The Rise of “Guiza” clothing brand

The History of Guiza

Guiza was born in 2019 on the first of November. We made three years today. We are grateful. It is a milestone. As soon as we started, just a few months in just like two or three. Covid hit the world and we had to take off for our dear lives. We ran home however I did not stop working.
When we closed, I carried some material (fabric) and our tailoring machine with me. And luckily, our tailor resided close to me so his commute to my home was possible. I carried a mannequin and some of my siblings with whom I shared the quarantine were my models for the dresses we’d already made by the time we closed down for quarantine. I started with female only and it was during covid that I switched to 100% apparel for all sexes. Originally, when we’d began, I would import outfits from Europe and sell, however I had a vision to create and design my own apparel. I thought it would take me a few years to transition to creating my own apparel while studying the market, but covid sped up the process. It catalysed the process because it cut off our supply by shutting down imports. Luckily, by the time we were locked down, we’d already acquired some raw material like fabric. Covid was like a blessing in disguise. It was during this time that I became active on social media, posting and promoting ads because I was home and everyone was on social media and I said “This is my time”. I recall the first outfits I made when I was home, my tailor used to commute home and work the machine on my balcony and I’d dress the mannequin, take and post pictures. And my sisters would wear the dresses and post too. And so I pushed the brand that is Guiza and the response was amazing. People started shopping online. I had my trusted boda boda guy who used to deliver to Entebbe, Najjera, Kira, Mukono. As long as it was before curfew of course where we’d deliver next day if curfew caught us. A miscalculation of demand was made where I bought an ad to for two weeks expecting to move products within that period and the demand was so high that our inventory was depleted within five days that got us into trouble when people got mad that those pretty products we were promoting were no longer available. Another learning experience. This energised us to up our production. I started hunting for more fabric but it was difficult to locate as shops were closed up. I had a friend who had stocked up on fabric and I called her up and she shared some of her stock of fabric where I’d get some, create the apparel and post the results. I’d carried a large part of my inventory home, but not all of it. And sometimes, when a certain product like a bag on the page was in demand, I had to go through that tricky process of contacting the building managers and pleading with and paying them to open the storage. Eventually, my delivery guy became a great help where he had the keys to my storage and would liaise with the building manager and then we’d have video calls with me point to which items I specifically wanted him to retrieve. This required a lot of trust and he was a man of great honour and he performed marvellously. Time however came and some things needed me to appear in person. There is this tiny pickup colloquially known as “Enyongeza”. They were allowed to run cargo during lockdown for other cars were not allowed to move. So, I hired this car and it would help with deliveries. Another interesting experience. And we went from that to now three years down the road with a shop, a workshop and an office with me now as a consultant on matters of fashion. I love being organised, being unique. I said to myself “I refuse to only trade in fashion, I wish to also create and I feel like this is an inborn gift”. I believe I am an entrepreneur, natural born. A go getter. If you show me two stones on the ground and tell me that if I package them and sell them, I’ll make money, I’ll do it immediately. But to put that in the fashion context. It is an inspiration I got from my mother. Our title, Guiza is my mother’s maiden name. Growing up, we saw our mother be this wonderful lady who bore seven beautiful girls who provided everything for us through great difficulty. We saw her go through the original hustle, working multiple gigs as a woman and it was inspiring. One of her loves was/is fashion. Even now, in her sixties, she still sets the standard of fashion and everyone admires her sense of style from the moment they meet her. And my love of fashion grew from hers. While I was in primary school, I owned a pair of stilettoes. Now imagine a little twelve-year-old strutting around in high platform shoes and my sisters were amazed at my temerity. That is how early my love for fashion blossomed. I used to follow mother around when she as cutting bales of new clothes for sale. I also learned to ride a bicycle and a motorbike while still young because father said I was his only boy. So everything doable by a boy child was done by me. The fetching of water with a bicycle. Transporting mother and father also with a bicycle. Father loved me very much and empowered me to act with the skill and boldness that would be merely given to a boy. A mechanic, my father owned a shop where bicycles and motorbikes would be repaired and I learned by staying by his side and watching what he did one day I