, then an antiques shop owner and then some how i ended up doing this. I could say this came to me but i guess i always enjoyed creating things from scrap as a child. While shopping one day i saw a cute phone accessory and i thought to myself i could make that and even better and so with a challenge in mind i shopped around for material , i made a few of those and started selling them. I advanced from that to jewelery and that was the beginning.

Who is your ideal client?

Any person who loves unique things, is not afraid to be stylish and express their taste through jewellery. I get orders from individuals, young and old professionals and have also made jewelery for an African stage production. I design Jewelery for particular occasions and to suit individual style.

What is your style and does that reflect in your work?

My style is laid back and unique but also vintage and classic and allot of that goes into my work but i also like to play around with different things. Materials that would not ordinarily be used for adornment, paper clips, safety pins and the like.

What materials do you use for your pieces/
I love to work with different colored beads. I like to experiment with allot of different unusual materials to create classy and wearable pieces.

Any challenges?
Well when i started out i was mostly selling to family and friends who as we all know tend to have the "not pay in time" syndrome or non at all so that was a challenge but i learnt to be forward with them and got over that. Of course the usual hardships of starting any business like lack of market and enough capital were a challenge but it gets better with time.

What are your  inspirations?

My mother who is most hardworking person i know and Condolezza rice. I look up to women of strong character who go beyond the limits society sets for them.

ZEKI jewelery in 5 years ?

 Wow ..I would love for ZEKI to be a household name with stores in all the major cities in the world. Yes i know I'm a big dreamer.

Any wise words from a not so old woman

YES. To anyone who wants to start a business or anything really .do not wait for a lot of money, start with what you have, i started with 2000 Ush(1$) and i have grown from there to earning a basic income from my work. Also be as patient as possible ,even though it takes a while you will eventually make it.

It was a pleasure catching up with this lovely girl. I have known her for a few years and completely supported her at the conception of this idea and I'm definitely a fan of her work. Thank you Ginny and you are definitely One To Watch.

Check out her Zeki's face book page and make your orders  here