A tribute to Carrol Boyes, a Lioness of the African design world

August 18, 2019 Melanie Hawken

100 Lionesses

This past week saw the passing of Carrol Boyes, an iconic South African designer who built a truly unique global brand and business with an African heart. Her brand and the products she and her team created were quirky, distinctive and unmistakeable. Carrol was a true Lioness of Africa, an entrepreneur who believed in and always supported gender empowerment, both within and outside her company. She constantly invested in her staff to both develop them as creative individuals, and also to ensure the future growth of the business and its efforts to support community upliftment.

100 LIONESSES: Carrol Boyes, the woman who's made business an art form

February 16, 2019 Melanie Hawken

Carrol Boyes, founder of Carrol Boyes (South Africa) — **Carrol Boyes**, founder of Carrol Boyes (South Africa)

Carrol Boyes is an iconic South African designer who has built a global brand. She founded Carrol Boyes (Pty) Ltd in 1991 combining her artistic flair and talent in sculpture with her jewellery experience to create an extensive range of distinctive homeware, giftware, flatware and table top products. Today, her company designs and manufactures a meticulously crafted product range of well over 1000 items and sells over a million items every year. Products are always imbued with Carrol's trademark artistic flair and finesse. The brand is available through her 35 branded shops in South Africa and in over 30 other countries around the world.

100 Lionesses: South African Homeware Designer, Carrol Boyes, launches new textile range

December 16, 2018 Melanie Hawken

Building on her highly successful global homeware brand, South Africa’s leading design and retail entrepreneur Carrol Boyes has launched her first range of textiles incorporating her signature figure motifs.

Entrepreneur Advice from Carrol Boyes: Being first to market helps

September 24, 2018 Melanie Hawken

Being first to market helps....

“Being the first person to do something is a huge advantage. I was lucky in that I got to the market first with the kind of products I produce. If you can’t do something new, then you have to do the old very, very well.”

Carrol Boyes, founder of Carrol Boyes (Pty) Ltd (South Africa)

LIONESS COLAB: Carrol Boyes x The Joinery

September 16, 2018 Melanie Hawken

In South Africa, the iconic South African homeware design brand, Carrol Boyes, and sustainable lifestyle brand, The Joinery, have launched a new collaborative community collection.

Quote of the Day by Carrol Boyes

September 5, 2018 Melanie Hawken

“It’s always the finances. I constantly had to find the balance between having enough money to expand, and not sinking into so much debt that I would not be able to sleep at night.”

Carrol Boyes, founder of Carrol Boyes (Pty) Ltd (South Africa)

Entrepreneur Advice from Carrol Boyes: Get the right staff for your business through referrals

October 31, 2017 Melanie Hawken

Recruiting the right people is always tricky. Referrals are the way to go....

“Recruiting new staff is always tough; people may come with excellent credentials, but until they are actually doing the job, you never know what you are going to end up with. That’s one of the reasons why I prefer to employ people who are personally referred to me.”

- Carrol Boyes is an iconic South African designer who has built a global brand. She founded Carrol Boyes (Pty) Ltd in 1991 combining her artistic flair and talent in sculpture with her jewellery experience to create an extensive range of distinctive homeware, giftware, flatware and table top products. Today, her company designs and manufactures a meticulously crafted product range of well over 1000 items and sells over a million items every year. Products are always imbued with Carrol's trademark artistic flair and finesse. The brand is available through her 35 branded shops in South Africa and in over 30 other countries around the world.

Quote of the Day by Carrol Boyes

September 26, 2017 Melanie Hawken

“People do not believe in artists, nor do they believe that a sculptor can also be an entrepreneur. It’s such a fallacy. Creativity combined with common sense is bound to yield great results.”

Quote of the Day by Carrol Boyes

May 3, 2017 Melanie Hawken

“Employing people has always been very stressful for me, .... The idea of having someone’s life in my hands was nerve-racking. It was a responsibility I took very seriously and still do to this day.”

Quote of the Day by Carrol Boyes

September 22, 2016 Melanie Hawken

“Nineteen people may love your work, but the twentieth one will hate it and will tell you so; you cannot allow that to affect you. That may sound trite, but there is huge risk in letting criticism get you down.”

Entrepreneur Advice from Carrol Boyes: Don't panic when your loan request is turned down

April 11, 2016 Melanie Hawken

How to respond when your loan application is turned down and funds are tight....

“In retrospect, that was most likely a good thing as it forced me to be extremely conservative. As far as materials and equipment were concerned, I bought only what I could afford. The initial expansion of the business was definitely curtailed by the fact that I did not have access to huge sums of money.”

