Jeffreys Bay artist, Bernadette Swartz, who founded the Be Original brand, was honoured to be one in 12 businesses to have their products feature at the China International Import Expo held in Shanghai, China, from November 5 to 10, where they represented the Sarah Baartman District Municipality and Kouga Municipality.
As previously reported by the Kouga Express, Swartz’s love for crafting began in 2015, when she found an interest in jewellery, African clothing, crafts and curios.
Despite having the passion and drive to craft her own unique designs, when she first began sewing, she did not have any knowledge about how to put fabric together.
To practise the art of designing, Swartz borrowed a sewing machine from her mother where she slowly began designing her own African clothing with help from Google.
Finally, her desire to share her handmade jewellery and African clothing on an international platform inspired her to establish her own brand, Be Original.
Swartz said when she learnt about the China International Import Expo earlier this year, she decided to grab the opportunity by applying through the Sarah Baartman District Municipality and, in August, she was pleasantly surprised when she received confirmation that her products were chosen to feature at the expo.
Sarah Baartman District Municipality municipal manager, Unati Daniels, said the municipality facilitated the process of gathering products and produce of export quality from various businesses across the district.
“This is one of the ways the municipality aims at supporting local businesses to explore the export market in China and showcase their business,” said Daniels.
She further said that the municipality had packaged and shipped all items to China, where they were displayed at the Sarah Baartman District Municipality’s stand at the China International Import Expo.
Swartz said it was a great accolade to know that her products are good enough to represent the municipality and the district at an international expo.
“This is a great opportunity not only for me but also for the women from my team who produced the products. These women were able to have their work recognised on an international level,” said Swartz.
She said that Be Original employs women from the community who contribute greatly to the success of her business.
Some of Be Original’s products that were on display at the expo included cushions, cushion covers, a variety of bags, pouches, re-usable notebook covers, wall decor, wall clocks, keyrings, fridge magnets, lanyards and earrings, among other items.
Despite this being the first time that Swartz’s designs have featured at an international expo, she has displayed her products at various national expos with the most recent being the Beautiful Things Exhibition 2022, in Mpumalanga, where one of her art pieces was showcased in March this year.
Her hard work has also seen her receiving an award from the Eastern Cape MEC of Sport, Recreation, Arts and Culture, MEC Fezeka Nkomonye, for craft development in May this year.
Now that her products have travelled to China to be exhibited, without her having to be present, she hopes to receive many more orders from people all over the world.
“It was so surreal to think that my products were showcased at the expo, even though I was not there myself,” said Swartz.
“I hope that the Chinese love our products, and they will feel motivated to support South African products.”
To further add to Swartz’s accomplishments, earlier this month, she also received an opportunity to send products to Taiwan, with Kouga Executive Mayor, Horatio Hendricks, and Deputy Mayor, Hattingh Bornman, as gifts for the dignitaries in Taiwan.
Be Original was also chosen as one of 16 companies to complete a one-year export development programme with Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber, Eastern Cape Development Corporation (ECDC), International Trade Institute of South Africa (ITRISA) and Eastern Cape Exporters. The programme began this month.
. For more information contact Bernadette Swartz on 073 099 3418 or visit her online store www.beoriginal.co.za.
The list of products and produce that were showcased at the Sarah Baartman District Municipality’s stand included:
1. African crafts – Be Original, Kouga Municipality
2. Canned food – Escargots Eastern Cape, Kouga Municipality
3. Coffee – Catering In-Food, Kouga Municipality
4. Gin – One33, Kouga Municipality
5. Honeybush tea – Independent Honeybush Producers, Kou-Kamma Local Municipality
6. Aloe – African Cures, Blue Crane Route Municipality
7. Eggs – Farmer Eddies, Sunday’s River Valley Local Municipality
8. Wine and liqueur – Oak Ridge Trading, Ndlambe Local Municipality
9. Chicory – Ndlambe Local Municipality
10. Dried pineapple – Ndlambe Local Municipality
11. Mohair – La Mohair, Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality
12. Tourism products – from across the Sarah Baartman District
