Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Joyce Akrasi. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Joyce, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What did your parents do right and how has that impacted you in your life and career?

My parents especially my mother has always been encouraging of economic independence.

I have always loved being creative and wanted to start something that would give me an outlet for that. During lockdown I became fascinated by the making of fabric flowers and headbands! I wanted to decorate my locs without using metal cuffs that can thin my lovely locs.

I have always been interested in kanzashi and the beautiful flower details often found on vintage Ghanain outfits for women. My mother is a dressmaker so it’s in the blood and as a child I was always impressed by her economic independence through the creative process of dressmaking. The customer would sometimes come to our house with just an idea not even a sketch and mummy had a way of intuitively understanding not only what they wanted but the style that would suit them. She has a great eye!

After discussion she would sketch out an idea and from that make a pattern from which to design the outfit. I use that same principal in my creative process. Break it down into portions so it doesn’t seem such a mammoth task.

My hair grew a lot during lockdown and having locs I wanted colourful and convenient hair accessories that celebrate my story.

Akrasi is a zero waste design boutique. I source distinctive and colourful textiles from offcuts, making most of our pieces one of kind. My items are made using a combination of hand stitching, sewing machine and I’ve been influenced by the Japanese ‘kanzashi’ style to create the cloth flowers.

Growing up, my mother was a dress maker producing bespoke traditional Ghanaian costumes for special occasions. I was always fascinated by the tools of the trade, the cutting board, beautiful wax print fabrics that dance with colour and the magical item that would one day be mine…. The Singer sewing machine. The traditional costumes of Ghana are not just beautiful. Ghana’s ancient heritage and culture influence the designs, fabrics, intricate patterns and have been used by Ghanaians for centuries as they carry the old knowledge and tradition.

I enjoy using the Singer machine not only because quality lasts, but also its historical significance. In the 30’s when Singer came out as the first professional sewing machine available to the masses, it encouraged independent machinists to experiment with designs and created a source of independence for women. Years later my Singer sewing machine works to create unique contemporary accessories.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I would assist mummy for pocket money as a child and picked up techniques.

I am self taught and love learning new ways to express my style but I am also concerned by the amount of waste associated with fast fashion so didn’t want to add to it. So I have taken the concept of zero waste very literally!

The first few headbands I made were wire twist so the owner can style it as they wish but I didn’t want to waste the left over fabric so I used it to make hair clips with african wax detail and flowers. Even now I’m still coming up with ideas for using what remains like the lace locks to funkify your trainers. No one else was doing that and people loved it. People I don’t know, saw the products on etsy and went to town on my shop. This is brilliant I thought and continued.

Every scrap of fabric is used. The threads and tiny bits of fabric go into tiny glass vials which make the alchemy mashup earrings that are now one of my best sellers! What sets me apart is the notion that zero waste allows me to be more creative and come up with products you won’t find anywhere else and I love the excitement I see in people when they not only get where I’m coming from but also want to support it. At the same time I have a very unique approach to celebrating my dual identity. For instance everyone knows of an English rose but I put a twist to it by using gorgeous kente and ankara prints.

I also love a bargain (who doesn’t?) So the fact that they can be used as a hair clip or brooch is a no brainer! This is the same concept for my reversible pocket squares with matching cufflinks, adding an African twist to western style.

How’d you think through whether to sell directly on your own site or through a platform like Amazon, Etsy, Cratejoy, etc.

I started on etsy because there is a ready made market place waiting for you and its a great way to learn the ropes. They have fantastic tools to help you learn more about how SEO works for instance and I like the idea of a community you can join and be part of. It’s easy to feel a little isolated when you first start your own business, putting in the hours and realising all aspects are relaint on you to figure out, there are so many bumps along the way. Knowing there are other makers also going through it really helps.

For me I had never worked in retail before apart from the one Xmas I worked in Hamleys in the 90s and tried to sell a Manchester City figurine set to a Manchester United fan! 😅

I come from a documentary film making background and love learning people’s life stories, so to be honest that’s how I got into custom orders. Chatting to my customers about their style and how they choose to express themselves is a fun aspect of my business that is steadily growing and I hadn’t anticipated that being a gateway to custom orders. Etsy made that easy with the messaging feature and my potential client base is global which I still find mind blowing! The idea that something I make, could end up in a country I’ve never been to, still makes me smile.

The downside is that you are limited with how the layout of your shop looks and when you are ready to start your own shop it becomes apparent the lack of technical cohesiveness esty has with other ecommerce platforms. For example only recently have etsy introduced skus for variations of the same product.

The other thing is the fees which have continued to increase on etsy. But I still think its a great starting point for seeing if there is a market for your creations. It made it much easier when I decided to open my own online store as I had a better understanding of how the process works.

How did you build your audience on social media?

I’m a very late joiner to instagram as I always thought it fosters an unhealthy obsession with the self to the detriment of others. And although there is an element of that with all social media I have learnt that it is also a space where you can meet like minded creatives and encourage each others growth.

My page is just under 2 years old and I started by joining other established groups like black owned esty sellers and the creative feminists. Both were very welcoming and helped me navigate my way to other maker groups and ultimately my audience. I’ve been growing organically since then and really appreciate the support my followers give me from a morning greeting to checking on each other from time to time.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.akrasiboutique.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/akrasiboutique/
• Other: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/joyceakrasi/

Image Credits
Joyce Akrasi