10 Questions For: Zana

Meet Sue and Robyn Britz, co-owners of Zana. They are the mother-daughter team behind the much-loved brand that produces fun and modern textile goods and homewares, that is enjoying local and international recognition.

1. How would you describe what you do for a living?

[Sue Britz]: I run the production side of Zana. I do all the prototyping, ordering and managing the staff.

[Robyn Britz]: I co-own Zana. We are an online store doing mainly textile goods made with our fabric designs. We do paper goods, furniture, soft furnishings, fabric, linen, accessories and many others where we sell locally, internationally, do wholesaling, corporate gifting and workshops. We are based in Woodstock and everything we do is produced in Cape Town.

2. What is your most vivid childhood memory?
[S]: My mother shooting a cobra in our garden with a sawn-off shotgun.

[R]: One holiday my family went to Lake Kariba. We were on a house boat and it was the 2000 New Year’s Eve celebration. I was young and the celebration was grand, it felt like something out of ‘The Great Gatsby’.

3. If you could invite any three people, dead or alive, for dinner, who would they be and why?
[S]: My grandmother, grandfather and my mother.

[R]: Leonardo DiCaprio, Elon Musk and Adele. I love pop culture and celebrities. I think that could be a good mix and I would be there in a heartbeat!

4. If you ever found yourself auditioning for a music reality TV show, what song would you sing and why?
[S]: ‘Redemption Song’ by Bob Marley.

[R]: My singing is terrible! But if I had to sing then maybe something by Ariana Grande. I honestly have never thought about which song I would sound good singing. Probably none of them!

5. How would you complete this sentence?
The South African cabinet should include a Minister of _____________________________.
[S]:  Accountability

[R]: Help A Girl Out

6. What would you say is the biggest misconception about you?
[S]: That I’m timid.

[R]: I have no secret. I just got together with the right partner for this business and we worked hard. Working hard is the secret!

7. What is your (honest) opinion of Cape Town?
[S]: Absolutely love it, wouldn’t be anywhere else in the world.

[R]: I love Cape Town! It is the best city in South Africa by far. I think we have a far way to go compared to many other First World cities but our scenery rival all. There is so much to do and it is a great place for small businesses to grow.

8. What's the greatest fear you've had to overcome to get where you are today?
[S]: Being okay with having an inconsistent income.

[R]: You have to be really brave to promote yourself and believe in what you are selling. Maybe it comes more naturally to some but when we started Zana I was always slightly scared to just start promoting our products. I had many questions about whether what we made was good enough. Quickly we gained confidence based on feedback and we moved forward from there!

9. What's the one thing you'd like to achieve before you die?
[S]:To have a training centre where I can teach people skills to make things so that they can find employment or be self-employed.

[R]: I would like to travel the world for a year, comfortably.

10. Which well-known South African personality would you, without a doubt, be able to beat in a street fight and why?   

[S]: I don’t want to fight anyone to be honest.

[R]: Derick Watts & The Sunday Blues. 

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ABOUT #CapeTownMag10Q:

CapeTownMagazine.com’s 10 Questions project gets to know some of the Mother City’s most creative and inspiring people. From television personalities and musicians to politicians and entrepreneurs, we find out more about well-known and up-and-coming Capetonians. You can follow #CapeTownMag10Q on Twitter and Facebook to track recent interviews or read more here about our other awesome 10 Questions candidates. 

A FEW OF OUR OTHER 10Q CANDIDATES:

10 Questions For YouTube Sensation Suzelle DIY

10 Questions For Actor Langley Kirkwood

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