Marketer with an eye for beauty
By day Damaris Kamande works as a marketer for a local online company. From 7am to 5pm each day Damaris creates and puts into practice marketing programmes for her employer.
During the weekends and evenings, she grooms people for events, weddings and photo shoots. She also a clothes designer and stylist.
Damaris has always had an eye for beauty. She learned the ropes through observation and practised it on her sisters, but never thought that she could use the skills to make a living.
As a teenager, she loved to look stylish and she would use her mother’s sewing machine to design clothes to suit her style.
Her bubbly personality however drove her in a different direction and she found herself studying an International Business Administration degree at USIU-Nairobi.
She got a job in the marketing field soon after and settled in.
Her passion for beautiful things was rekindled in 2012 when her mother, a designer, gave her a sewing machine as a gift.
She immediately enrolled at Evelyn’s School of Design to polish her fashion and design skills. At the end of that year, she registered her own company Dee by Design.
She used her savings from her day job to buy makeup and the fabric she needed to get her business started.
Like any new business, she admitted that there were teething problems but her family was very supportive, helping her spread the word.
Teething problems
A year and a half later, Damaris is making more money from her side hustle than she does from her main job.
Her major challenge has been the ever-changing fashion trends and new makeup looks and so she has to keep her ears and eyes open in order to be up to date.
She dreams of Dee by Design growing into a big fashion house.
“I love marketing and the networking that comes with it but nothing gives me more joy than when I am in my element doing makeup or fittings for clothes. Being able to do this full-time is my ultimate dream,” she concluded.