TomKat ­– a font of Namibian-made products

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By Jana-Mari Smith

At the TomKat retail outlet in the Namibia Craft Centre (NCC) a shopper can browse through a wide selection of stylish and fun items, including hand-painted children’s shirts and aprons, leather and cloth handbags, leather shoes finished off with bright springbok fur, and hand-made jewellery.

tomkat

The popular series of Sand-Lover T-shirts, based on the Land-Rover icon, are also available here. The T-shirts are hand-embroidered by a local woman in Namibia.

Josephine Kasupi and Kathleen Newton

Josephine Kasupi and Kathleen Newton

Josephine Kasupi, a shareholder of the stall, has worked at TomKat for the past 13 years. She takes pride in providing visitors with unique and beautifully made local items. She is also the creator of the selection of jewellery available at the shop, which she says keeps her creative side up and running.

tomkat

Kathleen Newton, who bought the shop from the previous owner three years ago, says TomKat is essentially a retail outlet that sources Namibian-made products to sell to the public. Two brothers from Swakopmund are responsible for the colourful, hand-painted children’s T-shirts and aprons. Kathleen also sells leather items, such as handbags and shoes, which are produced by people who work through the initiative Namibia Community Skills Development Foundation (COSDEF).

tomkat

Kathleen says she and Josephine aim to offer products that are as local as possible, to give buyers an authentic Namibian experience. She says the shop provides her with a creative outlet and the chance to act as a retailer for Namibian communities. It is her aim to create a niche market for special Namibian products produced by Namibian entrepreneurs.

tomkat

For unique Namibian products such as Namibian handbags, shoes, jewellery and T-shirts, TomKat is a must visit at the NCC.

 

2 Comments

  1. Geraldine Benzmann says:

    I bought a few of your hand painted t shirts for my grandchildren in 2010 and have not seen anything like this in my area of England, Eastbourne, East Sussex and wondered whether you would be thinking of importing them, I have 2 here and could show them to some boutique shops in my area as I am sure they would be interested, also your lovely bags and aprons.
    My address is: 12 Elmwood Gardens, Eastbourne, East Sussex, BN23 8JH.
    Tel: 1323 767789
    Please let me know if this would be of any interest to you as I think your work is really unusual and beautiful.

    • Kathleen Newton says:

      Hi Geraldine
      My apologies for taking so long to reply but I have been out of the country. Thank you for your interest in our products. However, I am in the process of selling the stall to my partner Josephine and it should all be finalised by 1 September 2014. I will pass on your offer to Josephine for her consideration.
      Kind regards
      Kathleen Newton

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