Given that Bobby Yarn bags are now seen in shops all around South Africa, it’s hard to imagine that Antoinette Stoltz had never sat behind a sewing machine before launching her brand.
It’s even more difficult to imagine that the brand that now encompasses an absolutely enormous range – from dresses to laptop bags, earrings and everything in between – was inspired by a split-second decision while Antoinette was trying to think up ways to fill her maternity leave.
“I had been retrenched when I was seven months pregnant with my fourth child, so I was keen to find something that would keep me busy,” Antoinette recalls. She decided to do a sewing lesson (“although the last time I sewed was when my granny let me run some fabric through her sewing machine to keep me occupied!”) and, although she wasn’t exactly blown away by the little pouch she made in class, she decided to keep experimenting. She found a pattern for a tote bag, googled a few tutorials about how to add a zip, and even developed a vanity to match the totes.
“By this time, I had made around 12 bags, all just stacked in a room,” Antoinette says. “My husband, Jason, asked me what I was planning to do with them all, but I really had no idea. My answer was that everyone would be receiving a homemade bag that year!”
On a whim, Jason posted a picture of Antointte’s bags on his Facebook page – and was surprised when a colleague’s wife asked if she could order 16 totes and vanities to take with as presents on a trip to Australia. She also asked if the bags could have a distinctly South African aesthetic – a request that set the tone for Bobby Yarn and has made the brand synonymous with South African tourism. Jason’s early support of Antoinette’s work hasn’t abated – she says that if it weren’t for her family and staff, she wouldn’t be where she is now.
In the meantime, though, Antoinette had just one week to source fabric (including shweshwe and makoti linings to get that local look), get sewing and develop a name for her products – which she did by turning her childhood nickname, Babby (which evolved into Bobby) and adding Yarn as a nod to her handicraft to create a play on the word bobbejaan. Like the fabrics used, the name roots Antoinette’s bags in this country, while also speaking to her passion for primates.
“I decided the bags looked so good they deserved to be in the airport shops,” Antoinette says. She mailed the company that services these shops about her offering and, although it took a few months to get an appointment, her boldness paid off. Less than a year after that audacious email, Antoinette had an order to produce 1000 bags, to be sold at OR Tambo and Cape Town International airports. She was also introduced to a CMT (Cut, Make, Trim), and given ideas to make her product even more irresistible to tourists – like adding a label reminding them that each bag is handmade in SA.
Armed with this knowledge, Antoinette was ready to face her next goal. “Luckily for me, the company for the airports also serviced the shops in the Kruger National Park. I was given a chance to present Proudly South African bags for these stores, and they were accepted a few months later. I felt very blessed. But that got me thinking: where can I go from here? I realized I wanted to be on top of the world. And in South Africa, that means Table Mountain.” Another brave email to the relevant company, and Antoinette got her wish – but the advent of Covid showed that entrepreneurship is never without hiccups.
“As soon as news of the pandemic reached us, my uncle suggested we started making masks. I dismissed the idea at first, but when major orders were cancelled, all the shops closed and visitors stopped coming, I realized we had to find a way to keep going.” Antoinette’s decision meant that she was able to provide an income for seven people and two families.
Four years later, Bobby Yarn looks very different to the fledgling business Antoinette first launched. For a start, the company now designs its own fabrics. “I used to source fabrics from local stores, which meant that there were quite a few copycat products about and we needed to stand out and be unique. Now, we’re able to produce our own fabrics.” This not only ensures that Bobby Yarn is able to maintain the signature South African aesthetic that makes it such a favorite with locals and visitors alike; it’s also created a platform for Antoinette to join forces with other small businesses that have the skills to craft a unique look for her products. “This is something I’m absolutely passionate about. I love supporting other entrepreneurs wherever possible, and forming partnerships around new products.”
That’s how ranges like Bobby Yarn’s jewellery have come about, while other products have been inspired by comments from friends – “someone will say, ‘do you know what we really need?’” – or Antoinette’s own thoughts about what accessories would make an occasion complete. Given how much Bobby Yarn has grown in its seven years of existence, it’s not surprising to find out that Antoinette now outsources to around 12 people who cut and sew the products, along with freelance designers, a printer, and even agents who sell her bags, homeware and other goodies.
And she’s not about to stop. She’s thinking about developing ranges for men and kids, and while these feature at her regular pop ups, she would love to have her own store where fans would be able to buy everything Bobby Yarn. “It still feels surreal to think that the business has grown this much – but I’m so grateful and blessed! There’s nothing quite like the feeling when I see someone walk past carrying their Bobby Yarn bag!”
Details: Follow @bobbyyarn.sa on Instagram and Bobby Yarn on Facebook.
Antoinette’s top tips for sparking your creativity
- Remember that creativity isn’t just about art. I never believed people when they told me that I was creative, because I can’t draw or paint. But creativity can be expressed in other ways, too.
- Don’t get stagnant and don’t stop creating! Mix and match your ideas, play around and experiment!
- Don’t worry if you feel like you’ve lost your creativity. Creativity is like a muscle – it can’t leave you. Start embracing it again and it will all come back.
- Have a ‘bosberaad’ brainstorm with yourself! Go for a spa day, sit by a pool, sit on the beach, find your happy place, create and write it all down.
- Life has no remote, get up and change it yourself!
