Janine Jones, aged 33, was born in Tafelsig, Mitchell's Plain, a former "coloured" township in Cape Town. She is an entrepreneur who runs her beaded cutlery company in the V&A Waterfront Craft Market.

Janine studied interior decorating but she never worked as an interior decorator. Instead she worked as a waitress for four years. She got pregnant and lost her job.  At the same time, her relationship with her boyfriend ended. She was lonely and stressed because she could not figure out how she was going to provide for her unborn baby. At the time, she only had R500 saved.

She is a member of the His People Church in Goodwood, Cape Town. When she found out that her church ran beadwork courses called The Hope Factory she signed up immediately. The church empowers people with different skills like sewing, craft and much more but she enjoyed the beadwork the most. After acquiring all that knowledge she took her savings and bought cutlery and beads. She prepared beaded cutlery with her mother's assistance.  A friend saw her beaded craft and advised her to sell her goods at the craft market in Constantia. She took the advice and sold out her entire stock of 2 700 spoons in the first day.

The business received more recognition and her customer's demands grew. She decided to open a stall in Greenmarket Square. That was not enough, so she joined the V&A Waterfront Craft Market. She confirmed that joining an established Craft market opened more doors for her. She learned how to exhibit her products properly and the demand grew bigger and bigger.

Today Janine is happy to say that she is the employer of 10 women from her own community. All these women are single mothers. The idea is to boost their confidence and inspire them to do something for their children.

Janine has also built a workshop in her own home to make things more convenient for her employees.

In future, she plans to expand her product range to include homeware like beaded tablecloths and fabric-painted napkins. Janine never dreamt that her business would become so big, but she believes that by the Grace of God everything is possible.

If you want to know more about this wonderful woman go to her website:
Janine or you can write to her at:info(at)janinejonesafrica.com