The days I produced leather goods

Very few people know this background! I was an artist since my days in primary school and as a small boy.  I learnt art and design in high school and later went for an undergraduate degree in design, majoring in industrial design. I loved the last bit…..we were only two students, the smallest class I have ever seen.  Our lecturers came from two prominent universities and therefore, one week, our class would be in one university, and then we go to the other one, especially for practical learning. In fact, once in a while, one lecturer used to ask us to accompany him to the bank to withdraw money so that we could have lunch together. You see, what a class!

One of my favorite course units was leatherwork. We learnt how to make sculpture using all types of materials, we learnt jewellery, plastics and glass works among many other stuff. I found leatherwork quite interesting and during my final product exhibition, I sold a lot of items and people ordered a lot more from me. It was quite an experience and this gave me something to start surviving on. I used to make leather wallets at night and sell them during the day. We did not have telephone communication as we know it today. We lived in the “P.O Box generation” and you could only use a public call box. Anytime I moved around town, I would ask people to buy my wallets and I always carried some good samples. If I got 5 new customers, then I would make 15 wallets. Every time I delivered a wallet to a customer, at least two of the colleagues liked it and also bought for themselves.

I would like to tell you something else. Just the other day, a former classmate called me to update me on what he is doing (including the number children he has). We talked about design industry, family life and finally he said to me….” I still have the wallet that you made for me. It is very old but I still have it”. Wah, that was something. I made that wallet exactly 22 years ago and he still has it up to this day. Mine was thrown away by my wife about 3 years ago because it was really old. It was hidden somewhere and I could not find it, I lost it that way. I did not kick her on the wrong spot though! There was something original about the wallets. I made two types of wallets, the plain and artistic. The artistic wallet had a nice decoration that was done using batik, a technique used in textiles. Let me tell you, the design was a real hit, the wallet was a great product.

Let me tell you something else, just one more time. I also designed and made leather backpacks. The design was inspired by a jet fighter’s seat, the one that injects out the pilot when things go haywire. As a small boy, I actually wanted to be a fighter pilot. As I grew up, I decided that was a small dream. It still excites me to this day, I can describe the features of the latest fighter jets and I also follow stories that involve the pilots, including rescue missions.

Now you understand the source of my inspiration for the backpack. I sold a few bags and I remember the price was KSH. 2,500 and only the guys who earned good money could afford. One of my customers was one guy called Bob Arina, the guy who conceived and tirelessly introduced premiere football league in Kenya.  He was quite a good friend, a real visionary and a mentor. I worked at his company while I was a student and for that reason I had more money than most of my classmates. He sponsored my final project in the university. I use to be the graphic designer for his company where I used to prepare illustrations and artworks for artists who used to carry out wall branding all over the country. We also printed T-shirts and sometimes we could print as many as 30,000 pieces in a week. Somehow, the artists used to earn more than most of us. Whenever they came from the field, they would be paid so much that the money could not fit in their pockets. The highest denomination at that time was a Ksh 200 note and so Ksh 50,000, the average earning per artist was a lot of such notes. Actually, the money could not fit in the ordinary pockets. On pay day, each person used to be dropped home because the cash was not easy to carry!

So, this is how my project sponsorship worked out! I requested to be allowed to go to do wall branding but the boss could not accept. It was quite boring sitting around the office, sometimes for two weeks without work. I explained that I needed more money but I was told…’just stay in the office”. Bob was a really good guy. He called me aside and asked me to state exactly why I needed to earn more money. I said I needed to fund my final project in university…..guess what! He asked me …’how much will you need? I told him I needed an extra Ksh 10,000 and he said…’I will give you Ksh 15,000….please stay here”. And I stayed! When there was no work, I would be asked to do some errands. One time, I was sent to collect a payment from one of the leading beer makers at that time. It was a real 2 million shilling cheque and I just put it in my shirt pocket. There was serious celebration in the office the moment I landed with big cheque; we actually closed early that day. Of course, I have never carried such a big cheque again to this day!

The life after university was quite different. When I went to ask my former boss for employment, I was surprised. Bob called me to his office and told me…’Julius, I will not give you a job. With what you know, I know you can start making products and making money. Just go and do that, I will not give you a job’. For days, I was very annoyed with Bob. My mind was just fixed and I was only looking for employment.  A time came and a company was helping to launch some products countywide. Bob asked me to develop display units and lighting systems. He also asked me to develop human traffic flows at all the indoor venues and also to roll out the project. That was one of my most exciting projects. We started at Nairobi the capital city, going to Kisumu, Eldoret, coast city of Mombasa and back to Nairobi with a big team of sales staff. For the first time, my pay could not fit in my pockets! This project demonstrated why I did not need regular employment but I could not see things in that manner as a young man. Bob’s company was called Outer limit and I designed the logo, all stationery and merchandise.

I went on to teach design at a college in Nairobi. Among other things, I helped students design products that were marketable. I still made leather wallets in the evenings and sold them during the day and weekends.  Infact,   I always had some in my backpack which I also designed and produced. My name almost became “leather man” and of course some people called me so.

As time went by, I joined a project that worked with people with disabilities. I was involved in product design, making prototypes, skills training, export marketing and I worked on joint projects with at least five foreign designers at any given time. Such designers were based in USA, UK, Italy, Germany, Sweden, Japan, Spain and other countries. We exported products to more than 22 export destinations and it was quite exciting. I designed jewelry, leather work, wood crafts and textiles. Once in a while, I would travel abroad to market products and collect market information for design work. I designed more leather products at that time than any other time in my life. My product design portfolio used to be over 1,000 items in a year. Digital photography started during my time and made it easier to present ideas and products to customers. I learnt digital photography. Someone had to come all the way from Netherlands to train us. Now, everything is digital. Recently, as I taught young graphic designers at a local university, I made sure that every student developed online portfolio to showcase their work.  Marketing my leather wallets would have been easier today during this digital era.