Can you tell us about your background and what led you to start Me&B?
Betina has decades of experience within the local production scene, and I was a buyer for several years before we came together to create Me&B. We’re not sample size but still wanted to have access to fashion that was fun and on trend, but whenever we left a shopping experience we felt really frustrated with the options on offer. We realised that if we combined our years of experience together, we could create a brand that filled a gap.
Me&B works hard with the local communities to create garments that fit like a dream and make our customers feel like the best version of themselves. The very essence of our brand lies in the idea that fashion is truly for everyone, no matter your size, style, identity – we’re about embracing it all!
We’re not here to change the identities of our customers to fit into some stock standard ideal, instead our team is all about ensuring that customers can find garments that reignite the joy that we know clothing can bring. Our ranges are centred around the idea that fashion is fun, so while we produce incredible basics, we are also focused on creating those sizzle pieces that you won’t find anywhere else and add that something extra to your wardrobe whether that’s a fun print, interesting silhouette, or bold colour.
Who are the faces behind Me&B?
We’re a mother daughter duo and it’s been such a dream to work together! Betina, more affectionately referred to as “B”, is our head of design. She’s the one who comes up with all the exciting new additions to the range. On top of her incredible eye for trends, she’s got decades of experience with local production which has been key to the success of the brand. I’m Kelly, the head of brand. From using my years of experience as a buyer to help formulate the ranges with B to filming crazy Tik Tok trends, I’m also brainstorming how to convey the story of the brand to the consumer.
What inspired you to become an entrepreneur, and what drives you to succeed? Can you talk about any mentors or influential figures who have guided or inspired you in your entrepreneurial pursuits?
My mom has constantly been my go-to source of inspiration. For as long as I can remember I’ve also been so impressed with her drive and work ethic, and now that we get to work alongside one another every day this just continues to grow. Talk about inspiration!
In your career so far, can you share an “aha” moment, when a learning made a big impact on the next step that you took?
When you have your own business there are so many “aha” moments that are constantly changing your trajectory! We’ve learnt from all these experiences two key lessons:
- Listen to your gut!
After years of doing this, we’ve learnt to also trust ourselves and our choices. Your gut feeling is often the way to go, so we’ve been trying to do more of that within our decision-making processes in the brand!
- Nobody knows what they are doing.
We’ve formed some incredible connections within the industry and had some really honest chats, and we’ve found that nobody knows what they are doing. We’re all just trying out best to figure it out as we go.
Tell us a bit about your personal life and what you are passionate about.
When we’re not grafting away at the brand, we’re spending quality time with family. As a family, we’re passionate about food so we love to spend some quality time together over a home cooked meal!
If you could be a professional in any industry, what would it be?
My dream job would be a movie director! I’d love the creative direction, the lights and cameras, the action, – bring on the drama!
What can we expect from Me&B in the next two years?
We LOVE this question because it gets us so excited about all the possibilities! We’re obviously loving what we’re doing in terms of clothing and offering a new space for women to find joy in fashion. So, while that is, and will continue to be, our top priority – we’d love to see our menswear range grow a bit more – the guys deserve some fun too right? And we’re both dreaming of a Me&B homeware range at some point!
What made you choose Village Walk as the location for your shop?
We were ready for the next challenge; we’ve just opened our second store space in Cape Town and we felt like Gauteng needed some more love. Village Walk just felt like the perfect fit for what we want to offer our customers, besides our pretoria girls are some of our biggest fans – we couldn’t leave them out for much longer!
What is your vision for the growth and expansion of your business in the long term?
We’d love to open stores in every major city around South Africa, that’s a huge bucket list item for us. We’re also slowly but surely moving into the exporting space, this will be our second year exporting the brand to Australia, and we’d love to continue growing our export list. Watch out world, Me&B are coming for you!
After Village Walk, where will you open next?
We’re always open to new options, our Durban customers are dying for us to visit KZN so maybe we’ll take Me&B to Durbs! I guess we’ll have to wait and see…
