Fashion Changing Lives in Kenya
Fashion Designer: Yvonne Asunnah
In 2017, we asked our Kenyan Artist Mentors and scholarship recipients to present proposals that would use their creativity to launch small businesses benefiting their communities. Inverted Arts would invest capital and operating funds with the goal that the business would be self-sustaining after five years. Yvonne Asunnah’s proposal was selected and in 2018 she launched the “Mathare Creative Foundation” and the “Yvonne Asunnah Kenya” brand. Meet Yvonne and hear her amazing story in this short video.
Yvonne Asunnah’s Story from Inverted Arts on Vimeo.
Mathare Art Camps
Since 2015, Yvonne has been involved with Inverted Arts Camps in the Mathare Valley Slum in Kenya. She began as a student helping in the kitchen, served as a fashion assistant then fashion Artist Mentor, received an Inverted Arts scholarship to attend Buru Buru Institute of Fine Arts, and the Sinapis school of business, and now, she’s a fashion business owner!
Pictured below: Yvonne’s 2018 Art Camp fashion class and runway show
Mathare Creative Foundation is Born
Early in 2018, Yvonne launched “Mathare Creative Foundation” and her “Yvonne Asunnah Kenya” brand, working in a small space in the Kariobangi Children’s Home with two manual singer sewing machines. Every week she mentored students from Kariobangi and nearby Mathare Community Outreach. Together they created fashion and home products for sale and Yvonne began work on her own fashion designs.
Pictured below: Yvonne mentoring fashion students at Kariobangi
New Studio and Sewing Machines
In 2019, Yvonne moved her business into a beautiful rental studio in the Lepta Community in Mathare. Now she has 24/7 access and much more space for fashion classes, and design and production space for the three new industrial sewing machines.
Pictured below: Yvonne’s new space in the Lepta community
Design and Products
Yvonne and her team have been busy creating, designing and producing beautiful products ranging from shoes and bracelets to dresses.
Recycled Art and Wall Hangings
Artist Mentors Yvonne Asunnah, Florence Wavinya and Sheila Njoroge work with fashion mentees using recycled material and waste plastics (CDs, scrap fabrics, bottle caps, cartons) to create beautiful wall hangings.
Visit Mathare Creative Foundation’s Facebook page.
YOU Are Part of This!
THANK YOU to everyone who faithfully supports the work of Inverted Arts! You are making success stories like these possible! You are providing Art Camps, scholarship funds and capital for launching small businesses! You are helping Yvonne Asunnah use her creativity to change her community!
We all have something to offer.
We are all “created 2 create!”
Do you want to help other young, creative entrepreneurs
change their communities?
