After an unplanned swim in the gulf, our maasai scarf came in handy. My daughter was watching the water from the balcony very afraid. My husband and I took her to the shore to show her there is nothing to be afraid of. She loved playing in the water and had a great time. With the water colder that expected and her clothes all wet, my scarf turned into a fast absorbing towel and a blanket to keep her warm.

The maasai scarf is the official attire of the tribe. It’s acrylic fiber is designed to be anything you want it to be.

We are having a great time in Galveston. We drove 4 hours to get here. Tomorrow we get on the ship! Follow along on our Facebook and Instagram!

As always,

Anne Drane.

Samples of our 2019 collection are here! Yay! My partner Kate and I spent countless agonizing hours making sure everything was exactly as we envisioned it. The sizes perfect, high quality beads, modern designs that hold the authenticity of the tribal techniques, among others.

The package from Kenya to Austin, TX took 3 weeks to arrive. We had ordered 3 to 7 days air delivery with tracking. We could not track the package and had no idea if it would ever get here.

Anyone that depends on shipping companies from developing countries knows all too well that there is no recourse if anything goes wrong. Policies are not implemented or enforced due to mind boggling levels of corruption.

I almost gave up but to my surprise, Postal Kenya is very responsive to messages. They tracked my package to Germany still on transit a week ago. Yesterday [sigh of relief] I got it! Thank you Postal Kenya!!!

We will be on tour starting this Friday exploring Sawa Sawa Collection and getting to know our founder, Anne better. The package arrived just on time. Thank God.

Join us on tour starting November 30 to December 9. Follow on Facebook and Instagram @sawasawausa

Regards,

Anne Drane.

We are now accepting payment through Cash App. Due to popular demand. Our first priority is our customer. We are happy to serve you.

Anne Drane.

We try to stay up to date with all modes of payment

I participated in my first community event a while back and I learnt a lot. Here are a few lessons. Lets learn from my experience.

1. Be prepared! I was a girl guide back in primary school in Kenya (equivalent to girl scouts) That was our Motto. I should have practiced setting up my display and figured out what works and what doesn’t and maximized my space before hand.

Today my daughter and I spent the day setting up the tent, table, jewelry display (recycled fire place screen) looks awesome and holds a lot of stuff! I now feel more confident. I got this!

2. Payment!

Make sure you can swipe credit and debit cards. I did not have my square on the day. A few people paid through PayPal. Have some change on you too. Be sure to accomodate all sorts of payments. Even payment apps. Stay upto date on the new money transfer methods.

3. Have some business cards that are colorful and hold attention. I had some diy cards (I’m thrifty) but everyone had nicer cards. I learnt I should do better.

4. A banner or poster.

Something, anything that attempts to explain what you do before you have to. I had some posters that my hubby made before I rebranded from Anne Drane Collection to Sawa Sawa Collection. Gotta do better!

5. Have no expectations!

It’s your first time! Take it easy on yourself. You are out there selling your brand. Relax, enjoy, have fun, learn. Talk to the experienced vendors. They gave me a lot of good pointers.

You are already doing awesome being out there chasing your dreams and meeting your goals. You can only grow from here. Keep on keeping on!

Thats it for now! The second event is coming up soon. Will let y’all know how it goes!

As always,

Anne Drane.

Today was my very first vending event! So exciting! Selling online is warm and cozy but going out to the community and introducing our worthy work to neighbors and other entrepreneurs is interesting and exciting.

It was Thursday, the event was previously meant to be last weekend but we got rained out. It seemed warm and nice out but quickly got very cold! Thank God we have our Maasai scarves, they kept me warm.

There wasn’t enough human traffic (It was very cold and a week day) but I made $20. Yay!

I learnt a lot today, great way to dive into vending. Will definitely file this day as part of the growth process and try again next weekend!

Thanks to the people at Texas Street Grill in Lakeway, TX for hosting the event and Lakeway Market days for organizing it.

See y’all next weekend at the Family Beer Company in Dripping Springs!

Any advice for this newbie? Comment below, send a DM on Facebook or Instagram.

As always,

Anne Drane.

Stay warm.

Following in our Gladiatrix series. We honor phenomenon Women in recent history that inspire the new generation of women. This week we honor Winnie Mandela. She was a South African anti-apartheid activist and politician. She was also a wife and a mother, lovingly known as the mother of the nation. She was brave, bold and definitely extra ordinary. The Winnie Gladiatrix Sandal is black and white to symbolize her fight against apartheid. She inspires women across the globe fighting for human rights and a better way of life for humanity.

Any other women who deserve recognition? Write to us, comment below, follow us on Facebook and Instagram @sawasawausa. We would love to continue the conversation.

As always, I appreciate you stopping by.

Anne.

Following in our Gladiatrix series. We honor Dr Claire Karekezi. She is the first and only female neurosurgeon in Rwanda. She escaped genocide as a child, trained in Toronto and chose to go back home and be of use to her people. That inspires me as a Kenyan in the diaspora. Time and time again I wonder if I will ever go back home. I want to raise my daughter in the land of the free and give her every opportunity to be something great. I also want to give back to my home country. My business does that – for now. There is always a pull between the land that gave you roots and the land that gave you wings. Doctor Claire is an inspiration to girls in Science and Medicine and to all women with big dreams. Thank you for making a path! Thank you for being brave, bold and fierce. Thank you for dreaming big then working to fulfil it. Thank you for being a role model. True Gladiatrix!

Anne Drane.

Our Gladiatrix series honors inspirational, bold and brave African women in recent history.

Our third inspiration of the series comes from the first female head of state in Africa. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf was the president of Liberia and one of the few female heads of state in the world. She inspires young women who aspire to join the complex male dominated world of politics and Government. She is highly educated and achieved and rose above many challenges to become the president of liberia. She is still fighting for the rights of the West African nation. Read more on her Wikipedia here

We chose to honor her legacy with the blue sandal because Liberia has a beautiful coast.

We have honored Wangari Maathai, a nobel laureate environmentalist and Tecla Sang, an Olympic Champion.

We would like to hear more about women who inspire you. Let us know on our blog, Facebook or Instagram @sawasawausa

Regards,

Anne Drane.

It’s Fall! What are your plans this season?

It’s finally Fall in Texas which means we get a break from the scorching summer heat, yay. It’s time to take out some shorts and sandals and go outside. We have a wonderful selection of beautiful fall gladiator sandals. They come in 4 different colors. Handmade in Kenya of high-quality leather and a flexible rubber sole using an age-old tribal technique. They are decorated with Maasai beads hand stitched into leather in a gladiator design for our Gladiatrix Collection made for the strong, bold woman.

This fall, my number 1 list item is to finally go to the Hamilton pool preserve. It is about a 5-minute drive from my house but for some reason, we have never been to this gorgeous natural wonder despite living here for the last 3 years. I look forward to sharing the experience with my hubby and daughter. What is on your list this Fall? Any awesome places in Austin TX or Dripping Springs TX to visit with an overactive 19-month-old daughter?

As always, follow our blog, Facebook, Instagram @sawasawausa

Love to all, have a great season.

Anne Drane.