From tea boy to Ad man and now bag man

Sandstorm started as a tent-making company. That was back in 2002. Mark joined his current partner in the business in 2007, fresh off the boat from the UK where he had been in advertising business for 20 years.

He wasn’t lured to Africa by the usual clichéd novelty but by the potential of the Sandstorm bag, a product he saw as authentic, fun and one that possessed promise in terms of the ideas he could infuse in it.

About 50 employees are behind the production of Sandstorm bags. Their workshop in Karen makes about 700 pieces every month, which mostly supplies their seven shops in Kenya and Tanzania.

Curiously, Mark reflects, Sandstorm isn’t a touristy product. It’s not even a luxury product, even though they aren’t exactly cheap. “Only the most interesting people will carry a Sandstorm bag,” he told me recently over lunch at Arttcafé, The Junction.

You have deplaned, waiting for your bag at the carousel. Do you always catch yourself keenly observing other people’s bags?

(Excitedly) Of course! But you know what? My Sandstorm bag is normally obviously the coolest. (Laughs). And it makes me proud if there isn’t any bag half as cool as my bag.

What does a bag say about someone, anyway?

Good one! (Long pause). Let’s put it in another way; only the most interesting people will carry a Sandstorm bag.

So someone carrying, say a Fendi bag, isn’t interesting enough?

That’s not it. You see, there is a sense of purpose that comes with carrying a Sandstorm bag. When you buy one of these bags, you are making an investment because they are not only durable but timeless.

You are buying into a confidence. Luxury brands are powerful, yes, but I always feel like there is a certain amount of insecurity that comes with having to make that point of possessing one.

How did this Sandstorm story start?

My dad was a CEO of a brewery in the UK. At 16, he got me an internship at an Advertising agency. I wasn’t very good at school; in fact I was spectacularly unacademic!

I haven’t passed any exams since I was 16 by the way. I failed my A-levels, re-sat them and failed again…

Is this a self-deprecating moment?

No! I’m serious! My dad, as a favour, organised for me to get a job at this advertising agency as a tea-boy. In 10 years, I was a client service director. But I was still a big fish in a small pond.

At 25, I took a break, I wanted to travel, so the company gave me an interest-free loan and I went to South East Asia. I came back, worked for a while and then in 2003, together with a friend, we started our Ad agency in Scotland.

Two years after, we got this client, Sandstorm, a small account in Africa. I fell in love with the product and I told the owner, “Look, I want in.” He agreed. I came to Kenya in 2007 to see if I could live here, the following year, I was back to settle down.

So you were lured to Africa by a canvas bag, not by the Maasai.

(Chuckles). You know, what really excited me about this product was the fact that at a time when most products were being manufactured in Asia, here was a bag being manufactured in Africa.

At a time when most companies were outsourcing, this guy was doing it himself and he had this unique platform to create stories with canvas, I loved the heritage. I thought that was extraordinary!

Have your 20 years in advertising impacted positively on the brand and if yes, how?

Speaking commercially, advertising is all about understanding a brand then communicating the right message. But advertising can’t solve all problems, if you have a bad brand, no matter how much advertising you throw at it, it won’t solve the problem.

Sandstorm didn’t need advertising; it hasn’t needed advertising for the last five years. The challenges we faced were not of the brand but other facets of the business that we needed to fix. We have been looking at the brand holistically, not in terms of advertising.

What challenges do you face?

Getting our products to our Tanzania outlet can take a month! The Tanzanian authorities aren’t quite co-operative as one would like them to be.

When people say East African Cooperation, I always wonder what that is. (Smiles). Business would be a lot better if The East African countries co-operated more. Trade would flourish.

Who buys Sandstorm?

We had one of the best sales just before and after the last elections when there were no tourists in sight for miles, so definitely not tourists. It’s the expats and Kenyan citizens.

What inspires you?

Energy and change. The energy in Nairobi is quite infectious, isn’t it? I love that.

How many bags do you own?

About seven. Recently, a woman from Colorado who we follow each other with on Instagram saw my leather messenger bags and asked for one to give her husband as a gift.

The price of the bag plus shipping was too expensive so I sent her my own personal used bag. She was ecstatic, so much that she kept it for herself.

She now Instagrams it frequently during her travels and it makes me so proud. That’s what this is all about. That spirit. (Big smile).

Married? Kids?

No to both.

Cat, dog, parrot, horse?

(Laughs) Yes. Two dogs and cat. Baxter, Blix and Mike the cat.

What are your three most prized possessions?

I have these gold cufflinks that my father gave me before he died in 2006. They belonged to my grandfather who had given them to him. Then this watch my mom gave my dad, but when he passed on, I inherited it.

Lastly, are these wireless and blue tooth rigged Beats by Dre speakers. They are something else!

What do you do for fun?

That’s a hard question. (Long pause.) You know…uhm,…it’s kinda… I invited friends over last Sunday for lunch at my place. I live in Karen in a one-bedroom cottage with my dogs and cat. I work most hours.

I will be headed to Singapore for my friend’s 50th birthday party, we will be attending the grand prix. I went skiing in Feb, when I went to the UK. See how I threw that in to sound sexy? (Laughs).

Are you happy with your life?

Yes. I have spent the past six years investing everything in Sandstorm. So far, I’m excited at what the brand has become and what lies ahead for it.

I want it not to be the most expensive or the most beautiful, but the most respected brand in Africa. I’m aiming for respect.