Mabel Simpson
Story by Helenah Swedberg; photos by Kate Carlton
The droning sound of sewing machines rises from the small workshop next to Mabel Simpson’s house. She sorts through a stack of African-print fabrics, while her two employees stitch together colorful laptop bags, handbags, backpacks, shirts, and cushions. One of the sewing machines once belonged to Mabel’s grandmother, and it has supported Mabel since she quit her office job over a decade ago to to launch mSimps, her own fashion brand.
“I love art, but my previous job had nothing to do with it,” Mabel says. Although making a career out of art is unusual in Ghana, Mabel studied visual arts in school, and it was there that she also learned to run a retail operation, though JA. Her school had a “JA Shop” on campus, and students were responsible for all aspects of managing the store, including keeping it running and profitable, learning the basics of business.
Mabel took those skills and poured them into the mSimps shop in Accra, Ghana. “The most important thing I learned from JA was business management,” Mabel says. “I’m really grateful for that opportunity. I don’t know if I would have managed to do all this without that experience.”
But being an entrepreneur can be a lonely path. “Few people understand it,” Mabel says. “They think you can wake up anytime and work anytime, and that you make a lot of money. But as an entrepreneur, you are always paying other people. You only survive if you have financial discipline.”
She wants to be an advocate for art and let young people know that they can make a career out of their artistic passions. “Some students want to study visual art, but their parents force them to pick something else,” Mabel says. “Art is underappreciated, but the key is knowing how to turn your passion into a paying job.” Mabel remembers a former mentor once telling her, “Art won’t pay you; business will pay you.” She now shares this advice with all the young art lovers she meets.
““You need both a creative mindset and business know-how. JA gives you all of this.””
Update to our original story!
Since our visit to Mabel’s shop in 2018, she has expanded to a large online store. You can find her product at https://msimpsgh.com. MSimps also now provides the opportunity for students to have internships during vacations to enable them have hands on knowledge, skill, and experience. Mabel also partners with Soar Global Foundation, an NGO dedicated to children education and community development, by organizing reading clinics for children in orphanages and underperforming schools and raising funds to stock books in school libraries across Ghana.