Having met during an afro dance workshop in Amsterdam a few years ago, our founders Olivia Castermans & Shary Olympio took the liberty to grace us with their own love story and if we knew they had such a nod-header of a story, we would have covered this article much sooner.
Building this brand derived from many ideas, over a cocktail or two of course, and after several random ones like selling crêpes on an electric bike in Amsterdam, the idea of designing socks came to life. Creating a brand that mixed European and African cultures became more obvious after they went to the African Fashion Week in Amsterdam. “We both have African roots and are passionate about African cultures (music, dance, art), so the idea of building an afro-inspired brand came up naturally. We wanted to create a brand that celebrates the African continent and its cultures, creating designs inspired by what we grew up with and saw around us during our childhood: the wax fabrics and the traditional African fabrics. We love those prints. We also love streetwear, and that’s why we’ve added an urban touch to each of our designs.”
When we asked them why socks, they mentioned that they noticed a gap in the European market for socks with an afro design that are sustainably made, because they actually care about the impact made towards the environment. Knitted socks with rich patterns like Olisha Socks are not easy to make. “We always saw ready-to-wear, bags, accessories made with wax fabrics, but no socks.”
But like every small business, it comes with its own challenges and big wins. Their biggest challenge was finding a European-based knitting partner that was compliant with human and sustainability standards & another has been harvesting a strong online presence and making noise loud enough to cut through that of other small to middle-sized brands. They know how consistency in communicating their brand message will reap good results soon and are hopeful that their efforts are not going in vain. Nonetheless, every challenge presents a win and, in this case, partnering with concept stores in different cities has been a slam dunk. A year from now, they would like these socks distributed in all major European cities. Cheers to that!
Looking back to when they started this brand, they share the same feelings about it being worth it. Olivia further stated, “We have learned everything from scratch and the entrepreneurial journey is not easy for sure, it’s a real roller coaster, but it’s worth it when you see the results from where you started. In the beginning, we were meeting a lot during the week and on some weekends to work, but we think we have managed the work and personal life balance. We didn’t want this project to take over our personal life. With Shary becoming a mum, this balance became even more important, and I think our growth takes the time needed and we wouldn’t like to change it.”
Before wrapping up our interview, we had to know our founders a bit more personally, from each other’s point of view. Olivia describes Shary as the calmest and resonates more between themselves. She furthermore states that she is more down to earth which is an important quality to not get lost in their ideas, and is pretty straightforward, which is also a good quality when talking to collaborators or partners.
For Shary, she feels Olivia has this boiling energy that can move mountains. She always keeps up with new trends, be it in music or fashion, and this is a major asset for the brand to stay relevant. “She is passionate about what we do and the reasons why we are doing it.” With the knowledge they have now, they would advise themselves from a year ago to take more time to brainstorm, analyze, take their time when completing tasks to do them more efficiently and, to ask for more advice from people who have created a brand in the same industry.
We love this love story & if you did too, we’d love to hear from you. Leave your comments about this article below and follow us on our social media platforms.
*Written by Babongile Mawela, a team member because we are not about to write about us 🙂
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