Formidable business couple

Pandemic couldn't choke them; they still joke, create and build towards their goal.

- Hein Kaiser

Imagine having to reinvent yourself once, then again at middle age. All the while relying on your talent, gut feel and the only partner you have ever truly trusted.

Husband and wife team Dana and Carlo Kaminsky did – and then had to do exactly that again. The first time when they took the leap, they started their own business. The second, when the pandemic almost squeezed their livelihood to a full choke.

Husband and wife teams are not uncommon. But a pair that can joke, create and build together towards a common goal is rarer still, especially when the intimate and business coupling stretches over decades.

And when the going got tough, the Kaminskys just kept going.

Dana met Carlo while working at a printing company in Bellevue. He was a graphic designer, sharp, restless and creative. But he had to commune with suits at several corporates. "He did a stint at Anglo American. But it was too stiff, too boxed in. I told him: 'Get out. Do your own thing,'" said Dana.

He did and together they started Hands On Design, which later became Art of Design, and focused on wildlife-themed clothing. "He's the artist. I handle the rest," she said. "It worked. We were supplying lodges, Kruger Park, even airports."

The wildlife T-shirt business, among other ventures, did well.