Q. Jaro, please tell us a little more about yourself, where are you from, how old are you?
A. Hi, I’m a 17-year-old living in Cape Town, Kommetjie with my parents. I go to Imhoff Waldorf High School. I really enjoy surfing and skateboarding and fashion!

Q. What is your dream for O’steez in the future, where do you see it 10-20 years from now?
A. Right now I’m designing and making shirts, jackets, hats and bags but I’m planning a fashion show and have big plans for O’steez. What I really want is to create a big empire for O’steez that inspires and helps the youth to follow their dreams like I am .The more demand there is for O’steez, the more support I can give other people by creating jobs for people who are unemployed. I would like to see O’steez become a household name like Nike and eventually I’d like to branch out into music, radio, a magazine and maybe even a talent agency.

Q. How did O’steez start and how did it come about, what is your FTB story?
A. I learnt how to sew and make patterns from my mom about two years ago. My first piece was a bucket hat made in shweshwe fabric that got passed around from person to person in CT so I decided to make more and sell them online. Llewellyn Whittiker inspired me to carry on so that I could make my own money to pay for the things I wanted.

Q. What does O’steez mean or stand for?
A. In my generation,“steezy ” refers to stylish. At first I was thinking of naming my brand Osteezy but then changed it to O’steez because it sounded better and more direct.

Q. How long have you been pursuing O’steez?
A. Between school and surfing, on and off for two years but I started working really hard on it about six months ago.

Q. How are you making O’steez and what makes it special or unique?
A. At the moment I’m making everything myself but I am going to contract out the sewing to seamstresses soon. What makes my clothing unique is that I use fabrics from all over Africa (brought by friends who travel often) and combine them with everyday fabrics to make something ordinary extraordinary.

Q. Please feel free to add anything you want to share with the FTB readers…
A. I just want to thank Lu Whittaker for giving me this opportunity.