Entrepreneur Advice from Carrol Boyes: Get word-of-mouth advertising working for your business

December 30, 2015 Melanie Hawken

Get word-of-mouth advertising working for your business....

“People went to the shop to see what was hot and because my products were displayed there, they were immediately given the stamp of approval. It really all came about by word of mouth. To this day, I believe that is the strongest marketing tool available.”

Entrepreneur Advice from Carrol Boyes: As your business grows you will need to share some management responsibilities

August 20, 2014 Melanie Hawken

As your business grows you will need to extricate yourself from an all-encompassing management role ....

“As the company got bigger and bigger, I began to realise that I was really good at some things and less so at others. The day-to-day supervision, for example, is something that I leave to my management team. My function is to steer the direction and vision of the company and to drive the creative side.”

Entrepreneur Advice from Carrol Boyes: Getting into the export market is always a challenge for African startups

August 20, 2014 Melanie Hawken

Exporting your product as a startup business is always a challenge, but you can get it done....

“Exporting is one of biggest challenges for any South African (startup), .... It requires endless patience and persistence, the resilience to compete in a world in which you are completely unknown, and more financial resources than you ever anticipate.”

Carrol Boyes – The startup story of an iconic South African designer who built a global homeware brand

August 18, 2014 Melanie Hawken

Carrol Boyes, founder and ceo of Carrol Boyes — **Carrol Boyes**, founder and ceo of Carrol Boyes

This incredibly creative designer with a sculptural flair and an eye for the unusual has taken the global homeware market by storm with her distinctive designs and must-have tableware pieces.

Video: Carrol Boyes talks about how she grew her business and brand

August 14, 2013 Melanie Hawken

Published on Aug 14, 2013 by Business Network Radio

As part of Women's Month, Carrol Boyes shares how she started out in business and her vision for the business going forward.

Winning Women: Designer’s sculpting prowess creates jobs

July 7, 2013 Melanie Hawken

Article: City Press, Sue Grant-Marshall, 7 July 2013

This year marks a quarter of a century since Carrol Boyes first began selling the distinctively designed pewter items that have turned her into a globally recognised designer, writes Sue Grant-Marshall....

Read the full article here.

Carrol Boyes expands her brand into Russia

March 6, 2013 Melanie Hawken

Carrol Boyes is set to supply the Russian market with its designer range of home and tableware, the company announced on Wednesday.

Read the full article here.

Carrol Boyes: Making business an art form

November 1, 2012 Melanie Hawken

Article: Business Excellence Magazine

An artist’s mind knows no boundaries, so consider the dilemma and frustration of needing to reign in that creative spirit to accommodate the economic needs of running a viable business. That is the challenge Carrol Boyes has confronted head-on, as Andrew Pelis finds out....

Read the full article here.

Video: Carrol Boyes talks about turning her passion for functional art into a major business

February 8, 2012 Melanie Hawken

Published on Feb 8, 2011 by The Entrepreneurs Show sponsored by Telkom

Carrol Boyes has turned a passion for functional art into a major business brand. In this video she shares how it all started.

“Being the first person to do something is a huge advantage. I was lucky in that I got to the market first with the kind of products I produce. If you can’t do something new, then you have to do the old very, very well.”

“It’s always the finances. I constantly had to find the balance between having enough money to expand, and not sinking into so much debt that I would not be able to sleep at night.”

“Recruiting new staff is always tough; people may come with excellent credentials, but until they are actually doing the job, you never know what you are going to end up with. That’s one of the reasons why I prefer to employ people who are personally referred to me.”

“People do not believe in artists, nor do they believe that a sculptor can also be an entrepreneur. It’s such a fallacy. Creativity combined with common sense is bound to yield great results.”

“Employing people has always been very stressful for me, .... The idea of having someone’s life in my hands was nerve-racking. It was a responsibility I took very seriously and still do to this day.”

“Nineteen people may love your work, but the twentieth one will hate it and will tell you so; you cannot allow that to affect you. That may sound trite, but there is huge risk in letting criticism get you down.”

“People went to the shop to see what was hot and because my products were displayed there, they were immediately given the stamp of approval. It really all came about by word of mouth. To this day, I believe that is the strongest marketing tool available.”

“Exporting is one of biggest challenges for any South African (startup), .... It requires endless patience and persistence, the resilience to compete in a world in which you are completely unknown, and more financial resources than you ever anticipate.”

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