“I learned from my mother how to sew when I was 13. At the time, I thought she was being like a cruel stepmother because lots of my friends were having fun, playing around, and there I was in one of her classes. Later, I took more sewing classes and then got an apprenticeship and trained with a friend of hers --- a designer --- who was a former lecturer at London College of Fashion. That’s how I learned most of the things I know. I took a pattern-cutting course with her and did really well. Later, I opened a shop in Uganda, which my mother still runs, and I have this shop [at 2537 Broad Avenue] as of eight weeks ago. The name of the business is Mbabazi House of Style, in honor of my mother: Mbabazi is her name. I design the prototypes, send them back to Uganda, and the clothing is made there. The fabric comes from all over Africa.
“After I grew up, I realized why my mother taught me to sew. I got it. She wasn’t actually being cruel to me. She was sharing a skill that has employed most of my siblings and a lot of people in my community. To this day, she still trains girls and women --- and some men too --- because in Uganda, everyone needs a skill to survive.”
“After I grew up, I realized why my mother taught me to sew. I got it. She wasn’t actually being cruel to me. She was sharing a skill that has employed most of my siblings and a lot of people in my community. To this day, she still trains girls and women --- and some men too --- because in Uganda, everyone needs a skill to survive.”
Video below from SCRUMPTIOUS PRODUCTIONS:
Grace Byeitima, Mbabazi House of Style, 2537 Broad Avenue
UPDATE & NEW ADDRESS, OCTOBER 2017
UPDATE: Memphis is bursting at the seams with creative people who are making a difference not only here but all over the world. Today I had the opportunity to visit again with Grace Byeitima, owner of Mbabazi House of Style (https://www.facebook.com/Mbabazistyles/) at 2553 Broad Avenue! She's expanded her shop and will have a grand reopening this Saturday (Oct. 14) from 12-6pm, with Ugandan music, Ugandan food, and a jewelry-making demonstration by Luz Merissa Vargas. Grace creates patterns (prototypes) and then employs women back in her home country to make the dresses, skirts, purses, backpacks and other items from beautiful African fabrics. Her new space will allow her to teach sewing classes in Memphis as well, empowering not only refugee women but anyone who is interested. As she states so well: "Once you have a skill, you don't stay hungry. You can always figure something out."
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