OKAKARARA – Smilling Hengua is a small business trader from Grootfontein who decided to exhibit her self-made home décor items and bedding at the Okakarara Trade Fair this year.
The self-taught entrepreneur knits luxury bedroom sets, such as duvets, comforters, bedcovers, sheets, pillow cases, and frame covers for photos and mirrors. She also knits cozy kitchen and bathroom sets, which include curtains and other accessories.
Before the owner of Smilling Trading Enterprises opened her business in 2007, she was a hairdresser in Okakarara, but when her husband was transferred to Uitkoms, some 20 kilometres from Grootfontein, she did not know what to do at first. “I didn’t want to sit idle, so I started knitting decorations for our home,” she says, adding that it was how she discovered her talent.
At first she tried and failed and had to restart the designs over and over again until she perfected the art. In 2009 she represented the Otjozondjupa Region at the Maid Namibia Expo in Windhoek. After that, she started participating in more trade shows and was judged the third best exhibitor in the small to medium size enterprises (SMEs) category at the Okakarara Trade Fair in 2012.
She says her design ideas come from being around trade fairs. After this year’s trade fair, the stay-home mom who has been operating her business from Uitkoms, has decided to take her business to Grootfontein, where she was awarded a stall. “Business is booming. The market is good,” says the confident entrepreneur, adding that it has become easier and more affordable now that she does not have to import materials from South Africa any longer since she can source the same quality materials locally.
Hengua says exhibiting at the recently ended Okakarara Trade Fair has afforded her much needed exposure, but adds that there are still some challenges in her line of work, such as customers not committing to orders they make with her, which has prompted her to demand a deposit before embarking on a job. She can be reached at 081 248 0946.
Magreth Nunuhe