From One Generation to the Next: Indaba, A Family-Owned Business

What began in 1990 as a one-woman endeavour has since blossomed into a thriving, family-run business, rooted in a love for handmade craftsmanship and meaningful design. From Alison’s childhood spent among Zulu baskets in her mother’s living room to the dynamic creative partnership she now shares with Irene, Indaba’s journey is one of evolution, resilience, and shared vision. As they continue to shape the brand together, their story is a testament to the beauty of family businesses—the challenges, the triumphs, and the unwavering commitment to creating something truly special - together.

Come behind the scenes with us as we chat with Irene, the founder of Indaba, about the realities of running a family-owned business and the wisdom she’d share with those just starting out.

Indaba was quietly born in 1990 when Alison was only 2 years old. For the next 20 years or so I was navigating the challenges of getting a business established by myself. As a small girl, Ali would be sitting in boxes in my living room amid Zulu baskets that had travelled 3 months by sea from South Africa. The house would smell like a Zulu kaia (hut). She was absorbing everything I did by osmosis. 

Later, While Ali and Nick were at school, they helped in various ways - helping at trade shows, setting up booths and selling, helping with showroom displays, unpacking boxes, and building me a workroom. In some ways, I think they resented Indaba because it took so much of my attention and time and physically, I had to be away a great deal. In the early days, we grew the business organically by going to more and more trade shows. Some summers, I would go from Toronto to Edmonton to Montreal and then to Vancouver trade shows. We also started shows in the US, first in San Francisco and then later in New York. 

I think that Ali started to have an early appreciation of handcraft but had set her sights on an academic career. I asked her about 10 years ago to come and join me and commit to one year. After that, if it wasn’t what she wanted she could leave. Well, the rest is history. I can safely say that we love working together as partners and co-creators and that our shared passion for making beautiful things keeps us motivated and excited.

Working with Ali, not only my daughter but also my best friend, is enormously rewarding in so many ways. She emboldens me by reinforcing my strengths and complementing my shortfalls. She gives me an added sense of comfort in our business and creative realm as we have established our common ground and shared vision. I think working with Ali has remedied the loneliness I used to feel running the company by myself. I feel a lot less anxiety because I am not alone. We are a team and can share the burden and enjoy the success.

I would say one of the challenges is there tends to be no separation between work and home life. For our families, this can be annoying.

In time, and also because of life events, I have extracted myself from the day-to-day requirements of operations and have the privilege of putting most of my energies into the things that I love doing, i.e. creating new collections. Although I am still involved in decision-making, we now have excellent people running the show and managing departments and productivity. Ali is the VP of Creative and looks after all matters to do with marketing, cataloguing and product choice. We work collaboratively to create the vision of the next collection and travel to India to make our ideas come to life. Ali takes charge of communicating our designs and choices with the vendors and seeing that sampling is efficient and timely. She also manages the execution of showroom displays and the products that are shown. She’s the driver of our new branding, photoshoots, showrooms, and the new website.  So, while I still eat and sleep Indaba, my role is more consulting and collaboration. We find that we are on the same page when it comes to creative decisions and I hope that my years of experience make me a valuable asset to Alison’s creative and technical skills Together, we are a package deal!

Business is fraught with challenges. In the 35 years that I have been in business, I have overcome a myriad of challenges. Commitment, resolve, flexibility, and creative thinking are qualities that can be developed and are needed in business. Being ready to learn, look at facts and the numbers and make a plan can help to navigate adversity. Keeping one’s eye on the goal and being passionate about what you do is essential. Believe in the Brand, believe in yourself and hire the best people you can afford who have skills you don’t.

I can’t specifically advise on starting a business with a family member because my experience is different. I started on my own and then once I had an established business my daughter joined me. In that respect, I would advise that you have shared goals and expectations, that you understand each other’s style of working, and have a shared passion for the thing you want to do. It is probably a good thing to define the roles and identify respective skill sets. In any partnership, there is always the possibility that it doesn’t work and you should have a plan of what will happen in that event.

In many ways, Indaba has defined my identity as an immigrant to Canada. It has become my life’s work and also the means for our family’s establishment in Canada. Indaba means a gathering of people and ideas. It has become the connection to the people we have got to know, the staff who have contributed not only in business terms but in friendship and loyalty, our vendors, many who have become good friends and our customers. Indaba has become our community. From landing in Canada with nothing except optimism and youthful energy, and starting a business from the ground up, Indaba has become established as a legitimate contributor to all things beautiful across Canada and also in the USA.