Entering Jojo’s is like being transported to a theatre’s vibrant green room, exploding colours more riotous than those of the rainbow. Hanging from top to bottom on rails at multiple levels, every available nook and cranny is crammed with a quaint and massive collection of all manner of costumes.
Whether it’s hats, feathers, wings, masks, tiaras, animals, vegetables, dainty princess dresses or those of evil pirates you’re after, you’re sure to find it here. The headgear of the entire Muppet Family which won first prize at a costume ball can be seen grinning from ear to ear. You name it, she has it, or Jojo can conjure up any costume your heart desires!
Jojo De Silva’s journey to the costume highway was somewhat circuitous. In her second year reading law and CIMA in the mid-eighties, the university temporarily closed down. “I was in my early 20s and got married at that time. I never returned to university and in a sense regret giving up my studies,” she says.
She helped her mother with her expanding export business for embroidered kurtas and agreed to the latter’s suggestion that they start a tailoring outfit, for which there was a constant, growing demand. “I supervised this side of the business while making costumes in parallel for my mother-in-law, who was a children’s speech and drama teacher. My first big break came in the early 1990s when I designed Alice in Wonderland costumes for one of Colombo’s international schools.”
“When I think back, I used to design my own clothes as a teenager. I gave the designs to my mother’s employees, who turned them into reality,” reminisces Jojo. She continues using her childhood name as her business card; her shop by the same name is situated at the centrally-located Taj Samudra hotel.
From her initial premises at Galle Face Court, Jojo moved across to the Galle Face Hotel Shopping Village, where she spent a decade before she set up shop down the road at the Taj where she’s been for seven years. “My husband has tried to persuade me to open a branch. I might consider it in the future, but I’m wary because I’m busy enough as it is,” says the mother in Jojo, not wanting to deny her three children her time. Clearly, her children are quite involved; her elder daughter dresses Jojo’s shop windows, while the younger one has a field day trying on all the costumes! Naturally, they were her very first models.
 |
| Jojo De Silva |
“It gives me great pleasure and a sense of fulfilment to see children dressed up in my costumes; that all the hard work was worth it. I’m extremely exacting and coordinate colours very accurately, ensuring no repetition. I start again from scratch if I’m not entirely satisfied with the finished product.” A great believer in the personal touch, she scours the labyrinthine lanes of Pettah, Maradana and Maharagama in search of the right kinds of fabrics and accessories. Occasionally, family and friends bring masks, wigs or feathers from abroad.
Part of Jojo’s success story is the long-standing loyalty of her staff of four full-time employees and others working from home when the volumes are more substantial. “One of them started out with my mother and is now with me; it’s been nearly 30 years. I can trust them,” she says.
She has several on-going school concert projects, the mid months and end of the year being the busiest times.
“My business has always been through word of mouth, but I think some ladies put my details in their book,” said Jojo, referring to the Sri Lanka for Kids guide published some years ago.
Confessing that she likes mulling over decision-making, Jojo is grateful for all the ideas that bubble forth from her family. For one, she would love to develop the costume rental side of the business; “I have to be careful though as I’ve learned from past experience that some people simply never return their costumes,” she smiles wryly. Themed parties for little children are also close to her heart. With this in mind, she hopes to organise a complete party service where her costumes would make very nice complementary side dishes. Her dream is to house her many projects under one roof, adding on a shop for boys’ clothes, a café and a library.
Running alongside her costume business is Jojo’s bridal-wear range providing a fully customised service. “I’ve done bridesmaids’ dresses based on measurements sent from the UK,” she says. Jojo is also looking into hiring out wedding clothes as there’s quite some demand.
 |
| Fulfilling work: Jojo (in the background) and her team. |
More recently, a taxi driver acquaintance of Jojo’s asked her if she’d do some tailoring for an expatriate. As chance would have it, she turned out to be Jojo’s mother’s neighbour and was the opening for Jojo’s foray into the vintage clothing sector. Simple designs made from unusual fabrics in small volumes are sent to London, and Jojo is happy for the continuity it brings. Feeling that her fingers were in too many pies, Jojo has temporarily given up Fruit Cart, her special occasions fruit basket business.
“The costume business has continued to grow, mostly involving children at first, but over the last couple of years, I’ve found that adults are also very much into costume balls and themed parties,” said Jojo. There used to also be a fair bit of demand from advertising firms for various promotions; no doubt this will be on the up at some point in the future.
While it’s all in her head, Jojo wishes she’d kept a record of all the costumes she’s ever made. “Being my own boss, I can work to my own schedule, but conversely the hard part is that I can’t cut myself off from the business. I lose sleep over it and often dream about costumes; it’s an occupational hazard.
I don’t care about putting a cost to the time involved in making a costume. If I’ve promised to deliver a particular product, then I’ll deliver no matter what.” And that, in a nutshell, sums up Jojo’s business ethic. |
E-mail
