Features ·

17 highlights of 2017

Before we officially say goodbye to 2017, we felt it was only right to take a trip down memory lane and share 17 moments that made this year a very special one... 

1. Going live on 28 January with a first version of the website. It was pretty surreal to finally press the 'LIVE' button! 
2. Spring time in Senegal finalising basket designs, connecting with the artisans we work with and spending time with family. 
3. Our first shipment of baskets travelling via boat for 3 weeks and initially being stored in our teenage bedrooms at our mum’s in Paris. 
4. Launching the online shop on 9 May with 8 products - 8 storage bowls - all named after Senegalese women we've connected with while working on this project. 
5. Receiving the following notification on my phone on the same night 'Someone has placed an Order'. Only to discover a couple of hours later that a lady had purchased an ‘Adji’ storage bowl for £0.20 due to a glitch.
6. Our first piece of press in Metro on Tuesday 20 June - I still have a dozen of newspapers at home!
8. Quitting my full time job on 1 June to focus on developing La Basketry.
9. Taking part in our first trade show at The Business Design Centre on 16 & 17 July and connecting with a lot of buyers and press.
 

10. Launching at the Victoria & Albert Museum - there was a lot of conversations with the buying team over the summer and 3 of our best selling storage bowls finally arrived in store early October.
11. Making a lot of new friends - over 2,100 on social media plus all the wonderful businesses and entrepreneurs I've connected with throughout the year. 
12. Shipping baskets to the UK, France, Belgium, Germany, Denmark, Sweden and The Netherlands. 
13. Collaborating with Zeena Shah on a bag design to accompany our mini-baskets - our best sellers of the year! 
14. "Sharing the spotlight" with Miss Kate Moss in the 5 November issue of Stella Magazine that helped us shift quite a lot of Prism baskets.
15. Coiling, plaiting, twining my own baskets! 
16. Making this business a family affair - as sisters but also with the help of our mother, aunties and close family friends back in Senegal. 
17. Last but no least, providing job opportunities to women in rural part of Senegal. Our number one goal remains to grow the network of artisans we're currently working with. 

 

Thank you all for your support and Happy New Year! x  

Back to Journal