St Petersburg, Florida
EnnYe Collection was founded in 2016 by Zimbabwean sisters Matipa Mutsemi and Mercy Nyamangwanda, as a clothing brand. Named after their mother, Enny, EnnYe creates contemporary clothing, accessories and home accents using vibrant African print fabric sourced from Zimbabwe. EnnYe’s clothing, which represents wearable art, has been featured in Milan Fashion Week, Forbes, the New York Observer, and various Tampa Bay and St Petersburg publications. EnnYe has recently been invited to the New York Fashion Week in September 2024.
In 2023, EnnYe expanded its brand to include Shona stone sculptures unique to the Shona tribe of Zimbabwe. At the heart of EnnYe is a Shona Stone Sculpture Gallery which features unique stone sculptures made by both emerging and world renowned Zimbabwean sculptors of the Shona tribe. “Zimbabwe”, which means “House of Stone”, is home to various precious and semi-precious stones such as Opalstone, Serpentine Stone, Leopard Rock, Lepidolite, Butter Jade, Rose Quartz, Springstone, Dolomite, among others. Shona sculptures are a pride of the Shona people and EnnYe has established close and personal relationships with each sculptor represented in the EnnYe gallery. The goal is to bring awareness to the Shona culture and celebrate the talent of these Zimbabwean artists.
THE GALLERY
The Stone Sculpture Gallery is managed by Vini Mutsemi, who is the Exhibition Director and Matipa’s husband and business partner. Being of the Shona tribe, and also having a genuine interest in stone sculptures, Vini is well versed in the art of sculpting as it relates to Zimbabwe. The Shona Stone Sculpture gallery has also become personal for our brand. In an altruistic way, EnnYe feels obligated to give back to these many artists, who are struggling to make ends meet in a typical third world nation. Vini travels yearly to find emerging artists and foster solid relationships with legendary ones too. Showcasing the artists’ work to the world, and publicizing amazing pieces of art, opens opportunities for the stories of these artists to be told. EnnYe also works hard to bring a different artist every year who gets an opportunity to demonstrate the skill of creating various pieces of art from a block of stone, using only hand tools. Different thought-provoking subject matters are communicated and unveiled from a block of stone. From abstract to animal pieces, this endeavor opens an opportunity for an artist to provide for their family. These exhibits are also educational for the audience, particularly art lovers. Topics of animal conservation, preservation and cultural or socio-economic issues bring us together as we realize how we are all interdependent as people.
VINI AND MATIPA’S STORY
Vini and Matipa met in high school in Mutare, Zimbabwe where they became very good friends. Matipa then transferred to another high school, and the two lost contact with each other for eight years. During those eight years, Vini moved back to the United States (he was born in Atlanta, GA while his parents attended graduate school, but was raised in Zimbabwe) and earned his BA at the University of West Florida then an MBA at the University of Texas, Dallas. As fate would have it, Matipa was in Dallas TX attending Southern Methodist University where she earned a BBA in Finance. It was only a matter of time before the two met and rekindled their friendship. Vini and Matipa married in 2007, moved briefly to Miami where Matipa attended law school, then to Washington DC, and eventually settled in Saint Petersburg, Florida. They are parents to a five-year old daughter, Madai, who will typically greet you at the gallery and remind you to call her if you need any help. They recently celebrated their 17 year anniversary this past August.
MERCY’S STORY
Mercy, the brand’s co-founding sister resides in San Francisco. She is often seen in the EnnYe store every few months on some of her visits but her super power is branding and fabric sourcing. She is the business behind the business. Most of the fabric seen within the store was carefully selected by Mercy, who travels to Zimbabwe to source vibrant prints for the brand. Outside of being a business woman, she is a nurse practitioner, who also attended the University of Texas for her BSN and MSN NP degrees. Most important job by far is being a doting aunt to Madai.
