Artist draws in profits from interior design

Uphill in Kabojja, a neighbourhood in Wakiso District, a house is under construction. A towering rough wooden-like canopy at the gateway beams in gold. Its front yard is beautifully planted with well-trimmed grass at the centre, a variety of flower species edged by golden rocks and a blossoming small banana plantation.
Its sizeable black fountain is yet to gash out water and the bird, fish and tree stumps crafted from sand and cement leave an intriguing feeling as one enters the house.
The cream columns and ceiling elaborated with golden molds gives an imagination of how the Duchess of Sussex now, Miss Meghan Markle felt when she walked into Windsor Castle. Only that this house feels like a newly built Windsor Castle in England.

A smell compounded by paint and dust indicates workers are doing their last touches on the house. The cream walls in the house are yet to be fitted with photographs, paintings and flat screen televisions.
“We have been here for about eight months now,” Mr Ronald Mutumba, the artist responsible for the landscaping and every detail of the interior design of this two-storeyed house says.

The entrepreneurial artist is excited about applying the Victorian style of houses in Uganda. The Victorian style, mainly British and American, dates back in the 1830s during the reign of Queen Victoria.
His aim is to reshape Ugandan interpretation of interior design business.
“It is not about choosing curtains or chairs for a house. It is making the home environment pleasant to be in with colours, space and light,” he explains.

His landscaping experience dates back to 2006 when did work for a city pastor. Shortly after, he worked in Japan where he purchased landscaping equipment in anticipation of more work.
After teaching Fine Art in four schools, in 2007, he left Aghakhan Secondary School, a job that was paying him a monthly salary of Shs1.3m.

Inspiration
Since 2002, he had participated in a number of global wood curving competitions in Europe, Asia and America. That is when it occurred to him that his artistry did not have to end at contests.
“I was inspired to do this kind of house finishing because of other countries I travelled to. I visited historical churches in Italy, Belgium and I discovered they were designed by artists. I decided to walk the journey they had gone through to design their columns and ceilings,” Mr Mutumba says.

The 39-year-old also found out that the artistic efforts put into celebrity houses in United States of America were too appealing to be ignored. Tired of the comfort zone, his inquisitive mind led him to motivational books in search of what it takes to start a company.
“The book said all I needed was a business card. It also said use other people’s money and time to become rich and then I discovered that where I was teaching, they were using my time. So I started with Shs25,000 and it bought my business cards,” he narrates.

Mr Mutumba says he distributed his business cards around construction sites in Bulenga, Wakiso District to find clients. His first job brought in Shs680,000.
He reaffirmed the motivational book’s position after a friend paid him for interior design of his home and, pastors came looking for him to design their churches.

Challenges
However, startup capital was a constraint. In the first year of leasing land and setting up a workshop for landscaping and interior design, he lost millions of money.
“The landlady sold the land and I just felt like returning to my job. It was about Shs20m because I sold my own land,” he recalls.
Besides his loss, pitching his new interior design ideas to potential clients was difficult because they had hardly seen such house finishing. Mr Mutumba saw the setback as a setup for a comeback. He closed the workshop and used sand and cement to pave his way into interior design. He did an online course on interior design and acquainted himself with the details of things such as painting, colours and ceilings.
In 2012, he incorporated Muro Architects. With about 100 workers including mold makers, stone workers, plumbers and painters, Mr Mutumba today adds his art to churches, houses and restaurants around Kampala and Wakiso districts.

“I can have 10 projects at the same time and I can run them because I have workers,” he says.
“Sometimes I begin the interior design while the client is building. Other times, the house is finished and we have to break down some parts to create the perfect designs.”
Some of his outstanding work includes Shree Saibaba Temple in Bwebajja, a church at Nankuwadde and Romeos restaurant in Bugolobi.

Target market
He says his target market is rich people such as those who drive V8 cars and build houses worth hundreds of millions.
“We call them luxurious houses and they are expensive. For instance, for labour, this client gave me Shs88m for the first phase and we have three phases,” he says. “We break down walls in the first phase, in the second we paint and then do the finishing so by the time you finish, depending on the client and size of the house, the client has paid about Shs120m.”
It is the age of interior design gigs and so Mr Mutumba says unique designs, passion and time keep him on top of business.
He pays himself Shs50,000 a day from each project. He views himself as a worker of the company. Although the least a client is likely to pay is about Shs100m, labour makes up a huge chunk of his cost.
“When I say am getting Shs80m off a site, after costs, I get about Shs20m,” he says.
He has re-invested his profits in an export and imports business, paint retail, landscaping and recently a restaurant that cost him about Shs80m.
Currently, Mr Mutumba is running five interior design projects. If he sustains his view of what interior design business should look like, he expects Uganda to have well-designed hotels since this is his next target market.
“I want people to call this work by its name, Muro. One day people will come looking for the person who designed these churches,” he concludes.