Titus Kaberia with some of the canvas shoes that he makes. PHOTO | SALATON NJAU
Would you buy shoes made out of canvas material, jeans and used tires for as much as Sh5,000 a pair?
That is exactly what Titus Kaberia, a 34-year-old budding entrepreneur, is asking you to do, promising comfort and longevity from his unique brand of shoes which you can also customise.
Titus operates a workshop in Ngara in Nairobi and is among the many enterprising artisans who have sought to make the most out of locally available resources, including waste, to make a living.
Roots Wear Customs, his company, also produces African-inspired khaki suits, caps, hats, T-shirts, shirts, pants, jackets, and fabric décor accessories — basically dressing one from head to toe. But it is his shoes that have got customers buzzing.
“I have been operating Roots Wear for around two years. Late last year, I decided to diversify into shoe-making in order to get extra revenue,” Titus told Enterprise during an interview at his workshop last week.
Titus buys tyre strips from Kariakor market. Each strip of tyre costs Sh150 and can be used to make between three and four pairs of shoes, depending on size.
He uses jeans material on the exterior part of the shoe while canvas is used to line its inside, giving the shoe comfort to match mainstream factory-made brands.
He buys the canvas and jeans from retailers in Nairobi’s central business district. We find Titus working on an order of about 20 pairs of shoes, and other assorted items, from Italy. Just last month, he exported items worth about Sh150,000 to Italy.
Priced out
Titus says the United Arabs Emirates, Sweden and Finland are also shaping up as key export destinations with his customer base growing through referrals.
He also gets orders from South Africa, Namibia, Lesotho, Ghana, Ethiopia, Zambia, Malawi, Tanzania and Uganda, with clients reaching out to him mostly through social media.
The Computer Maintenance graduate from Mombasa Technical University College says he has always had artistic skills, which he decided to explore after being priced out of a custom made t-shirt he wanted to buy.
“I came across this T-shirt that I wanted to buy but it was above my budget. I later came up with the idea of creating my style,” he says, explaining the genesis of his business a decade ago. Titus is a big fan of the reggae culture which is expressed vividly in his early designs, but the dynamics and customer demographics have since changed, he says.
“The inspiration behind my designs comes from the fact that the Rastafarian lifestyle has been misrepresented. I have purposed to give it a trendy and fashionable representation. My market, however, is broad. Anyone who wants a custom-made outfit or accessory can get it here.”
To meet the needs of the increasingly sophisticated client, Titus also makes shoes with rubber soles and leather or jeans finishing which cost Sh5,000 for men and Sh3,500 for ladies.
The amount increases with the type of finishing ordered by a client, with some asking for their names to be stretched or printed on the jeans while others ask for metal badges to be affixed on them.
Titus, who started his business in Mombasa, says it was rough since he did not know much about the clothes branding business or where to source the best material.
He used to sell his wares mostly in clubs and reggae shows in Mtwapa and Mombasa. He remembers one of his first T-shirt customers complaining that the branded part of the cloth was getting extremely hot in the coastal heat, making them uncomfortable.
“I had to go back to the drawing board in search of suitable fabric inks,” he says. Titus’ message to the youth is: “Exploit your abilities. Most jobs are in our hands and not in corporate offices or the government. God will always bless that which you start.”
