Sometime in 2010

The year 2020 marks 10 years since we launched ILAVA with only one product, the Kibera greeting cards.

In classic African fashion, it's hard for us to pin down an exact date. However, what we do know is that sometime, in 2010, ILAVA was born. We are proud to say that today, amid the uncertainty, we are still in our process of “becoming” and continuing to evolve with multiple product lines.

As children, we recall a frequently used word by adults to calm us and ease our anxiety. They would simply say, “Tulia mtoto or mpedwa,” meaning “be still child or dear".

And, as a young adult, elders would use this word when one was anxious, eager, and impatient about something. Whether it was waiting to be married; hoping to conceive; waiting for a job offer; college acceptance or just waiting for anything that you planned for before life caused a detour. Regardless of what you were waiting or hoping for, one would frequently hear those two words, “Tulia mpedwa,” meaning “be still dear.”

Well, COVID-19 and the recent uprising in marches for justice for Blacks in America has made many of us very anxious and troubled. We took a detour in life and were waiting for the newest ILAVA collection.

Thus, In honor of those who are waiting for the "one" thing, those on a detour, for those in waiting... we say to you,, Tulia! and this collection is in your honor.

As we launch the Tulia Collection and commemorate our 10th anniversary, we areeminded of our humble beginnings. We would like to mark this special milestone with our official ILAVA signature “I" line.