Afri-love

Plant Something Daily – January Favourites

 

I reached a turning point mid-last year when, I decided to stop talking and start making, putting an end to years of creative frustration. It's not that I was previously lacking in ideas but rather, that I had been fooling myself that I just didn't have the time.

And then I made the time and it led to so many great things: showcasing at events like Africa Utopia and the Renegade Craft Fair; getting featured on one of my favourite blogs, Fly, not once but twice and; generally receiving such great feedback from people.

To keep the making momentum growing, I've set myself a challenge for 2015: to create a piece of plant-inspired art, every single day. Why plants? Well, besides Africa, nature is my biggest muse and I think we can agree that plants make (most) people happy.

On this last day of January, I can say that I have successfully stuck to the challenge! I'm really proud of myself for that. Especially as this month has been busy beyond belief – I've had so many excuses not to create my daily piece! In this way, this challenge has been a great exercise in self-discipline.

It's also been good for helping me to let go of expecting everything to be perfect. As I shared with one of the drawings from last week – I'm not necessarily happy with each drawing but, I'm happy I've made each drawing.

Above are some of my favourite pieces from January. I post them each day after making them, on Instagram (#plantsomethingdaily) and on my new Facebook page, dedicated to my art. View the collection so far and follow the journey – help keep me accountable!

Have you set yourself a daily/weekly/monthly challenge this year? I'd love to hear more about it and see what you're working on. 

Stand out from the crowd

There is such huge pressure for new beginnings in January. Reflecting on the month I've had, it's been more about recalibration, in preparation for new things.

Rather than be frustrated, I'm reminding myself that, ultimately, we can start whenever we like!

For those who are working on starting (or restarting/refreshing/revamping) a business, I'm running a 3-part workshop in London, in collaboration with business coach, Danielle Anderson of Step and Stone. It's titled, 'Stand out from the crowd.'

The sessions will cover: identifying and crafting your unique voice; building an online presence that is in alignment with this and; leveraging the power of social media, with confidence. We want you to be able to market your business in a way that's authentic to you, effective and fun!

You can take one or all three sessions for a comprehensive foundation. Find out more details here.

I'd love for you to join us!

Why I’m thankful for the toughest year ever

 

 

There are 2 hours of 2014 left as I write this and I am extremely emotional. This year has been the toughest that I’ve ever experienced and yet, after a really long time, I feel more authentically myself.

 

 

The lows

 

Business was extremely challenging and along with that, finances. And when you’re responsible for the finances of 10 other people, it’s a whole other level of pressure. I started to doubt my competencies, skills and vision. At some point, I even lost sight of the joy that I derive, working to help passionate people express and present the magic they bring to the world. 

 

Add to this, the health condition which, my body miraculously manages by itself, took a turn for the worse. After 8 years of not having this condition interfere with my day-to-day life, this was an immense wake-up call. I took it as a sign that I seriously had to review my life and start doing things differently.

Free Download: Colouring Sheets

 

In less than 2 days, many of us will be enjoying a public holiday (whether we celebrate Christmas or not) and we'll hopefully have some downtime.

If you find yourself at a loss for ideas of how to entertain the younger ones (and those young at heart), I've got just the thing for you! I've created 3 different colouring sheets for you to download and print.

There's a garden scene, aka Bustani (see above); a fishy scene and; a composition made up of landmarks and landscapes from various African cities (bonus points if you can name any of them – let me know in the comments below).

 

 

To get a hold of your downloads, all you have to do is sign up to the Afri-love mailing list here. 

Once you've signed up, you will receive an email with links to download the sheets. Simply print and enjoy. If you're already subscribed, the links are in the latest email, sent today.

Fellow Instagrammers, please share a picture and mention me @lulukitololo – I'd love to see how you and your loved ones improve on my creations!

 

All drawings copyright Lulu Kitololo. Please note that the colouring sheets are for your personal use and may be used for any commercial purpose whatsoever.

Buy African: Last-minute Christmas Gift Ideas

 

It’s less than a week to go until Christmas so, ordering your gifts online is now pretty much a gamble. If the thought of braving the madness shops this weekend makes you want to crawl into a dark hole, fear not – I’ve got some ideas that will hopefully keep you in the festive spirit.

The gifts here are all things that you can buy, right up until Christmas Day. They are organised by interest so, hopefully you’ll be able to find something appropriate for all the people on your list – whatever they fancy!

