Me-time: 9 tips to enjoy more of it this year

Me-time can seem so elusive.

We are often last on our own lists but, this is the year it’s going to change, right?

I’m writing this after the third Afri-love Connection Club vision-boarding and goal-setting workshop I’ve run this year. Pretty much every single one of the 32 women who participated had space dedicated to how they were going to take better care of themselves and make more me-time this year. And I believed them!

But we know how it goes…

So how can we ensure that good intentions don’t fall away to let old habits and the busyness of life take over?

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The power of finding your voice: my Soulful Branding story

It took me a while to appreciate the power and necessity of finding my voice.

You know what it’s like to be excited but frustrated at the same time? When you’re full of ideas for your brand and business but, you hit a roadblock because you’re unable to properly express them and live them?

My story

I experienced this frustration for years. I felt that there was a certain way I should be doing business and therefore a certain way I needed to present myself. To be palatable – welcoming to anybody who might need services in my skillset.

As a result, I attracted clients I didn’t really want to work with and so, I didn’t feel like I was creating my best work and I held back on the kind of work I really wanted to do. Continue reading “The power of finding your voice: my Soulful Branding story”

Afri-love Connection Club for female founders

The Afri-love Connection Club is one of the highlights of my inadvertent “year of yes” (I finally read the Shonda Rhimes book this Christmas and it was a revelation!).

In May 2018, my friend and business BFF, Danielle Anderson of Step and Stone, launched the Afri-love Connection Club – a place for female founders to come together to transform their business and their lives.

We really had no idea what to expect when we began. Initially hoping for 15 members, within one day of launching, we had way more applicants than that! We had dreams but, would other women buy into them? Continue reading “Afri-love Connection Club for female founders”

KCB Lion’s Den: 9 things I learned from appearing on the show

If you’d asked me a few months ago, if I’d ever pitch on KCB Lion’s Den, I’d probably have said “no way!”

The thought was totally outside my comfort zone.

And yet, here we are – my episode aired tonight: Tuesday 23rd October, 2018.

The past few months have been all kinds of scary, amazing and overwhelming and, I’m so happy I pushed myself out of my “easy” place.

Here’s some of what I learned (and re-learned) along the way:

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An invitation to the road less travelled

I am always awed by how things come together and at the appropriate time.

My decision to talk about the road less travelled in August was rather arbitrary. It’s my birthday month and choosing the more uncharted and less understood path, is something that has coloured many of my years thus far. So I thought I’d celebrate that somehow.

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9 things I’ve learned about branding (and life)

Last year, while launching a branding course when my son was just a few months old, it dawned on me that there were several parallels between branding principles and infant development. Upon further reflection, I realised that there are indeed several parallels between branding and life!

Today, I’d like to share branding lessons that I’ve learned, in my 10+ years of professional advertising and graphic design practice, and my 30+ years of life.

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East African Food, Illustrated

I recently illustrated the ingredients of some of my favourite East African food: pilau, kachumbari and ndizi (green bananas, Tanzanian style).

My colleague, Rasoah, collated some recipes from the interwebs, in case you’re unfamiliar with these dishes and would like to give them a try. Creativity is our forté so, there’s quite a bit of variation in preparation styles!

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Made in Kenya Store

“Made in Kenya” design was a very different thing when I was growing up, a couple of decades ago. The creative industry consisted of great theatrical productions and not much else. African Heritage was the place to get beautiful African crafts but, very much of the aesthetic that you’d expect when you think of “African”.

Back then, there were very few possibilities in our imagination, when it came to having a career as a creative and being able to make a decent living off of it.

That’s a huge part why I started this blog: to showcase the diversity of creative possibilities for us – affirming people’s creative dreams and inspiring them to pursue them.

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Women, illustrated.

With International Women’s Day this week, I wanted to celebrate all the women that I have had the honour to collaborate with, illustrate and exchange with, in the course of my professional life. The majority of my clients have been women’s organisations and women-led businesses and I have loved exploring and experiencing the world from this feminist lens.

It’s been such a joy to illustrate a diversity of interesting and inspiring women.

Continue reading “Women, illustrated.”

My Nairobi city guide

I’ve finally put together my Nairobi city guide. In the last few months, several good friends of mine have visited Nairobi for the first time. It’s been fun coming up with itineraries because, it also gives me the opportunity to explore all that’s good and new in my beloved home city.

It seems that many more people are planning trips to Kenya in 2018 – I keep getting requests for tips! This inspired me to put together this post, sharing some of my favourite places.

I thought I’d do things a little bit differently and suggest some combinations of things you can do on the same day. That way, you can plan your movements easily, if you have limited time. But first