Attire Accessories - Mar/Apr 2018 (Issue 69)

ATTIRE 41 PROFILE MWA helps Maasai women living in remote areas of Northern Tanzania to gain access to income.The organisation has a retail shop, work shop and office in Arusha town, which helps with retail sales and also increases visibility of the project. How has the product offering changed over the years and how would you describe your current collection? It is our philosophy to help local communities to improve their life by utilising their own existing skills rather than reinventing the wheel. Each piece of jewellery is a combination of traditional materials and techniques combined with innovative design. Each collection is different and normally inspired by some theme, chosen by Francesca, or new ideas from the designers.The fact that it is an international group of people working on the collections makes it very different every time. How often do you launch new lines and what are your best-selling designs? Tell me about your recent campaigns . At the beginning, we introduced a new collection every year. More recently, we launch a new collection bi-annually. Launching a new collection can be costly with photoshoots, catalogues and various marketing aspects including materials. So to minimise costs, we launch on a bi-annual basis, for now. Furthermore, as we are an international brand selling in the USA, Italy, Australia, Germany and now in the UK, our best sellers vary according to the regions, as interestingly each region adopts its own tastes, colours and style therefore determining its ‘best-seller’. That said, our definite best-sellers in general are; The Chanel Maasai Necklace, The Surutia neckace and The Esos necklace, which now forms part of our classic collections and carried through. What trade shows have MWA featured to date? MWA participated in several local and international trade fairs; TED Global in 2017 in Tanzania, as one of the very few exhibitors, L’artigianato in Fiera Milan, NY NOW New York USA, and several others in Canada.There are also plans to exhibit at either Top Drawer, Pulse or Pure in the UK in 2018 and other fairs in Europe. When was the website launched and how does it support the business? The first website was launched in 2010 and has since represented a very useful platform for business and visibility. What have been the key milestones in the business? Key milestones of MWA’s success are originality of the products and designs, a ➨