Spotlight: Patricia Tchimoa-Ouethy - BAMILEK

Spotlight.

p a t s y: BAMILEK

INTRODUCTION

p a t s y is an African creative artist, born + based in Glasgow. A multitalented individual who is not only the founder of BAMILEK a brand whose use of African Couture and Streetwear and core values relating to the environment has created a unique aesthetic she calls diaspora streetwear. She is also a visual artist with a diverse skill set who has created an enterprise called pxtsyuniverse where she creates a myriad of visuals for example lifestyle photography, album covers or event flyers. p a t s y is an afro/hiphop dancer and teacher who has danced on stages across Scotland, most notably for COP26. She is a unique musician mixing rapping and singing to create different vibes throughout her music; her debut single will be released alongside her exhibition on 18th February.

INTERVIEW

What made you come up with the idea BAMILEK? and what initially inspired you to develop your own business?

I’ve always knew I was going to be an entrepreneur and at the end of 2019 when covid was on the rise my cousin and I had been talking about starting a clothing brand together. So, I decided that for 2020 I was going to make a vision board of all the things I wanted to come to fruition, however we ended up not moving forward with the brand together to I decided to start my own brand instead. It took me a while to find the right name, going back and forth with names that almost felt right but weren’t quite there. Until I came up with BAMILEK which is a play on the name of my tribe in Cameroon, Bamiléké. Finding the name inspired me even more to create the story behind who we are, a diaspora streetwear brand.

What themes do you tend to interrogate in your work?

As a brand our core focus is sustainability, helping you have some guilt free retail therapy, because we continently create pieces and provide services with the environment in mind. We want everyone to feel part of our tribe, which is why our pieces are genderless, we create custom jewellery pieces, and we try to represent everyone through our models.

What is your favourite project you've ever worked on and why?

Definitely the ndop. This was a street show case/bbq event where we started off on Buchanan Street performing + gathering the crowd, before moving to Glasgow green where we continued the performances alongside a pop-up shop showcasing the bantu collection + a bbq. With this collection we wanted to show African pieces mixed with streetwear. I travelled to Cameroon to work with tailors and was able to create the afro pieces worn. For this mini launch we collaborated with UZOR designs and Amaka Accessories, styling the performers with different pieces from each brand. The sun was out, the vibes were right and so many connections were built from this, which is why I love doing this.

What advice would you give to independent business owners of colour looking to further develop their brand in Scotland?

If you’re thinking about doing it genuinely then start. If you know where to start then research, research + research, this will help you in so many ways and sometimes it will feel like what you’re just looks like a bunch of words leading to nowhere try something different, look somewhere else. Don’t be afraid to collaborate and work with your peers, you don’t always need to work with big flashy companies. Sometimes the best people to start working with are your peers, because once y’all start building your careers these are the same people you’re going to want around you.

What are you currently working on?

Right now, I’m working on the LIMBE Exhibition which is a fundraiser exhibition where there will: be music, dance, art, fashion + film; all this to raise funds to clean up down beach Limbe our goal is at least £2,500. This exhibition will also be a celebration of our first year since we launched in February 2022, so the film will be following me throughout the year of starting BAMILEK LTD. We will be releasing a new collection made from recycled/upcycled materials and with that we will be organising a clothes drive which we will then bring with us to Cameroon when we will be organising the clean-up to give to different organisations in Cameroon.

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