got up and learned how to ride a motorcycle. The bicycle on the other hand, I had no one to copy from. In learning it I fell a million times and my body is full of those childhood scars from those daily attempts and subsequent scrapes. In the village, any male visitors would normally visit with a bicycle and after directing them to where mother or father was, I’d take their bicycle for a ride out on the road and when the visit was over, mother or father and the guest would go out hunting for their daughter who has taken the guests bike and they’d find me within a kilometre very tired and very happy with a wound or two. It is from these experiences that I got a foundation for the resilience to go through life right now. In the village, there was a town nearby where father worked where he owned a milling machine. The journey there required a taxi but since the taxi stage was three kilometres from home, I used to drop him at the stage on the bike and afterwards I’d ride home with perhaps a jerry or two of water. When I got better, I started accompanying mother to the market by carrying the bales of clothes on the bicycle. We’d get there and set up the stall for sale. My best moment would be right as we opened the bale and discovered the goodies inside. My sisters knowing I’d be there, would bank on and trust me to pick the most beautiful dresses and tops for them when the bale was opened. By profession, or at least what I went to school for, was pharmacy. I’m a nurse, a pharmacy assistant, a social worker. However, this is where my passion for fashion led me. I did not stumble upon it. I’ve worked in hospitals, clinics, pharmacies, I’ve with my husband in the family business, he’s an electrical engineer. But while the skills and love for the work I was doing were available, that joy that I felt while doing fashion was not there. I recall I tried car boot selling where I’d have my stock of products in the boot of my car and any occasion that presented itself for making a sale. Like after a rotary club meeting (I’m a Rotarian), or after picking up my kids from school and meet parents. I was there to make the sale. To start, I needed capital but I hadn’t saved up. So, whenever I made a sale let’s say two bags, I’d hold onto that and go back to market and get four. Luckily, I wasn’t deeply weighed down by bills at home and this made it easier to save. Eventually I partnered up with a friend who had a store catering to gents. She let me in and gave me part of the shop to display my wares and she’d move them for me while earning a commission, although at times we’d call it even between friends. Eventually, she informed me of a new mall opening up in Bugolobi. Kisakye Complex. And invited me to go have a look with her. So, we went and had a look and we found two large rooms to rent. So, me and my partner each got a room and we set up shop next each other. I set up my shop, it was small compared to our current space. And I started moving product. However, I wasn’t yet fulfilled because I wasn’t creating yet, only reselling. And so, sought to change my image, to fit more with my vision. So, I started by acquiring a sewing machine. A mechanical one. The foot cranked one. I spoke with the landlord and asked if I could use the corridor on our floor. He acquiesced, bless his heart, and we put the machine there and set up sockets and lights and we brought in our tailor. And that is where he sits. And that began the hunt for fabric. Where instead of buying two bags after a sale, I’d split the money among a bag and fabric and from there we grew to have a fully equipped and functioning workshop with over five machines each manned with a tailor. And as far as we’ve gotten, I feel that are still laying the ground work. We are only beginning.
Since Guiza began, I feel like I’ve changed a lot. The social aspect of me took a hit because while I had time before to engage with friends, attend parties, talk to friends, etcetera, my work consumed me and I sort of disappeared and people even checked in on me worriedly. Missing a few birthdays and weddings will do that. There is this whole question of what I do feeling like a passion vs it feeling like work. To that I say I am living my best life, I have never been happier, had I not felt as fulfilled with it, I likely wouldn’t be here. The stresses that the work and yes, it is stressful, put on me, would be hard to bear if it wasn’t an amazing experience and the happiness from it is a guarantee despite the downs. The skills I learned as a kid have made me very good at working under pressure and it is there that I thrive. I had great role models. Earlier I told you of mothers work in fashion but she had other self-taught skills. She is the best baker I know and it was a skill I never saw her go to formal school to acquire. She just made it work. And saw it occurred to me that if I could leverage the education she provided and also copy her skills and her resilience, I would go far in life. So yes, I the claims that I can bake a stone and it turns into a stone croissant are very true. Indeed, I seem to be following in her footsteps of skill acquisition where I’ve eschewed the formal teachings of fashion and the culinary arts in favour of my own research on the subjects. And what a learning experience, what a treasure trove of knowledge I have fallen on.