Sharon , Tim Buthelezi ’ s daughter shows ‘ Capital ’ some of her father ’ s work .
Dlamini figurine bases made by potter Albert Zondi , who lives nearby .
Newly assembled Zulu-lulu figurines stand outside Time Buthelezi ’ s studio in Sweetwaters . staff and the business , and it was eating into production time too . “ Some days it took Tim and the others three hours to get home , and if he missed the bus in the morning he would have to walk for an hour to get a taxi ,” Stuart explains . “ It was not a clever way to work and we needed to work smarter .” Replacing key staff was not an option : these people had been trained over many years and their work — especially that of Tim Dlamini — was an integral part of the business . Relocating closer to Sweetwaters didn ’ t make sense either . But a rationalisation of the business was needed . The solution seemed obvious , once they thought of it : let key staff work from home . So they set up two of their sculptors — Tim Buthelezi , who paints and assembles the Dlaminis and other ceramic pieces , and Tim Dlamini , who makes the iconic heads and faces of the Dlaminis — with small home studios to allow them to work from where they lived . Their third potter , Albert Zondi — who throws the ceramic bases for the Dlaminis and lives near Buthelezi — continues to work from Buthelezi ’ s studio on a part-time basis . This simple decision to allow their workers to work remotely in this way has been instrumental in saving this element of the business , says Stuart . “ I worked out that we save 35 full 24- hour days a year this way , and quality has improved too .” The workers are also happier . “ Buthelezi ’ s young three-year-old daughter , Sharon , works with him every day now ,” Stuart points out . “ And he has more time , is saving money , and as long
as he meets production deadlines he ’ s his own boss .” Buthelezi agrees . “ It is much better ,” he smiles , his small daughter never far from his side as he shows Capital around his two-room studio . On a nearby hillside , Tim Dlamini is realising similar benefits of working from home . The benefits for Trayci and Stuart as business owners have been tangible too . Not having to deal constantly with day-today staff issues has freed them up to reimagine the business . “ The business has since changed fundamentally ,” says Stuart . “ Four years ago , everything in our gallery was selfproduced .” That placed huge demands on them to produce pieces for sale . The growing studio production commitments over the years obviously had an impact on Trayci ’ s individual career as an artist . “ It takes time and focus to build up an individual body of work for exhibitions , and I found it difficult to afford the quality timeout to do that ,” comments Trayci , who had to balance her role and involvement in the production studio with the marketing and branding of Zulu-lulu ceramics . Today that is no longer the case . They have simplified the business : part of the large Dargle property has been rented out , they have eliminated some of their products , and they now represent artists from all over South Africa . In fact , the ZULU LULU ART HOUSE at Piggly Wiggly is on its way to becoming a must-visit ceramic gallery in the country , says Stuart . “ We sell more ceramic pieces for Johannesburg artists than they can sell in
Johannesburg ,” he smiles . Zulu-lulu ’ s Art Bar at Piggly Wiggly caters for children , adults and groups , and is another big hit . It attracts upwards of 450 people a month , who come to paint their own ceramic pieces and enjoy browsing the “ country mall on the Meander ”. Thousands of visitors visit the ZULU LULU ART HOUSE every month . This year Zulu-Lulu added a new Dlamini figurine to their collection — the Dla-MINI . This smaller , 24-centimetre version of the popular collectable is the answer for travellers , who have always struggled to transport the standard-sized Dlaminis in their hand luggage . It weighs less than half the weight and “ the price is attractive too ”, says Stuart . Along with the new figurines , a Dlamini Facebook page has also been created , where customers can now post photos and information about where their Dlaminis have ended up . Named “ The Dlamini ”, it promises to offer an interesting insight into the popularity of this unique KZN Midlands idea that has ended up travelling the globe . The end result of Zulu-lulu ’ s experiment in doing things a little differently has not only been to save the business , but to actually grow it . By rationalising what they do and by simplifying their product lines , and by bucking the trend of maintaining ever-larger premises to house workers and instead letting their staff work from home , Zulu-lulu has thrived . This year alone , the business grew by 12 %, Stuart reports . One wonders how many other businesses could benefit from thinking a little differently .
Capital | Issue 2 | 45 .