Joyce Murairi‘s earliest memory was her mother’s hands stretching taut some soft cloth that held the gentle hum of the sewing machine. And the words of encouragement that Mother spoke to her daughter were like a conversation between little Joyce’s soul and her passion. From then on, the sewing machine was a testament and sanctuary for Joyce. Each stitch would become intentional and rhythmic. A sewing machine was like a prayer in motion. Such sacred moments with fabric and fashion were the beginning of little Joyce’s Nyumbani Fashion
The Feeling of Creation
Her first time cutting fabric was like a harrowing examination. Her hands trembled, but her willpower withstood the uncertainty. Joyce stayed up late sewing, seated next to a dim yet gentle glow of a kitchen lamp. She was creating a piece of clothing, yes, but more so, she was creating a feeling. Joyce was sewing a story of joy, fierce elegance, belonging and African pride.
Ten calloused fingers later, Joyce weaved the threads of her future into life. The Kitenge, Ankara and Wax cloths held histories she knew she was destined to retell. People wore Nyumbani clothes with a smile that sealed each piece as though it belonged to them all along. Those smiles were the very encouragement she needed to expand beyond the kitchen with the lamp, into new worlds and regions in Africa. Her impact was yet to be felt in new spaces eager for her craft.
The Feeling of Growth
Stepping through the gates of the African Leadership Academy in Johannesburg was the genesis of Joyce’s pedantic yet impactful craft growth. Here, she was not just a girl who stitched by lamplight. She was an artist among artists. A creator among creators. For the first time, she felt inspired all over again, just as she felt when her mother stitched and spoke. She was surrounded by a community of people who believed in building and becoming. It was at the school’s annual Entrepreneurial Fest (E-Fest) that Joyce became an entrepreneur. Ms. Ssanyu Sematimba, ALA’s Head of Creative Arts and Events encouraged her, and her classmates lent their time and bodies for Joyce to stitch together her very first fashion show at the E-Fest.
And anyone who witnessed the show could feel the quiet power. Vibrant garments swayed in the sunlight, each one carrying a silent promise Joyce had long held within herself:
This is where you will create. This is where you will grow. This is where you will build
Joyce’s vision gracefully grew. She clung to the thread of her purpose and future. She might have felt pulled thin, taut, tight from the aching burdens of life and its responsibilities: books, work, rent and deadlines. But nothing could outweigh her love for her needle. When the world frayed, she sewed and sketched as if it were her sacred ritual tethered to her thread, which pulled her heartstrings and assured her that she would keep going, growing.
The Feeling of Building
Today, the Nyumbani cloth proudly billows behind Joyce. More smiles decorate her impact. More models walk as a stitch in the story and the conviction she weaves in each piece. Joyce boldly shears through borders and expectations, expanding her reach and transforming Nyumbani into a house of pride, possibility, and fierce creativity. She envisions a future where youth feel empowered to begin the messy process of creating, continue building, and create even more powerful stories in fashion for young women.
If you are a filmmaker in need of costumes, a creative who needs styling, or an entrepreneur who needs stories of your impact stitched into fabric, Joyce is one message away at joycelumoo@gmail.com or on LinkedIn. Her vision is to open the Nyumbani Fashion Institute in Kinshasa. We, the world and the ALA network, stand before her. All she needs is a fabric and determination, which overflows for her.
Joyce has become, and she is still becoming and believing. Her next chapter is sewn, boldly and brilliantly so, into the very fabric of her Nyumbani.
