WOMAN OF PASSION: An eye for art

Asha Mohammed, 27, is an interior designer. Some of her reviewers describe her as ‘a woman with magic hands’.

Interestingly, she didn't attend any interior designing school. She swears by YouTube. Asha, however, confesses that sometimes, it's hard to point out the source of her ideas, only that, she is passionate about what she does.

But a few years ago, this is a profession that Asha had not given much attention. In college, she studied human resource so if she followed that trajectory, she would probably be in an office making policies.

“After completing my studies in 2013, I immediately got a job as a human resource officer with a local parastatal. Unfortunately, I found it to be routinely and monotonous. Does it ever feel like your days are all the same? That's exactly how it felt,” she says.

CREATIVE SIDE

To relieve herself of boredom, she started watching online make-up tutorials during her free time and soon, she was hooked. “I had my wedding in 2012 and for a long time, I knew that something was off with my make-up – but I couldn’t tell what. Then, I didn't know any better. When I started watching the videos, I was stunned!”

This marked the beginning of a whole new experience and for the next three months, she saved up to buy original make-up products. Although they are pricey, she was keen on starting right.

Asha started practising make-up application on her sister. Towards the end of 2013, she got together with a few friends and formed a Facebook Group, Glam Life. “The intention was to bring make-up artists and enthusiasts together so we would learn and help each other grow. Currently, the group has more than 150,000 members,” she says.

Soon, she started getting many requests and referrals from the members of the group and the more she practiced, the more she thirsted for the art. “At the start, I was shy about taking new jobs fearing that I wouldn’t deliver – I wanted to be certain that I could offer exceptional services to my clients. However, the accolades I got from my satisfied clients gave me the motivation to quit my job in 2014. Interestingly, I used to earn more from my side hustle than the main job. The transition was so seamless that I didn’t even have to worry about the decision,” she says.

While social media platforms such as YouTube and Pinterest have been her training ground and her strongest tools, the mother of three confesses that her parents have been her greatest role models.

“One of the greatest lessons I picked from my parents is the power of my hands and mind. My siblings and I were raised by parents who were entrepreneurs. As a family, we would make samosas together then my dad goes to sell. I value teamwork,” she says.

PASSION

Asha also believes in mentorship so when she started warming up to the idea of interior designing, she passed her make-up skills and products to an upcoming make-up artist and went fully into interior designing last year.

“I was in my bedroom one day when I realised that I spend most of my time there. However, I didn’t like the colour of the walls and I wasn’t in a position to hire the services of an interior designer. With the help of my sister, I re-painted the walls. I posted online and the responses were overwhelming. I formed another group, Glam My Home, where I got my first clients from,” she says.

“Although I am based in Nairobi, I offer my services to clients in different parts of the country,” she says. “Before embarking on any project with my team, I research a lot about service providers in the particular area we are going. Also, I am big on networking because I believe that people are the most important resources one can have.”

However, she says that it can get difficult at times. “In my field, I meet different personalities and some are clients who want to give instructions. If you tell an interior designer ‘I want this wall painted blue and the seats upholstered to teal’, you limit their creativity. Creatives thrive best when they are left to maximise their potential,” she says.

She loves what she does, so much that it doesn’t feel like she's working. She enjoys driving and shopping which is what this job entails about.

“Through the years, I have discovered that I am a risk taker and it is really liberating. Also, I am not afraid to dream big or make huge targets. I aspire to be the name that comes up when people talk of a remarkable interior designer,” she concludes.