Three South African women have been named the winners of the 2026 Brights Women in DIY Excellence Awards. Zama Gwamanda from KwaZulu-Natal, Tassy B from Cape Town and Ndivhuwo Dlamini from Johannesburg were selected from an exceptionally strong field of entries from across the country.
The annual awards recognise women who are breaking barriers, embracing creativity and showing how DIY can be about much more than home improvement. From turning personal challenges into thriving businesses to empowering others with practical skills, this year’s winners are demonstrating the difference women can make through their skills, determination and creativity.
“This year’s entries demonstrated an incredible level of creativity, determination and skill,” says Orlando Luis, CEO of Brights Hardware. “What stood out was how these women are using DIY to make a real difference, whether by building businesses, sharing knowledge or creating communities. Choosing just three winners was no easy task.”
Zama Gwamanda: Building furniture, confidence and independence
From Umlazi Township in KwaZulu-Natal, Zama Gwamanda has turned a difficult chapter in her life into an opportunity to build a future through creativity and craftsmanship. After leaving an unhealthy working environment, Zama channelled her passion for woodworking, furniture making and DIY into a growing business that helps women create beautiful, functional homes.
Her work goes beyond designing and making furniture. By sharing her projects and skills, she challenges the perception that woodworking and construction are traditionally male pursuits, encouraging other women to become confident with tools and explore the possibilities of DIY.
Zama’s journey is also a powerful example of township entrepreneurship, demonstrating how practical skills, determination and creativity can become a source of financial independence. The judges recognised her resilience, entrepreneurial spirit and commitment to inspiring other women to build something of their own.
Tassy B: Finding purpose and community through creativity
For Cape Town-based Tasneem, better known as Tassy B, DIY became an unexpected lifeline during one of the most challenging periods of her life. Following the birth of her son in 2024, she struggled with the transition from a busy career as a producer to the quieter pace of maternity leave. Looking for a creative outlet while experiencing what she later recognised as postpartum depression, she began experimenting with DIY projects.
What started with fashion DIYs soon expanded into furniture makeovers, home décor and other creative projects. As she shared her work online, she discovered a growing community of people eager to create alongside her. Today, that passion has developed into TassyB Craft Circle, a space where women come together to take a break from everyday demands, explore their creativity and reconnect with themselves through craft.
Among her favourite projects is a side table makeover for her son’s bedroom, transforming an ordinary piece of furniture into something beautiful and personal. For Tassy B, DIY has become much more than a creative hobby. It has helped her rediscover her sense of purpose while creating opportunities for other women to experience the joy of making something themselves. As she puts it, “Sometimes, the things we create end up creating us too.”
Ndivhuwo Dlamini: Making DIY skills accessible to everyone
Johannesburg-based DIY content creator and home improvement educator Ndivhuwo Dlamini believes that creating a beautiful home shouldn’t mean going into debt. Her DIY journey began with a determination to learn how to build, repair, restore, and transform things around her home using affordable materials and accessible tools.
As her confidence and skills grew, she began sharing her knowledge online, showing others how to tackle projects themselves rather than simply admiring the finished results. Today, her content covers everything from furniture building and restoration to painting, home repairs, renovations, gardening and general home maintenance.
Education remains at the heart of her work. Through practical tutorials, DIY masterclasses, media contributions and collaborations with home improvement and tool brands, she helps make DIY less intimidating and more accessible.
Ndivhuwo is particularly passionate about encouraging women to become confident with tools, develop practical home maintenance skills and discover the independence that comes with being able to do things themselves. For her, the greatest reward is seeing someone inspired by her content pick up a tool and say, “I can do this myself.”
Celebrating creativity, confidence and empowerment
Each of the three winners will receive a R5 000 Brights voucher and a R5 000 product hamper to support their continued DIY journeys.
“Through our Women in DIY Excellence Awards, Brights Hardware continues to recognise and celebrate the women who are challenging stereotypes, sharing their knowledge and helping grow South Africa’s DIY community,” says Luis.
