Afri-love

TGIF! Guest Post: Late and Rare

 

I’m very happy to present you with a guest post from my dynamic friend, Elelta Demissie aka Ellesbells aka TechWench (which is the name of her web development company). Elelta can be found online: blogging on Nothing to Display; experimenting with and sharing recipes on Eat Alicha (including Eritrean-inspired dishes) and; sharing dope mixes on Mixcloud.  In real life, you can find her joy running around London and hanging out in radio stations, presenting shows. Phew! (tired yet?). And I thought I had many things going on!

Handing over to El and a seriously good set of tracks …

Inspired: The ONOMOllywood Photography Project – Hollywood Classics Revisited

 

With glamourous Lupita Nyong’o dominating the Hollywood spotlight, I was reminded of the work of Senegalese fine art and fashion photographer, Omar Victor Diop. Specifically, his collaboration with Antoine Tempé – ‘ONOMOllywood’ – where the two revisit several Holllywood classics, giving them an African twist.

Buy African: Educational Rooti Dolls

Rooti Dolls create multicultural dolls that can teach children many words and phrases in various African ethnic languages, including Twi, Ga, Ewe, Krobo, Shona, Ndebele, Bemba, Nyanja, Zulu, Xhosa, Sotho, Afrikaans, Ijaw, Edo, Idoma, Tiv.

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.