#WomensMonth: Jana Leonard, founder of Baskiti, a luxury woven decor brand

Jana Leonard, founder and creative director at Baskiti. Image supplied

Juggling the demands of a full-time PR consultancy with a 14-month-old toddler, like many parents, Leonard found herself resorting to anything and everything to keep her little one occupied.

“I'll admit, there were moments when I turned a blind eye to creative chaos. One such day, my son decided that our veggies made excellent substitutes for his personal ball collection. Potatoes, onions, and sweet potatoes soared through the air, leaving a mess in their wake. It was then that I knew I had to find a solution.” she says.

Thus, Baskiti was born - a simple yet ingenious answer to keeping your veggies (and anything else, really) out of your little one's reach while adding a touch of design to any open wall.

Since its humble beginnings, Baskiti has evolved into a beloved brand with a strong focus on custom designs within the hospitality and events industries.

Baskiti is where design and functionality intersect!

“A big focus for Baskiti from 2024 is custom-woven designs for restaurants, hotels, and Airbnbs. A huge USP is that we have a CMT team that adds fabric and leather details to our designs and can offer further colour and brand touches where necessary;" adds Leonard.

Image supplied

How did you come up with the name?

They say you appreciate something so much more when you don’t have it and wow, is it true! The name - Baskiti - comes from our nanny’s native tongue and means basket in Shona.

What’s your vision for the brand?

To be a leading luxury woven decor brand within the hospitality industry, not focussing on African-style decor, but luxury items that make a big impact.

Larger-than-life lampshades, standing lamps, hanging storage, side tables, baskets, plinths, and more. Our core focus is to combine function with design!

It cannot only be decorative, but that doesn’t mean we won’t have a few decor elements up our sleeve - we’re launching our scalloped woven pelmet this spring and are currently working on a few Airbnb revamps and wedding plinths.

As a female founder, what are some of the biggest challenges you have faced, and how did you overcome them?

I won’t necessarily say that the challenges I have faced have been due to me being a woman, but my biggest challenge has been scaling my businesses and making financial decisions that challenged me.

When you’re not financially inclined, as one needs to be within a business, it challenges you and your character, but what I have learned is: employ people who can do a far better job than you can and do what you’re good at.

In addition, as a woman, I am more in tune with my emotions, and I have had to learn to make business decisions with a clear (business) mind and only a little bit of heart. That said, I will never take emotion out of any decision I make for Baskiti - customers consume with emotion.

Tell us about your product offering

Baskiti’s origin is in hanging storage, and this has been our core offering to date, however, we have seen a huge shift towards custom designs within the hospitality industry. There are amazing local businesses that focus on African-inspired design, and yes, I love that, but that’s not who we are.

We focus on timeless yet modern and fun designs, using environmentally friendly materials as much as we can. All our products are woven using centre cane; it’s extremely strong and durable.

We aim to service innovative clients, collaborating with fellow local and international brands that push the envelope a little bit. Who trusts us to create magic - using only a set of hands! We are nothing without our team, and it’s incredibly important that whoever works with us, understands that.

We are your one-stop shop when you want something custom for a hotel, Airbnb, home, or - interior designers: for your clients’ homes.

Are the products locally manufactured/produced in South Africa?

All our products are locally handcrafted and woven in Cape Town, SA. Our cane originally comes from Indonesia. Our CMT, leather, and cane suppliers are all based in South Africa.

Image supplied

What are some of the challenges of getting your products out there?

We’ve been lucky that we had a following from the word go, however, we cannot compete with big retailers that sell similar goods (we’ve seen a few copies, unfortunately) for a third of the price. We don’t believe in importing our finished product and therefore ours comes with a higher price tag. I can show you, who made your Baskiti!

Our biggest focus, right now, is getting in front of the line within the various hospitality spaces - a new and exciting challenge for us indeed. But I know we are one of the only - if not the only - businesses to take on custom design work within this category so I am excited to see what the future holds.

What initiatives or projects are you most proud of, and why do you believe they were successful?

My most rewarding project thus far has been the seven custom lampshades we did for Mary & Joe in Ballito. It was one of our very first big commissions, and the experience was just perfect. A kind client, creative freedom, support and we paid our weavers so well – it was a full circle moment for me. It was the fire I needed to focus my full attention on custom design for our long list of clients!

Image supplied

What does Women’s Month mean to you?

It’s a beautiful reminder of how far we’ve come as women; and how important it is for us to really tap into our feminine energy.