{"id":625,"date":"2018-05-30T21:28:42","date_gmt":"2018-05-30T21:28:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adiree.com\/magazine\/?p=625"},"modified":"2018-06-05T00:44:32","modified_gmt":"2018-06-05T00:44:32","slug":"lifting-luxury-with-made-in-africa-label-sareptha-rose","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adiree.com\/magazine\/lifting-luxury-with-made-in-africa-label-sareptha-rose\/","title":{"rendered":"Lifting Luxury With Made In Africa Label Sareptha Rose"},"content":{"rendered":"
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To date, Robin Sirleaf continues to engage customers in the US and internationally through fairs, pop up shops, and\u00a0 digital<\/span>\u00a0platforms like Adiree.com<\/em>\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>our contemporary cross cultural fashion and lifestyle\u00a0<\/u>eCommerce platform<\/u><\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

On a Friday evening, after a long day of legal work at the office, you can find 26-year-old LLM graduate Robin Sirleaf and founder of Sarep Rose<\/a>, is shuffling through her list of self-imposed homework assignments. With huge spectacles, smeared red lips\u2014 compliments of numerous sips of coffee – and an afro softly twisted into a manageable bun with the help of the<\/span>\u00a0Shea Moisture leave-in conditioner<\/u><\/a><\/strong>, she ponders how to make a positive social and economic impact on her home country, Liberia. And in true entrepreneurial spirit, how to make a difference.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

She mumbles softly to herself, purse\u2026purse.<\/em> That\u2019s it! Sirleaf had concluded that her mission to bring Liberia\u2019s craftsmanship to the global stage would be carried on the arms of people. From sourcing leather across Mali and Guinea, both rich in traditional cattle-herding communities, and collaborating with bag makers and artisans, Sirleaf began manufacturing bags.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Her brand,<\/span>\u00a0Sareptha Rose<\/strong>\u00a0<\/a>, is where authentic craftsmanship and attention-grabbing contemporary style meet. Made in Africa, these vintage-style leather handbags and wallets are carefully stitched, dyed, and hand-pressed. Each product is a unique piece, and each of these bags hails from artisans belonging to one of the world’s oldest tribes, famous for its rich cattle-herding traditions and leather-working skills.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sirleaf, after settling in at her<\/span>\u00a0Soho pop-up shop in New York<\/u><\/a>,<\/strong> wearing a loose fitting tunic, nods at her iPad as she shows videos of artisans proudly engrossed in the development, research, and design stages of each product. \u201c You know this isn’t charity, it’s just fair business,\u201d Sirleaf states. \u201cOur bag designers are business people, self-taught in their talent and their desire to provide for their families. By doing business with us, you enable them to not just survive, but to live with dignity.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

With that, Sirleaf continues to re-arrange items on her table positioning bags at the right angles, basking in the perfect lighting. At that moment clients begin to walk by, she smiles, welcoming them with hand gestures.<\/span><\/p>\n

You know this isn\u2019t charity, it\u2019s just fair business. –\u00a0Robin Sirleaf<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Sirleaf has reason to be passionate and optimistic about her budding leather goods company\u2014 the leather goods manufacturing industry in the US is going through a transformation of sorts. Although attempts to reshore manufacturing in the USA are being made with improving results, the industry is still being crippled by an uncertain economic atmosphere and complex exchange rate dynamics. Competition from inexpensive Chinese imports and high-quality European brands have also kept the industry from bouncing back from its doldrums. Much of the industry\u2019s operations have moved to more competitively-priced countries. Countries like Liberia, have the opportunity to leverage this trend. Known as the “Boss Lady”\u2014a common vernacular nickname referencing a woman\u2019s passion and entrepreneurial spirit \u2014 Sirleaf represents a shining light for the future of Made in Africa brands.<\/span><\/p>\n

Other signs of international interest in Africa\u2019s propensity for manufacturing and producing leather goods also bodes well for Sirleaf. According to the Daily Mail, the UK has funded northern Nigerian tanneries who supply leather goods to fashion giants like Ralph Lauren and Louis Vuitton. The article further states that the funding was used to improve ethical standards and processes in local leather production.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Sareptha Rose may be Africa’s budding leather goods brand, but is in ‘good’ company. In Nigeria for example,\u00a0<\/strong><\/span>Zashadu<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>is a leading British\/Nigerian sustainable luxury brand that specializes in hand-crafted leather pieces; each is created at a workplace in Lagos, Nigeria, using traditional techniques passed down through generations by communities of local artisans. The founder, Nigerian entrepreneur Zainab Ashadu, sells her luxury handbags locally and internationally on the company website. Product prices range from \u00a3320 (US$524) for a box clutch bag while high-price point items (for example\u00a0The Justice Python<\/em>\u00a0collection) sell at \u00a31,100 ($1,800) a piece.<\/span><\/p>\n

Should African countries like Liberia and its neighbors attract national government attention in the form of incentives and policies (for manufacturing and producing finished leather goods), Ashadu and Sirleaf\u2019s preparations and the timely launch of their budding companies could meet the right opportunity.<\/span><\/p>\n

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To date, Robin Sirleaf continues to engage customers in the US and internationally through fairs, pop up shops, and\u00a0 digital\u00a0platforms like Adiree.com\u00a0\u00a0our contemporary cross cultural fashion and lifestyle\u00a0eCommerce platform. On a Friday evening, after a long day of legal work at the office, you can find 26-year-old LLM graduate Robin Sirleaf and founder of Sarep…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14090,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[19,16],"tags":[141,30,143,118],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adiree.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/625"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adiree.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adiree.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adiree.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adiree.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=625"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/adiree.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/625\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":704,"href":"https:\/\/adiree.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/625\/revisions\/704"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adiree.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14090"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adiree.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=625"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adiree.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=625"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adiree.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=625"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}