Afri-love and Step and Stone present: ClarityCall – 10th January 2015

 

I know many of us are counting down to Christmas and the opportunity to take a break; spend quality time with family and friends and; rejuvenate our energy and spirits. For some people, thinking about work is the last thing they want to do as the year rolls to a close. But for a few of us, whose work is fuelled by passion and a desire to realise a dream, there is no ‘off’ button. If you’re anything like me, you’re looking forward to the down time, so that you can spend it strategising and planning how to take your business to the next level, in 2015. 

I have a feeling many of you resonate with what I’m saying and I’ve got some wonderful news for you! I’ve partnered with the coolest startup coach I know, Danielle Anderson, to deliver a ClarityCall webinar on the 10th of January, to help you get started the way you mean to go on. This is an exclusive opportunity for you, my Afri-love community, wherever in the world you might be.

I've done this exercise with Danielle myself and it really helped me to focus on what was most important for my business at that time. It can be really hard to have that kind of perspective when you're juggling the myriad day-to-day demands of work and life. The results and momentum that I've experienced in the past couple of months, are testament to the power and value of giving myself the time to do this with Danielle. I wish this sort of pause, clarity and progress for you all so, I'm thrilled that Danielle has offered to run this exercise for us.

 

About This Webinar
Entrepreneurs, startups, and small business owners share a common trait: trying to turn a vision into a reality. In this workshop, we’ll tackle the question responsible for many restless nights: “How will I ever get to where I want to be?” You’ll be guided through a powerful, reflective exercise to help translate your big dream into a clear, actionable plan and get your business off the ground.

 

Takeaways

• Be able to make decisions on where best to place your limited time and energy.
• Gain a realistic action plan for what to do next.
• Learn how to plan for your business without a wordy, conventional (and dull) “business plan”.
• Discover the most important areas for you to focus on first.
• Find out how to break down the barriers that impede your progress.
• Leave with a clear direction on where you’re heading.

 

 

In Pictures: The Road to Renegade (+ An Epic Giveaway)

 

The Renegade Craft Fair London is 3 days away and Lusungu and I have been busy getting our ‘Fly South For Winter’ collection ready! It’s inspired by our motherland love and a yearning for the tropics in these wintry times. All the designs are hand-drawn by me and then hand screen printed by Lusungu (aka Creativity and Noise).

 

5 Better Ways to Network: Entrepreneurs Need People, Part III

 

The term ‘networking’ used to put me off. I’d imagine an awkward room full of strangers, standing around trying to impress others. Others who, had already made up their minds about who they were going to pay attention to or not.

Cynical, I know but, I’d spent countless evenings at networking events, hoping for a different experience, in vain. Instead, I’d come home feeling, if I’m honest, a bit less confident and wondering if there was something wrong with me.

Yup, been there. Over it.

 

A necessary evil?
At the same time, I knew there was a reason people were putting themselves through this. I knew it could be a solution to one of the common challenges that we touched on in the first CAKE Series Twitter chat, a few weeks ago: how to focus on your current plate of work, but also keep new work coming in.

The turning point
The past year has been very different and it’s all thanks to some amazing women that I know, who each invited me to be a part of something. I’ll get on to that in a moment, but first … Once I found ways to network that worked for me, I realised 2 things:

Counting down to Renegade

 

Some of you will remember the TV show from when we were growing up – that's not the Renegade that I'm talking about! I'm talking about The Renegade Craft Fair – a curated indie-craft marketplace showcasing the brightest talents in contemporary craft and design.

Renegade returns to London,  Saturday 22 + Sunday 23, November, from 11am – 6pm, at the Old Truman Brewery, located at 91 Brick Lane, E1 6QL, London, UK. 

 

 

I'm really excited to be joining over 100 select makers. I spent pretty much all of the past weekend working on creations for the fair.

I'm collaborating with Lusungu (Creativity and Noise) again and we're bringing you a collection of screenprinted goods including t-shirts, bags, greeting cards, notebooks, art prints and more. Our theme: "Fly South for Winter". 

In Pictures: the Monochrome Hues of Winter

 

As the weather turns, I find that my usually vibrant colour palette gets subverted by an inclination towards the monochrome. It's clearest when it comes to my wardrobe but, I realised it happening with the photos I was taking too! Here are a few …

 

[Above: sculpture by Sandile Zulu, titled 'Spinal Diagnoses: A Histopathological Case II'. Seen at the 1:54 Art Fair. Top image: Beaded jewellery from Sidai Designs, at the 'Africa Calling' pop-up curated by Shake the Dust which, returns soon]