Starting a business in another country is not easy, but Pardis Khozoei, an Iranian architect, has built a successful sculpting enterprise in Kenya
At Village Market, Nairobi, where she was exhibiting hand-made soapstone pieces, she was wearing a checked black suit but no hijab. It is here that her story begins.
Pardis belongs to the Iranian Baha’i community that has, for the longest time, faced persecution in Iran. In September 2022, trouble found its way to her doorstep.
“In 2022, a revolution started in Iran; woman's life freedom, which was aimed at freeing women in Iran. The government went beserk and arrested everyone.
“At that time, I had travelled to India for a vacation so I could not return home, and I had nowhere to go. I could not stay in India, so I started travelling. I went to Dubai for a while, then Turkey,” Pardis said.
When some relatives invited her to Kenya, Pardis packed up her bags and found herself here in March 2023. She came, loved the country, and has stayed.
“I never really felt like I belonged anywhere but when I came to Kenya, I felt at home.”
Sculpt Studios
She dared to dream abroad and set up her sculpting business.
“Sculpt Studios is a designer brand inspired by architecture. We do soapstone pieces curated by hand by Kenyan artists in Kisii. I design them and I have a craftsman in Kisii who brings them to life.
“The whole process is similar to architecture. It starts with hand drawing. I sketch the models and then take them through the 3D modelling and rendering.
“Once the final design is ready, I send it to the craftsman who makes it by hand using the most simple tools,” says the 23-year-old.
Currently, they have a collection of hand-made mugs, espresso cups, vases and sculptures.
“Sketching is a hobby for every architecture student, so I have always had this sketchbook where I came up with my designs.
“Even while in Iran I was always looking for unique material to make the designs, and so when life brought me to Kenya and I discovered soapstone, I knew immediately that it was the material that I wanted to work with. I love that soapstone is beautiful and unique.”
Pardis is an avid coffee lover, so it is no surprise that she started with a collection of mugs, as “they are unique, and we do not often see many designer mugs. Everywhere I went, I would collect mugs, and I thought how good it could be to have a unique collection of mugs.”
For her, the whole idea is to have functional art pieces.
“A mug made from soapstone can be used as a decorative piece as it is art by itself, and some people just want to collect them as art pieces. But then it is also useable and practical so you can use it for your daily consumption of tea or coffee.”
Online studies
In Iran, there is no freedom of education for the Baha’i, and the community is not allowed to go to university, so they have an illegal underground university called Bahá'í Institute for Higher Education (BIHE).
“We call it education under fire. Classes are held in different houses or online. I was studying architecture at the university, and once I left, I just continued studying online,” says Pardis, who is proud to have graduated with a Bachelor in Architecture degree two months ago.
When she moved to Kenya, she showed her host family her designs, and they told her that soapstone would be perfect for her designs. They introduced her to artists from Kisii.
“At first, it was difficult to find someone who could design the kind of art pieces I wanted. For the longest time, soapstone art had been stocked in traditional ways, like animal sculptures.
It took me a while to find this one person who was so talented and would make the pieces to my liking. The material itself was also not waterproof, so we had to find a way of waterproofing it and making it stronger,” says Pardis.
Investment
When starting out, Pardis opted to start small, saying, “I wanted to see how people would react to the art pieces. I remember investing Sh7,000 and getting my first 10 pieces. I did a pop-up at Village Market and on that first day, I sold six pieces. I was so excited that people like them. So, I ordered more, and I had to invest a lot more,” says the entrepreneur.
Now, she invests about Sh150,000 every month in the business.
Pardis sells her products mainly through pop-ups and Instagram. “We sell online a lot and our customer base there is growing faster than expected. We also stock Kalabash Selections in Village Market and Coffee and Plant in Westlands.”
Challenges
“Before graduating, this was a major hobby for me, but now I am trying to build my own brand, and there are ups and downs, especially because the business is not stable.
“There are months when the sales are high and other times when they are very low, and now that I have other people depending on me for this business, there is some pressure.
While soapstone is readily available, Ms Khozoeni shares that it is sometimes hard to get during the rainy season as the water gets into the quarries, making it difficult to get the rare commodity.
Unique pieces
In Kenya, soapstone is mainly found in Kisii and Mombasa.
“But the soapstone from Mombasa does not have the unique patterns and texture found in Kisii. Each piece is unique because it has its patterns and its colours. Some people ask if we use paint, but this is the actual stone, we do not add any colour.
“Soapstone comes in pink, grey, and white, all with different patterns. This, then, means that no two pieces can look alike," she says, speaking of the distinctiveness of the art pieces.
Her range of products costs between Sh2,000 and Sh15,000, with her expresso cups and tequila shot glasses going for between Sh2,000 and Sh3,000 and the big mugs selling for between Sh3,000 and Sh5,000.
Her collection of flower vases is the latest addition to the collection and costs between Sh5,000 and Sh15,000, depending on the size and design model.
At first, Pardis operated the business alone but figured that she would be better off getting a partner.
“In the beginning, I was doing everything by myself: designing, selling, and handling social media. But I am just a designer and do not have much experience in business. So, I got a partner who handles the business aspect, and I deal with the design bit.”
Limited edition
The Architect's joy comes from seeing many people embrace her soapstone pieces. “I have gone to people’s homes and found my mugs there.”
Every Thursday, she receives a delivery of about 20 to 30 pieces.
“I only have one craftsman making them. I tried having more people trained, but I found that the pieces were not up to par every time, so I decided to work with only one craftsman.
“I prefer that it be a limited-edition brand and maintain the quality rather than have mass production but fail in quality.”
She now hopes to expand her horizons and get into wood sculpting.
