News24 | Two Pretoria sisters quit their jobs to build a basket business – now it’s in 15 countries

This story is part of the weekly series SA Success Stories: Origin stories of successful local brands and names, proudly sponsored by Old Mutual Wealth.

When Mo Mokone and her sister Michelle flew to a New York trade show to showcase their woven baskets made of recycled plastic, they ran out of money before the first day was over.

They had sold their iPhones to fund the trip, and they would return to South Africa with no orders.

But they would leave with something else: an award for best new product, beating thousands of exhibitors, and a story they would tell for the rest of their lives.

“I think the last two days of that trip, we became homeless and we had to call a friend who then made a plan for us,” recalled co-founder and older sister Mo.

She added:

She basically called her former host family, where she used to be an au pair and we slept in the basement with the family’s blind dog.

That trip in 2019 by all accounts was a costly one, but their award for best product would land Mo’s Crib a feature in VISI magazine – a risk that would pay off in the years to come.

Today, Mo’s Crib is an eclectic homeware and décor company listed in Builder’s Warehouse, Woolworths and other major local retailers. It employs 380 people and has international listings through large US retailers like Target and Crate & Barrel, which carry its products in 15 countries worldwide.

And four times a year, the Mokone sisters host their own direct-to-consumer factory sales, which are hugely popular.

READ | How two chefs built six restaurants on one Cape Town street, from Belly to Buri

But back in 2016, they were two sisterpreneurs making origami bowls from paper and woven baskets from recycled PVC plastic to showcase at local markets like Kamers.

A mother’s sacrifice

Mo and Michelle grew up in Mabopane, north of Pretoria. Their mother left for the UK when Mo was 14 and Michelle was 12 so she could earn enough to keep her daughters in school.

It was while living in the UK in 2004 that Mo first learned origami – the Japanese art of paper folding – a skill that would, more than a decade later, become the seed of a business.

Mo began selling her origami sculptures as bowls at craft markets in 2016, and in 2017 she introduced a new product: baskets made from recycled PVC water pipes, cut into strips and woven around wire frames.

“We realised that there’s definitely potential, there’s a market in South Africa for these baskets,” said Michelle. “And we basically followed that.”

Today, Mo’s Crib makes a variety of products from recycled materials.

Mo’s Crib/Facebook

While pursuing this as a side hustle, Mo was working full-time for Nestlé, where she held roles in HR and as an executive assistant before moving to Switzerland to accept a position there. Incidentally, her younger sister Michelle was accepted for a master’s degree at the University of Bern and worked as an agricultural economist.

And so, both sisters were living in Switzerland, building corporate careers, when the idea that would become Mo’s Crib started to take shape.

One basket, one swan

The sisters would regularly return home to sell their baskets and origami swans at markets when customers started calling. They wanted more baskets.

They would also travel to trade shows in France to show them off; here too, the customers wanted more baskets.

A customer selects a basket at a Mo’s Crib factory sale pop-up event.

Mo’s Crib/Facebook

The baskets have become very popular all around the world.

Mo’s Crib/Facebook

Together they had always dreamed of becoming entrepreneurs, and so they had a decision to make: quit their jobs, leave Switzerland and go home to make and sell baskets full-time.

“If you had asked me, if I was in that position now, knowing what I know, I don’t know if I would actually make that decision,” Michelle said with a laugh.

She added:

First of all, we only had two products. For us to leave our jobs and to leave the comfortable life that we were living, to go home and sell this one basket and this one swan – I don’t understand how that makes sense.

“It doesn’t make sense to me now. But at the time, it made a whole lot of sense.”

“It was definitely courage,” she added. “And it was time. We just believed that it was going to work out.”

They returned to South Africa in August 2019 to chase their dream. And within months, Covid-19 hit.

A disaster of 2 000 masks

When the pandemic struck, the sisters had almost no cash in the bank. But they had secured a Woolworths order for grass versions of their baskets due in July 2020, and they needed production money to fulfil it. Masks were the only thing selling at the time, so they pivoted despite having no manufacturing experience.

They cold-emailed large corporations and their first corporate order was for 2 000 masks. They delivered about 20 and those were badly made.

“We were just scrambling at this point,” said Mo. “We knew how to sell, but we didn’t know how to make.”

Fortunately, the client gave them another chance. They partnered with an established mask manufacturer, improved quality, and ramped up production. Within five weeks, they had made R500 000.

That money let them focus on Woolworths’ order for grass baskets. The pivot kept the business alive long enough to meet the retail commitment that would launch them onto a new level.

Retailers start calling, 380 jobs

Builders’ Warehouse had also signed on in that same year, and by December, so did Mr Price.

“From then on, retailers started calling us instead of us calling them,” said Mo.

It was during this extended lockdown period when the sisters proactively emailed buyers in the US with a catalogue. That outreach led to conversations with Crate & Barrel, which listed Mo’s Crib products in 2021.

READ | She quit her top finance job to solve the clothing waste crisis...and created 8 000 jobs

Target soon followed, and those partnerships today put the brand in countries such as Canada, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, the Philippines, and Peru.

“We recently even launched in Costa Rica,” said Mo. “Places that we haven’t even been to are looking for our products.”

Today, Mo’s Crib operates a production site and distribution centre in Pretoria West. It employs 380 people and manufactures more than 10 000 pieces a month. In a busy shipping period, it can export nine containers in a single fortnight.

Today, Mo’s Crib makes a variety of products that are very popular at its factory sale pop-up events.

Mo’s Crib/Facebook

Their product range has grown to include furniture, handbags, hats, home decor, and the origami sculptures that started it all. They work with grasses sourced across Africa, alongside their signature recycled PVC, and have recycled 10 000 tonnes of plastic.

“One of the reflections I have is that being able to just be so courageous to leave the comfort of our job has created so much impact,” said Michelle. “The employees we have support about 1 500 people.”

The factory sale that changed the model

Alongside retail and online channels, the sisters developed a direct-to-consumer model that has become their most profitable revenue stream: pop-up factory sales.

Four times a year, they set up in a different city or town like Pretoria, Durban, Stellenbosch or Johannesburg. A single four-day event can sell 10 000 units and generate R4 million, with about 65% of sales on the first day, they tell News24.

The model has been so successful that the sisters are planning to replicate it internationally, starting with an exhibition in Los Angeles titled “African Craftsmanship Comes to LA”.

Reflecting on their early years, Mo says those days helped them develop a thick skin as entrepreneurs.

“If I don’t see any money in the bank account this month, for instance, I’m not having heart palpitations.”

She added:

It is not complacency, it is the calm of someone who has been broke before and survived.

And asked what advice they would give to other aspiring entrepreneurs inspired by their story, the sisters returned to fundamentals.

“Go after whatever you want with a determined effort,” said Michelle. “Have a clear vision. Register the business. Do the research. Test the proof of concept. Don’t wait for the perfect moment because it will never come.”

Mo’s advice is even simpler: “Think about what problem you are solving. Not just chasing money, but creating something unique, something sustainable, something that changes things for the people it touches. Be the change you want to see.”

This story is part of the series SA Success Stories: Origin stories of successful South African brands, names, businesses, individuals and NGOs, proudly sponsored by Old Mutual Wealth.