Injiya Interiors has become a regular exhibitor at the East Coast Radio House and Garden Show, which begins at the Durban Exhibition Centre on June 25.
The husband-and-wife duo behind it all not only run a successful interior décor consultancy, but are manufacturers of locally crafted furniture and run their own training centre.
Ntombi and Mandla Luthuli say they started their business in their back garden in 2006. Hard work and the desire to ensure locally sourced materials and labour is what they say has helped them prosper. Today they make a wide range of furniture, curtains, soft furnishings and upholstery.
“The business was born out of our passion for quality handmade interior décor items and, as a result, our products are configured to suit individual personalities,” said Ntombi Luthuli .
For the Luthulis, providing a handful of opportunities for meaningful employment was just not enough, and so in 2009 they initiated the Injiya Interiors Training Facility.
“We started the training facility as there was a constant flow of people who were interested in learning the skills that we use on a day-to-day basis,” said Luthuli .
Today, the school is accredited by the Furniture Industries Education and Training Authority and offers a number of courses in cabinetmaking, wood machining, wood finishing and upholstery as well as part-time courses that teach skills in curtaining, Roman blinds, cushions, bed linen, pelmets and headboards, lampshades, ottomans and colour co-ordination.
Luthuli said their show exhibit would include a bedroom with a floating bed and pedestals, innovative headboard, base bed, pedestals, chaise and Roman blind styles.
The Luthulis say they hope to pave the way for other aspiring interior decorators locally.
* For more information about this year’s show, visit www.housegardenshow.co.za, or give the event organisers a call at 031 303 5941. - The Mercury