In 2018, Sunmisola Adeyemi started her company “Craft by Jáde” as a side project while completing her business degree at Cal Poly. Out of her bedroom, she designed Afrocentric apparel with a contemporary twist and had no idea that the entire world was going to shut down in about a year.
Several mask designs and a couple of business partners later, Craft by Jáde is as strong as ever and aims to bridge the opportunity gap for underprivileged children in Zimbabwe and families in Nigeria.
This school year, her now visionary partners Laura Bente and Kim Buhnu came to her expressing interest in helping children from Zimbabwe have access to tennis coaching. Adeyemi, originally from Nigeria, wanted to create an asset-based program to help families earn a living wage there.
This team of self-proclaimed visionaries went on to start their journey and take action toward making their goals a reality
“Our policy is to not wait for the government … we are going to institute the change,” Adeyemi said.
May 21 marked the brand’s official relaunch with a fashion show that showcased their new contemporary designs on a variety of women of different sizes and skin tones. The launch included an athleisure line called “Rudzi” and a dress line titled “Abba”. Adeyemi explained how proud she was to see all of the team’s hard work come to fruition.
“[We] watch[ed] everybody get excited about the designs and actually started getting orders on the same day, it was just amazing,” she said.
She plans to visit Zimbabwe for the first time this year to begin the process of creating a team of seamstresses. She said it was time she takes a step back as the sole producer for the brand and take the opportunity to empower and uplift seamstresses in Zimbabwe.
If you are interested in donating to help bridge the gap or purchase some of Adeyemi’s designs, you can go to craftbyjade.com and follow @craft_byjade on Instagram to get updates on the company’s latest launches.
