AOW Insider | Interview with Maryanne Mathias of Osei Duro

Can you tell us how you first got started? What drove you to start this business?  

Molly Keogh and I founded Osei-Duro in 2011. We are based in Los Angeles, Vancouver, and Accra. We currently produce textiles and garments in Ghana, applying traditional techniques to simple contemporary designs.

Born out of our shared interest in discourse between different fashion systems, Osei-Duro remains an experiment. Having pioneered the use of West African batik on fabrics like silk and rayon, we continue to focus on developing new hybrid materials. Processes we have used include batik, tie-dye, hand weaving, block printing, lost wax brass casting, hand crocheting, hand knitting, hand painting, screen printing, quilting, wood carving, glass bead making, soft sculpture, as well as performance, ikat, and botanical dyeing.

We prioritize social responsibility and transparency in our projects, preferring to work collaboratively with a wide range of artisans, designers, and fine artists. Our sewing is done in small workshops in Ghana where we have direct relationships with the sewers and can ensure that their pay is well above the minimum wage.

Currently, Molly Keogh lives in Accra, Ghana and does production and design. In Ghana we employ a team of 10 people who are the hardest working and loveliest staff we could wish for. 

I live in Vancouver and do marketing and design. I am currently working on a non-profit offshoot of Osei-Duro, which will be a clothing buyback program that works with women from the Downtown Eastside to repair and prep old garments to sell on a special password-protected site.

You have been in this field for quite some time. With that in mind, tell us what you wish you knew when you first got started? 

I think if we’d known more before we got started, we wouldn’t have started. It’s taken us 10 years to finally have a comfortable and viable business. We struggled a lot at the beginning to figure out our design aesthetic, production, and target market. We paid ourselves peanuts for years.

I remember my grandmother was the only person who told me it takes 10 years to have a sustainable business. She was an entrepreneur and started her business from scratch. Most other people said we would break even by year three. So perhaps it would have been good to know it would take ten years? But then again, maybe we wouldn’t have started it – LOL! 

What has been working well for you in terms of sales and marketing? 

Over time we’ve built up our design aesthetic and brand identity. Once we figured that out, we started working with an agency (SOMO) in Australia to help us with our digital marketing. They are amazing and have really helped tighten up the ship! 

What is something you’ve invested in that did NOT work for you?  

Sales reps and the wholesale model. As soon as we switched to become an e-commerce brand, everything fell into place.

Could you tell us about your experience with wholesale?

We started with the wholesale model and did it until 2016 when I got shingles and was like, “Eff this!”. We were in debt for production and it was a super stressful time. Now we still do sell to stores, but it’s on a password-protected site, and it’s all pre-paid. It’s about 10% of our current business and it helps fund production.

I would not recommend focusing on wholesale if you want to grow your business.

How has your business been impacted by the pandemic? Where are you currently focusing your time and energy? 

At the beginning of the pandemic sales went down quite a bit and we were pretty worried. I think in mid-March, most people didn’t know what their financial situation would be. But sales slowly started to pick up and we are close to our pre-pandemic targets.

Ghana went on a two-week lockdown, so production slowed down and some of our factories have switched to mask making. We did cancel some web-only styles and some other styles have been delayed. Even though we are back to work, we are taking extreme measures to make sure our staff and partners are being safe.

Fortunately, our shipping team is in Denver and it was announced to be an essential service. So we’ve been able to keep orders going out during this time.

Personally, we took out a lease on a new workspace in Vancouver on March 15th so I was cleaning, painting, and moving studios. I was also keeping busy by building garden beds, getting dirt shipped, shoveling dirt, planting, and building a picnic table.

What are 3 tips for other artisan brands that are just getting into this field? 

•  Don’t do it for the money.

•  Take your time on product development so you can make mistakes early on.

•  If you are working in a culture other than your own, take the time to learn the intricacies of that culture. If that country has been colonized, learn the history and repercussions of colonization.

I love your vertical model and the way you establish deep connections with the artisans you work with. Do you think this has helped you succeed as a brand? 

We could not do what we are doing without living and working in Ghana for at least a few years. We chose Ghana because it has a deep history of traditional textiles. Because it’s not as developed as other countries, there aren’t many middlemen or managers who can manage the process for you if you aren’t living there. 

For a bit of fun and inspiration, what are some podcasts you are listening to, books you are reading, or a few fave Instagram accounts you are following? 

I listen to the NYT “The Daily” every day. I often work to the hum of CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) in the background. I am currently reading “Please Kill Me: An Uncensored Oral History of Punk”. I just went down a weird dance wormhole on Instagram. @dancegodlloyd is a dance guru that Molly met at the pool in Accra and said he was awesome. He’s been shared by Beyoncé!

For more info, visit: https://oseiduro.com/