"The Final Product Fills me with pride"

DENIS is the owner of Denis Fashion and has been in the trade for about seven years. He has a diploma in fashion design, but also taught him-self the finer skills of the profession by opening up his own business. This gave him valuable experience. He employs a few people and wants to expand his business in future. We caught up with him and here is his view on the profession.

What are the functions of a garment designer? A garment designer is someone who designs clothing. Generally you work with pieces of material and you look at what is required. People would, for example, want dresses, shirts or suits and you cut out the material according to the required sizes and stitch it together to form the required dress, shirt or whatever. There are a lot of other things involved such as putting on buttons, knitting and sewing and all that.

Briefly describe your normal day at work We come in every morning and complete the work we did not finish the previous day. We get that done and then start with the new work that must also be completed. We have some clients who come in without notice and we then do any small work right away. We also work according to a schedule which guides us to complete certain work according to the bookings.

What personality skills do you need to become a garment maker? This job requires you to be a hardworking in-dividual. You must be friendly at all times as you sometimes deal with difficult customers and you must also be patient in your work. Patience also allows you to do a good job, but it is important to keep within the time limits as some items such as wedding dresses and suits must be delivered on agreed upon dates. It is also important to be flexible and be willing to work irregular hours. We don’t have 8 to 5 jobs here; we work until we think it is now time to go home.

What are the major challenges in your job? I think with every business the biggest challenge is difficult clients. Some can be really temperamental and you must be able to control them by keeping a cool head. The other challenge is also the lack of competent garment makers. We don’t have a lot of very good people who can come up with distinct designs. It is a skill and it should come naturally but many do not have those characteristics.

What tools or equipment do you use on a daily basis? We use different machines for work such as sewing. We also use what they call an overlock machine and another one that is used for straight sewing. Other equipment includes scissors, various fabrics, chalk for markings and steam irons

Is your job rewarding? Yes, of course, it is because once you get in here, you always feel happy about the final product and that in itself is a rewarding experience. In fact, the bottom line is to satisfy the customer and once they are happy, you are always happy and the fact that they come back for business again is also rewarding.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years time? I wish to set up a designing company where I can expand my current activities on a bigger scale. I also wish to employ more people so that they can make a living from this profession.

Would you recommend this job to anyone? This trade is for everyone and I recommend it to anyone. School leavers do not have to study much for this, as long as you have the love and the skills for this, you can make it. It is not only for women, I should say, and remember that most of the best designs around the world come from men. So, whoever wants to become a garment designer, go for it!

Did you study for this? Yes, I completed a three year diploma in Fashion Design at a Zambian Technical College. The course is, however, also offered here in Namibia by several institutions but the fact is that one learns everyday and you are never the master of everything.

FACT BOX
FULL NAMES:
DENIS TSHIMPATA
AGE: 38
NICKNAME: HEPHAZIBAH
STAR SIGN: LEO
FAVOURITE MOVIES:
CHRISTIAN MOVIES
RELATIONSHIP STATUS:
MARRIED
CHILDREN: 2 (A BOY, 1
MONTH, AND A GIRL, 3 YEARS
OF AGE)

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