Gasebalwe Seretse
8 October 2008
It took a little nudging from her grandmother to make Queen Kolobe aspire to be a model.
Jersey Kgoreletso was always happy when her grandchild brought beauty pageant trophies home and encouraged her to keep at it to attain perfection.
"As old as she is, my grandmother still follows my career and if she sees me poorly groomed, she rebukes me," says Kolobe.
After taking part in many beauty pageants and taking many crowns home for a long time, she felt that was not enough and decided to go for professional training with Model Maison before joining the now defunct Pro Models.
After successfully finishing her course with Pro Models, which used to be a leading modelling agency in Botswana, she considers herself both a professional model and a chaperone and is unperturbed by the fact that the modelling industry is in its infancy in Botswana.
"This industry is going to grow in the country and it needs somebody with passion to stick around even when times are tough," she says.
Kolobe, who owns a Madam Queen Modelling Agency, manages over 400 male and female models, says that she can foresee a situation where Batswana would be able to recognise models and she is determined to be around when that happens.
To join the agency, which happens to be one of the few in the country, one has to pay a fee of P50 and for the agency to prepare a professional portfolio for a model, that would cost P500 and the model gets to keep it.
The agency, which is based at Molapo Crossing shopping mall, does events management, grooming of artists and models for stage, provision of models for company adverts, promotions, and fashion shows. It also grooms clients for television presenting and acting.
So far she has worked with a number of clients including, Echo, The Voice, Kgalagadi Breweries Limited (KBL), Lapologa magazine, and Photo Factory. Some of her models have also auditioned for and secured parts as extras in the Mma Ramotswe series, which is currently being filmed.
Some of the models from Madam Queen Modelling Agency have also appeared on the popular Echo's Glamour page, although the arrangement has since stopped.
Although Kolobe is determined to beat the odds, owning a modelling agency in Botswana has its challenges.
"So far, business is not bad though some clients take long to pay for our services, but I know that one has to persevere.
I am hopeful that eventually they will appreciate us better and deal with us professionally," Kolobe says, adding that if she was not passionate about her job, she would have quit over little discrepancies. The former model says that although at times she faces challenges financially, she has avoided getting a loan because she wants to discipline herself first before handling huge amounts of money. As a way of giving back to society, she does charity shows for SOS Children's home in Tlokweng.
At present, she is considering to get some of her models to go international. "I would really like my models to grow but as a caretaker and a mother I have to be cautious because there are many vultures out there who are ready to prey on unsuspecting youngsters and introducethem to vices like drugs and prostitution, so before I make my models leave the country, I have to make sure that they join genuine modelling agencies," she says.
Kolobe hopes to own a modelling school where she would be able to groom her models full-time from a young age until they become world-class professionals.
At the moment, Madam Queen employs two people.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2008 Mmegi/The Reporter. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
