Afri-love

Interview with Sustainable Fashion Entrepreneur, Annegret Affolderbach of Choolips

 

Last week I had the pleasure of finally meeting Annegret Affolderbach, the founder of London-based womenswear label, Choolips, in person. 

Having featured Choolips designs on the blog before, it was great to meet the amazing woman behind the brand. Annegret's passion for what she's doing – championing high quality craftsmanship; reviving ancient textile traditions; empowering the local artisans and entrepreneurs behind them; operating with small water and carbon footprints – is infectious. She is a rebel, in the best sense of the word, on a mission to make the world a better place. With exquisite style and beautiful stories. Yes, we can have all this!

How to: Create a Great Web Presence + Other Top WOW Festival Picks

It's that time again – the annual Southbank Centre Women of the World Festival takes place this week, in London.

A couple of years ago, I presented on Digital Tapestries and, taking that theme to another level, this year I will be running a workshop entitled 'How to: Create a Great Web Presence'.

Most of us want to spend most of our time honing our craft – doing what we love most. However, for most of us to continue doing this, somebody's got to buy.

Asilia's 'African Flowers' Collection of Customisable Event and Wedding Stationery

 

Last month, I spent a good deal of my time developing the 'African Flowers' collection of customisable event stationery, for Asilia's new online shop. The collection comprises of hand-illustrated save the date cards, thank you cards as well as wedding-specific materials such as wedding invitations, wedding order of service/menu cards and table number cards.

Paleo Meal Ideas and Templates (+ Results from my Health Reset Challenge)

 

A week ago Wednesday marked the end of my Health Reset Challenge. The mission had been to complete a Whole30 – 30 days of strictly paleo, as well as regular exercise and at least 8 hours of sleep daily.

 

Unfortunately

I was not consistent with keeping to my exercise and sleep goals, mainly due to me prioritising working on my fortune. As I've gotten into the groove of the new year and put in motion the game plans to achieve my 2014 goals, I have a more realistic picture of where I can make time for exercise and how I can develop a consistent and sufficient sleep pattern.

 

Fortunately

Natural Hair Journey: 3 and a Half Years After the Big Chop

 

It's been just over 3 and a half years since I last had a big chop where I cut all my hair off and, over that time, my regimen has evolved again and again.

I recently took a few pictures documenting a length check and different stages of my typical cycle between washes. View them all on my new natural hair journey showcase  (set one up too and send me a link – it will only take minutes, once you've got your content together, and it's free!).

Buy African: Geometrical Accessories from Soko

Online store, Soko, sells handcrafted jewellery made by artisans in emerging economies, using natural and upcycled materials. They "fashion a better world" through craft, technology and trade. I'm loving the technological angle – leveraging the fact that online sales overtook retail sales years ago and leveraging how empowering mobile money has been in Africa. An apparent win-win for everybody.

I'm also enjoying the bold geometric nature of the accessories above from Soko's 'Kenyan collection'.  

Watch the animation below for the Soko model. I'm looking forward to checking them out at PURE London today.

Interview with Dayo Forster, Co-Founder of Homeware Brand, Toghal (+ Give-away Every Friday in February!)

 

I'm delighted to share this interview with Dayo Forster, Co-Founder of Toghal, a new textile-based homeware brand. Inspired by an appreciation of the legacy of Africa's textile heritage in the world and a love of technology, Toghal is about reimagining traditional textiles to create something iconic and fresh.

The Asilia team and I have had the great pleasure of working with Dayo to bring the brand to life. It's been a fantastic project and the kind of challenge that we thrive on: how to create a brand that is contemporary and global, while at the same time, rooted in or inspired by a particular culture. I am also pleased to welcome Dayo as a sponsor of Afri-love!

Dayo's story indeed exemplifies the beauty of collaboration and also, the crucial importance of preparation – research, learning, planning, and partnership. It's a great example of how, by setting off to solve a problem you've experienced in your own life, you can create an enterprise that serves others.

Enjoy and make sure to check out the 'Free Bag Friday' give-away details, below the interview. 

 

A Success Reading List for Creative Entrepreneurs

 

When I embarked on journey of self-employment, almost 5 years ago, I went on a mission to educate myself about success. I got caught up in all the fantastic things I was learning about business, finance, personal effectiveness and ultimately, about myself. So much so that, I can probably count on my 2 hands, the number of fiction books that I've read during this period. 

Over the past few months, as I establish my second business, I find myself ramping things up and making this reading part of my daily routine – at least 30-45 mins every day. The difference I'm experiencing in my mindset, my behaviour and my results is not a coincidence. When wiser, more seasoned and more successful people talk about swapping some TV time for reading – they're not trying to rob you of joy! They know how they got where they are. So I'm going to retrace their steps (these days I catch up on TV on Sundays when I'm doing my hair … but, that's a whole other post).

Below is a working list of books that I've found very useful, as a (creative) entrepreneur. We can have both (creative satisfaction and wealth). Here's to no more starving artists!

Inspired: African Touches at the Eclectic Wedding of Zahra and Chris

 

I'm so thrilled to be sharing with you glimpses from the beautiful wedding of two lovely people, Zahra and Chris. I love how they incorporated African-inspired touches throughout, celebrating Zahra's heritage and the various countries that they're both connected to: from Zahra's beautiful dress with African lace courtesy of Vlisco; to the origami wax print bird decorations and; the adorable flower girls decked out in khanga dresses!

 

Asilia's January Sale

 

I love running my own business and I'm always so excited to see other people taking the leap! That's what this blog is about – celebrating entrepreneurs (particularly ones in the creative industry). 

The company I co-own, Asilia, is all about harnessing the power of design and digital technology to help pioneers take their brands and businesses to the next level. 

To that end, as a welcome to what's going to be an amazing year (if you decide so) and, in an effort to kick things off with a bang, Asilia is offering 8 exciting packages for ambitious, passionate people, just like you!