Shades & Layers
Shades and Layers is a storytelling platform celebrating Black women and women of colour who are building something of their own — on the African continent and across the diaspora.
The podcast launched in 2020 and is now more than 100 episodes strong. In 2025, the show was nominated for Best Long-Time Podcast at the Black Podcasting Awards.
In each conversation, host Kutloano Skosana sits down with founders to explore business ownership, representation, and what sustainability and success really mean in a complex, interconnected world. The conversations are wide-ranging — part masterclass in entrepreneurship, part wisdom for living well — and always a space for women to be fully human: to share the quirks, the doubts, and the vulnerabilities behind the highlight reel.
These days, Shades and Layers is two things woven together. Alongside the podcast, Kutloano — now exploring a new chapter of her own in Italy — sends Life Notes: honest monthly letters on identity, motherhood, reinvention, and the business of building a life.
Shades and Layers’ founding philosophy is: a story well told can change your life, you don't need big accolades for your entrepreneurial journey to matter.
The guests span beauty, fashion, and wellness, North and South: Dr. Theo Mothoa-Frendo on building a science-based African skincare range with USO; Taryn Gill of The Perfect Hair on supply chains and brand-building; Katonya Breux of Unsun Cosmetics on melanin and sunscreen for every skin tone; Abiola Akanni of IYA Well on non-performance in yoga; and designers like the late Maria McCloy of her eponymous fashion label, Nkuli Mlangeni-Berg of The Ninevites, and Candace Lawrence of Modern Gesture, championing handmade, custom, and circular production.
Whether you're here to listen, to read, or to build something of your own — welcome to the circle.
Shades & Layers
Mash T Design Studio with Thabisa Mjo (S3, E5)
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In this episode, the guest is Thabisa Mjo, the vivacious and talented founder of the Johannesburg-based design company, Mash T Design Studio. Famous for the Tutu Light and Mjojo Cabinet, the studio has been rising from strength to strength since it was founded five years ago. These two designs are part of the Louvre's collection at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs
In this conversation we not only talk the ins and outs of running a creative company, but also the passion behind the work, the nature of collaboration, having a seat at the table, the meaning of accolades and the importance of being validate by your family.
There are many legends and famous names mentioned and her are some of them:
- Scott Billy and Bon Esperance Gallery : https://bonne-esperance-gallery.com/
- Qaqambile Bead Studio : https://www.instagram.com/qaqambilebeadstudio/
- Bambizulu Studio: http://www.bambizulu.com/?v=fb1c5b0d2f97
- Beauty Ngxongo : https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/318684
- Alfred Ntuli : http://www.bambizulu.com/product/orange-alfred-ntuli-collection-ukhamba/?v=fb1c5b0d2f97
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