Welcome! I am Simone; a wife; mother of four beautiful children; and a maker of all things crafty. I enjoy learning many different art forms, and I am always up for the challenge of learning something new. I have taught myself how to sew, bake and decorate cake pops and cakes; construct various paper crafts, resin, and most recently, am learning the art of sublimation and tumbler making.

A little about how I came about the name Umenzi Designs. I was born in Johannesburg, South Africa. Although I was almost thirteen when we moved, I still have such fond memories of my time growing up there and wanted to incorporate my South African roots into my logo and name of my business. Umenzi Designs was created in late 2015 as a way for me to share some of my creativity with others. Umenzi translated from Zulu means “maker” or “doer.”

Elephants also happen to be my favorite animal. Within many of the African cultures, the elephant is a symbol of strength and power. My goal when creating and designing products is to portray that feeling of strength and power to others. Thus, the elephant as a focal point in the logo.

Most recently, I have started getting into the art of sublimation. Sublimation is a heat transfer process where the image is printed with a special ink and uses heat to transfer the image onto a special coating on an item, in this case, the tumbler. The heat transfer process makes it permanent, along with any requested customizations.

As I continue to learn this art form, I plan to expand the products available in my shop. In the meantime, please feel free to take a look around to see what I have to offer. If there are any questions or personal requests, please contact me and I will see how I can best offer my services.

Thanks for stopping by!

Simone

XOXOX