Southridge boutique features locally designed, African-inspired clothing and accessories

Claire Kranto's new clothing, shoes and accessories store at Southridge Mall in Des Moines has a distinct African influence.

Kranto, who opened Ark-Vayo in February with her husband Webster Kranto, has designs the shop’s bold and colorful suit jackets, dresses, pants, shirts and other items for women, men and children.

Claire Kranto, who is originally from Cedar Rapids, studied fashion design at Iowa State University. That's where she met Webster, who was studying safety engineering.

Webster, 29, is originally from Liberia. His family fled the country's civil war when Webster was a child and spent three years in a refugee camp in Ghana before settling in the U.S. 

Claire, 24, began designing African clothing after an internship with a fair trade company in Ghana. She lived with a Ghanaian family for three months where her host mother taught Claire traditional tailoring and how to stamp and dye fabrics.

"I also got to visit the refugee camp where my husband lived for three years which was very surreal," she said.

Back in the U.S. she began making garments and selling them from her home. She traveled the country participating in fashion shows, where she said she had positive responses to her designs.

Three years later, the couple decided “take a leap of faith” and open a store in Southridge Mall, where the rent was reasonable, Claire said.

“We don’t get a lot of foot traffic, but we have become a destination (for shoppers),” she said. Customers come to the store looking for her “vibrant, colorful and crazy prints,” she said. 

All items are handmade in Ghana and Malwawi from 100 percent cotton. The tailors are paid wages that help them send their children to school and grow their businesses, Kranto said. She is working on getting her products fair trade certified, a seven-year process.

“Everyone can wear it. It’s trendy, fashion-forward clothing that is very modern,” she said.

Men’s jackets sell for about $130, accessories from $10 to $12, and handbags from $25 to $60, she said.

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Ark-Vayo is located inside the mall on the northwest side next to H&R Block.

The Krantos, self-proclaimed serial entrepreneurs, have other businesses, including Kranto Education Alliance, a series of after-school programs at some Des Moines schools that offer dance and fitness, gardening and nutrition, and IT classes.

In addition, the couple operates a media company that provides video and graphic design services for businesses and corporations.

They are juggling their businesses and raising a family, which includes an 18-month-old son and 3-month-old daughter.

Ark-Vayo's hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 2 to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday; or by appointment 6 to 9 p.m Monday through Friday.

Call 515-360-7840, visit www.arkvayo.com or find it on Facebook.