If you haven't watched the video my name is Paboy Bojang. I am a proud black designer and business-owner but I am also an asylum seeker from the Gambia trying to build a future in Naples, Italy. In 2015, I was rescued near Lampedusa when my dinghy sank in 2015 and many of those travelling with me died. I spent my first months in Italy in hospital recovering from the trauma of the journey and violence I faced in Libya and then spent several years in refugee camps waiting for documents until I was gifted a miracle.

When lockdown hit I felt totally alone and hopeless until I stumbled across a sewing machine under a friends bed. I started making cushion covers from odd scraps of fabric and decided to post some of my work on my instagram (@in_casa_by_paboy). The next thing I knew these designs were going viral.

In just a few months, my new website was launched by Vogue USA and my story was told in so many amazing newspapers including The Wall Street Journal, the Guardian, House and Garden, Elle etc... Vogue described In Casa as a 'cult brand' in December 2021. The highs have been seeing my cushions stocked in The Conran Shop, Browns, Selfridges and Paul Smith and employing two other West African asylum-seekers with full contracts. This has allowed them to get their own permits to stay in Europe too - which has been so incredible to see!

But now I need to focus on making this dream sustainable to keep it alive. I'm launching this campaign to secure my future and the longevity of the business and asking for funds to:

- Create a safe and secure working environment for my team and move to a new studio

- To offer more opportunities for aylum seekers facing barriers to employment

- Employ a team of buisness experts around me to make the business sustainable

- Invest in marketing and creating new products

Please join my journey to keep my miracle business alive. By investing in IN Casa we can share the joy together.

Thank you so much for your support, however small.

love Paboy x