The inspiring story of Oageng Manana
In townships, there are
not too many young people in the furniture-making business, which allows
Manana was born and bred in
Jouberton, North West. After completing grade 12 in the year 2009, he enrolled
for an undergrad in BSc Physics & Chemistry the following year at the North-West University. He later enrolled for a
postgraduate program at the University of
Pretoria in BSc(Hons)(Med)-Medical Physics
which he completed in the year 2015. From
2015 to 2016 he pursued a career by undertaking practical and voluntary work.
In 2017, Manana opted to quit work and pursue an entrepreneurial journey. He
claims the idea of establishing his business started out as a concept in early
2017 when he developed an interest in the creative arts. “Prior to 2017 I often
created random visual art paintings and sketches using pencils, watercolors and acrylic paintings which were
all self-taught,” he states. In 2017 he began paying more attention to his creative side, creating more paintings
and sketches. Manana says he felt like he needed more, therefore an interest in
craft design was developed in him.
He worked
with various mediums in operating
different handcrafted products for his
personal use. Friends who came over would request for a tour of
the house, raving about his taste and asking if he would make similar pieces
for them. Bit by bit, he began selling individual items and using the revenue
generated to continue doing what he was good at.
“The basic focus was home furniture
and before long I had started creating handcrafted
furniture such as coffee tables, armchairs, cabinets and other items. I then established
my company named CityBirds Craft Corporations,” says Manana.
Manana says CityBirds Craft Co is a lifestyle brand with an interest in the
design industry. It specializes in modern handcrafted
customized furniture, interior design, visual arts and home decor accessories,
with the aim of growing into other design aspects in the near future. He uses eco-friendly equipment
to build his furniture. “I use all types
of solid wood, furniture-friendly natural
steel, coated plastic and fabric,” he states. Manana also makes use of user-friendly hand mobile tools like
your jointers, router, jigsaws, sander
machines, table saws, etc. His products are handcrafted,
meaning after all the measured cuts, assembling, molding, sanding, furnishing, and
painting are all done by hand.
When questioned on his preference
for solid wood, he said wood is one of the most valuable recyclable materials because it can be transformed into a
wide variety of secondary products.
CityBirds Craft Co’s main aim is to
modernize, customize and make homes aesthetically pleasing, catering to the
clients’ needs, style and space.
The company is a home for creatives
like Manana, the talented, whether self-taught
or trained. In five years, he plans to recruit
more young people who just like him have no home in big corporates as a result of
inexperience and unrealistic academic backgrounds. More than anything, he wants to participate in the economy of this
country because he regards unemployment as a crisis.
His future endeavors include using his company as a tool to find passionate
young individuals who will not become an unemployment statistic but will also
have the ability to do something they truly love while making a difference. “Our
country exports a lot in the home interior design sector, they turn a blind eye
to the talent young South Africans possess,”
says Manana. His goal is to eliminate that sort of narrative and also revel in
the pride of creating something 100% South African produced so we can also
export and expand our industry as far as the design industry is concerned.
Challenges encountered by Manana during the project is finances, which pose a
big threat in executing his projects. “I
need to hire people, expand my logistics, I need to expand, I need to save time
and I need bigger machinery to make certain cuts, and with the help of funding
and better financial back up all of this can be superseded, he concedes”
Manana’s company has more goals and hunger to grow as far as
creative design/arts is concerned to accommodate all these talents. He wants to impact the country more in the
employment sector. “With my previous experiences, I know the pain, depression,
and frustration that comes with unemployment whether educated or not,” he says.
To access his work, talk orders,
customize your home and follow the progress, readers can find CityBirds Craft
Co in all social media platforms. On Facebook ‘CityBirds Craft Co’, on Instagram @citybirdscraftco. The website is
still in building progress and will be launching it around August 2018.
CityBirds Craft Co. is also powering an Eclectic Installation exhibition on the
2nd, 3rd and 4th of November in Klerksdorp at the Klerksdorp Museum. The
exhibition will feature one other great visual artist.
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