Adong Gloria Lucky is well known for her crochet. She is the founder of Kavod Couture crotchets in which she advocates for Mental health, a sustainability, and entrepreneurship. Through her brand Kavod Couture Crochets, Adong weaves intricate designs through a powerful message of resilience, self-discovery, and the therapeutic power of creativity.
Adong’s journey demonstrates the transformative potential of art. As she honed the passion for fashion art from a young age, she found herself drawn to the soothing rhythm of crochet, a craft that would later become a lifeline during a period of personal struggle.
Her decision to pursue a career in fashion art was born out of a challenging period following the COVID-19 pandemic. It is during this time that Adong experienced a decline in her mental health and crocheting became her sanctuary as well a therapeutic activity that provided solace and a sense of purpose. “I considered a career in fashion shortly after Covid-19 as my mental health declined, Crocheting became my safe space,” she recalls.
On realizing that she could also generate income from this craft, Adong embarked on a journey to turn her passion into a viable business opportunity. Despite the numerous challenges she faced, she persevered and was able to eventually register Kavod Crochets and thereby laid the foundation for her creative enterprise.
Adong’s first collection is deeply a personal expression of her own journey towards overcoming anxiety and embracing self-acceptance and hence the name “STAND BOLD.” “This was inspired by the discovery I made in my own life that I actually lived in anxiety and I needed to stand bold and even as I was still humble” she narrates. This collection is a labor of love, a testament of a slow and deliberate process of creating meaningful art and it’s slated for release in May 2025.
Adong has partnered with designers such as Craft Studio and Adam Art working tirelessly to navigate the challenges of limited resources so as to bring her visions to life. “Collaboration is a key aspect to my creative practice and I have collaborated with a few designers so far,” she says. “So far so good, these collaborations have been worthwhile except the challenges of financing projects that come alongside such collaborations. But even then, we have had to use the available resources to bring out something to life,” she beams with gratitude.
Adong appreciates the importance of collaboration in fostering a vibrant creative ecosystem. She believes that by working together young creatives are able to achieve far more than they could as individuals. “there is so much to do in this industry and we can only do a lot more when we collaborate,” she asserts. “It’s a very essential aspect and one that I regard highly and when I see young creatives coming up to collaborate with sustainable ideas, I would gladly be part of such an initiative.”
At the core of Kavod Crochets is sustainability. As a mental health advocate, Adong understands the interconnectedness between environmental well-being and mental health. She embraces sustainable practices as a way to preserve nature and promote holistic wellness. “Being a mental health advocate, I take full responsibility to ensure sustainability at the core of my brand because it is one way we can preserve nature,” she emphasizes. “We all understand the role nature plays in our mental health, everyone of us hates extreme weather conditions such as too much heat and we all have a part to play in this case.”
Adong has conducted free crochet training sessions and is planning to launch the “Teach A Million Crocheters” project, which will offer affordable training in crochet making to empower individuals with valuable skills. This is evidence of her commitment to community engagement as she makes every effort to share her skills and knowledge. “I have offered series of free training for crocheting to the community,” she explains. “With the upcoming Teach A Million Crocheters project, I intend to teach the community at a very small fee which is to cover only the costs involved as a way of giving back to the community through empowering the community, create mental health awareness and sustainability in fashion as well as give them skills that some can put to use to earn a living.”
She is inspired by the growing movement of sustainable creativity in Uganda as this stirs her excitement for the future of art and fashion in her country. “The rate at which most upcoming creatives are embracing sustainability makes me expectant as regards the future of art and fashion in Uganda. I love what the future holds for us in the art and fashion industry” she exclaims.
Adong attributes her creativity to a combination both innate talent and life experiences and finds her inspiration in her personal journey, her surroundings, and her encounters with other creatives. “I believe that being creative is sometimes a gift,” she reflects. “I have several things that inspire me, especially my life journey, surroundings and encounters. And these are some of the things that have enabled me to be creative and create unique pieces.”
Adong Gloria Lucky through Kavod Crochets is not just creating beautiful crochet pieces; she is weaving a narrative of hope, healing and empowerment. Her dedication to mental health advocacy, sustainability, and community engagement makes her a powerful force for positive change in the Ugandan creative landscape. She is a true attestation of the power of art to heal, inspire, and transform lives.
