In May this year Confined[]Space visited Clerkenwell Design Week, where we had the good fortune of meeting ethical design brand Shake-the-Dust’s Director Kathy Shenoy and seeing all her innovative offerings first hand. This month we’ve caught up with Kathy to find out more about the brand and her inspirations.
CS: It was really great to meet you at this year’s Clerkenwell Design Week. Could you please tell us about your story so far?
KS: I’ve been living and working in a remote valley in Swaziland, (Southern Africa) for the last few years and working with a number of fair trade organisations and other creative projects. I met so many people, from rural artisans to top international designers and felt that there is a real need to connect and support all these talented people in some way. When I moved back to the UK I realised how many young creative people here are looking for opportunities to give them acknowledgement and a big break. Shake the Dust was born out of this need to connect people globally.
CS: Where does the name ‘Shake-the Dust’ come from?
KS: Its one of my favourite poems by ‘slam’ poet Anis Mojgani. It’s really about empowerment and that’s what Shake the Dust stands for.
CS: When did you start trading?
KS: November 2012
CS: What do you think are the most important issues when considering ethical design?
KS: Transparency is the only way I think you can truly communicate your ethical values, not through specific endorsements. My business isn’t about ethics as a brand tactic, for me there would be no other way of running a business and people would see through you if it is all a gimmick. I take pride in knowing personally and telling the story all of my producer partners and their artisans.
CS: What inspired you to start this venture?
KS: I think my experience early on in my career as a young creative has been a driving force in wanting to help support emerging talent here, and my African adventure led me to the people and organisations that would complete the picture. When I moved back here, it suddenly all seemed obvious to me what I could be doing to connect them.
CS: Who do you admire most in the world of ethical design?
KS: I really liked the project NODE did recently with the Design Museum- the DIY rugs are a great way of connecting design enthusiasts with the story and the makers. Livia’s Firth Green Carpet Challenge is also giving a wonderful platform for ethical thinking.
CS: Please can you take us back to the three years you spent living and working with socially responsible businesses in Southern Africa. Can you tell us about your experiences there?
KS: I’ve been living in the Kingdom of Swaziland for the last few years, initially working as a product designer for a Fair Trade craft and design business and then coordinating an international arts festival called Bushfire.
Swaziland has one of the lowest life expectancies in the world, a statistic massively influenced by the HIV epidemic, and which affects almost half the population. It was a life changing experience living there in many ways, but not because of those negative aspects. I became involved in some of the most incredibly positive creative projects and organisations and a 6 month contract very easily turned into nearly 3 years! What I achieved and the inspiring people I met gave me a lot of confidence to branch out on my own over here.
CS: What were your original intentions when starting this venture and have they changed along your journey?
KS: Developing a global community of designers and artisans working together remains the vision, but as a new start-up there are limits to what can be achieved and there are now planned phases to help us get there. In an ideal world I would be able to do a lot more and much quickly but sometimes the process leads to more fruitful outcomes so I’m confident about the future.
CS: Were you pleased with the response you received from your showcase at Clerkenwell Design Week?
KS: I was really surprised at how much people loved our stand! I think people found the story refreshing and loved the playfulness of the products. It was the first major showcase I’ve done and it’s an encouraging start.
CS: How do you select the designers and ethical producers you work with?
KS: At the moment I’m working mainly with producers I’ve worked and have built up a good relationship with in Southern Africa. It’s important to me that I keep it manageable so that I give them focus whilst the business is growing. I also understand all of their materials, capacity and limitations, which is an important part of the collaborative process. In terms of UK designers I am on the look out for new talent all the time and go to a lot of graduate shows. I met Andrew Berwick, a young illustrator at One Year On last year.
CS: Do the collections produced take influence from traditional techniques?
KS: Yes, most of the artisan business use local crafts and techniques such as grass weaving and batik wax resist for example. An important part of our mission is to keep those traditional hand-made processes alive but appropriate the designs for contemporary markets so that they grow their customer base and we can increase the artisans’ income.
CS: How do you see your business developing in the future?
KS: I want to be able to start more developmental projects soon and there are lots of collaborative projects planned. The vision is to create an empowered global community of both emerging creative talent in the UK and producer partners across the globe. The future for Shake the Dust also goes beyond product design, and my background running festivals might be a big influence at some point!
CS: Do you think consumers are considering social responsibly and ethically sourced design more now?
KS: I definitely think so, and I hope recent events will be the start of a big shift in laws around big brands and the responsibility they take for their supply chains. Consumers have the power to apply that pressure but as ever it comes down a lot to what people can afford.
CS: What new designers will you be working with?
KS: Textile designer Kangan Arora has just launched on the website and is working on a new collaboration with a project in South Africa. We’ll be unveiling other new partners over the summer.
CS: Can you tell us about the new range of baskets and home-ware from Swaziland-based producer Gone Rural that were displayed at Habitat’s Platform Gallery?
KS: Gone Rural collaborates with over 750 weavers in rural areas of Swaziland and provides it’s women with a sustainable, independent income. They launched their debut collection ‘The Song of the Weaver’ at Habitat’s Platform Gallery earlier this year.
Headed by Gone Rural’s Creative Director and Central Saint Martin graduate Philippa Thorne, a series of ‘biography baskets’ were created that tell the stories of three generations of weavers from one family, crafted from their life stories. These beautifully crafted vessels have integrated traditional techniques which have been adapted and the materials have been collected, re-cycled and resourcefully used.
Gone Rural’s signature material is the lutindzi grass indigenous to the Swazi mountains. This is sustainably harvested above the root to ensure regrowth, coloured with eco dyes and mixed with other indigenous grasses and recycled materials to produce breathtaking products.
Shake the Dust has since launched a range of these vessels online and we will be showcasing them at our pop-up shop this summer on the Kings Road.
CS: What is your most important innovation so far?
KS: The first collaborative project launched last month at Clerkenwell which is a collection of notebooks illustrated by 3 young British graduates and produced by paper artisans Haathi Chaap in India from elephant dung paper!
CS: What can others learn from you?
KS: I hope that Shake the Dust will inspire other initiatives and new businesses that can help to prove that innovation, ethics and profitability don’t have to be mutually exclusive.
