LIONESS WEEKENDER COVER STORY

Epifania Stella Ernesto Gove, or Pifa as she is fondly known, is a Mozambican entrepreneur who is building a global reputation for the beautiful hats she creates for her clients. No stylish woman who wants to make an impression at any special and glamorous occasion would be without one of Pifa’s unique and eye-catching hat creations. Her company, Pifa Gove Millinery, specializes in handmade modern millinery, offering a bespoke service and also a ready to wear collection for her clients. She has also recently launched a personal image consultancy.

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There is a long tradition of hat wearing for special occasions on the African continent and globally, but in Mozambique the talented entrepreneur Pifa Gove is taking this art form to a whole new design level. She is building a wonderful niche business too. Her artistic and beautifully hand-crafted creations regular turn heads at special events, and she is winning legions of fans with her extraordinarily beautiful, often bespoke, millinery creations, all proudly made in Mozambique.

Pifa was inspired to start her business as a result of her own personal passion for hats, which over the years became almost an obsession in her desire to acquire them. She would regularly bring back various hats from her travels around the world as part of her knowledge gathering of new cities and countries. She soon realized unintentionally that she was a hat collector, but to her they weren't just hats, they had to have history, soul, culture and colour - lots of colour, even the darker colours had to overwhelm her with emotions. She says of her decision to move from personal hat collector and wearer to entrepreneur:

“So I went from the passion of collecting to a love of making. I decided if I were to pursue this passion I had to learn from the best, so I attended private tuitions from top established milliners and when I felt confident enough I started my own young business. I didn't look anywhere else for inspiration but within me; I didn't embark on this journey because it was a cool thing to do, I did it as a response to a long dormant dream, a dream I had held since I was knee high. My work is about putting love into a piece. My hats should be worn by women who appreciate the passion I try to transmit through this art of hat making.Therefore, I wish my pieces to be the cherry on top of the look of a classy and elegant woman. I like to believe that my millinery creations are unique in the sense that there aren’t two that are the same - they are each made to suit my clients’ personality, above all they are exquisite.”

Just before the recent COVID-19 pandemic erupted, Pifa began to provide a series of special classes “Fun with Fascinators” (Fascinators are ornate headpieces often decorated with flowers or feathers). The 4 week long program for girls age 8-12 is held each Saturday and provides them with the basics of fascinator making. Pifa decided to do create this special series of classes because she believes that children from an early age should be able to understand and enjoy how to make beautiful things such as hats. She says:

“There is a whole world waiting for them outside the classroom, and they need to be oriented and given tools to develop their creative side. They need to be able to compete with children from the developed world on the same level. Unfortunately, due to the COVID-19 outbreak, I only had one class and didn’t take any pictures of that... but once this nightmare is over I will continue!! Children with parents that can afford it will pay for the classes, but my long term vision is to create a club (not just to learn millinery but other arts) for underprivileged children who can’t afford to pay.

Where the Pifa Gove Millinery business is concerned, Pifa has managed to secure a few contracts with some high profile dignitaries. She also intends to extend her business to incorporate etiquette for adults (business as well as social ) and for children. She will be completing and launching this programme soon. Watch this space!

To read Pifa Gove’s startup story, click here.

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