1. As you can see, I have added a little more descriptive gorgeousness to our name! As mentioned in the previous post, 'butik' is the Danish word for 'boutique'. This seems much more suited to me, and us as a brand; 'boutique' somehow smells of granny's powder and dusty silk roses, whereas 'butik' is quirky, fresh and cosmopolitan! (**My typing is up to **** thanks to my lack of time writing on my laptop - and too much time on my BlackBerry which requires a digital dextrousness that took me weeks to acquire and is now impossible to shake off!)
2. Waiting to pick Noni up at the busy little roundabout in African Street, I ventured into The Department of Sports, Recreation, Arts & Culture, open to whatever opportunity lay inside. Ridiculously laid back but with plenty of laughter and a sense that things do indeed get done, I was introduced to Loyiso who promised to meet with me the very next day about potentially finding me a studio space --- exchanging my skills for rent in lieu of hard cash. A number of important-looking people attended our meeting the next day - and the excitement generated by my Oodade business concept resulted in them promising a studio space at the DAKAWA art centre, as well as a R200 000 grant! The manager of the SRAC, visibly over the moon that someone was finally prepared to give of their time to work with children, specifically in the areas of arts and crafts, just about kissed me! Busy phonecalls bounced from their court into mine all afternoon, and... and that was a whole week ago. Since then? Nada. Nothing. Niks. The general reaction others have had about this little glitch is: "Ah, African time." (With a sneer rolling rancidly off 'African'.) I, however, always rest in the patient understanding that everything happens most beautifully when we set ourselves, and what we wish for, free. You see, had the SRAC needed to meet with me last week, I would have been forced to cancel: I was very ill last week, and then Layla also ended up with the most frightening flu! And so, we will see what this week brings!
3. Layla did not AT ALL enjoy being back at school - so I have had to bring her back home with me, where we play endless games of play-dough, drawing, painting, reading (at the moment, about "Dinosaurs, please, Mommy.") etcetera etcetera. And, unlike some other children, My Little Princess requires constant attention - so my productive Oodade mornings are a thing of the past - at least for another 6 months. So... (*sigh*) work will take an even s-l-o-w-e-r pace than it has been plodding along at (if that's possible?!) but I am FIERCELY determined to grow this dream of mine, craftwork by artwork!
4. Cindy, the most recent sister to join our team, already has her own home-industry making and selling clothes, primarily out of shwe-shwe. She is my designated seamstress: my Shwe-Shwe Queen!Here are some photos, though grainy and wan a la BlackBerry, of some of our latest products:
The embellishments are a felted woollen ball, a crocheted motif in cotton-tape and the sweetest little metal 'chick' tag. (The Junebug is worn with the embellishments off-centre.)
Now this Junebug is one Layla keeps on trying to steal from my box of stock items! Crocheted in Noni's signature tight weave, it is adorned with roses made from the most lusciously fuschia of raw silks! (When my dear husband finds our camera he has managed to 'put in a safe place', I will upload more detailed and colour-correct pics.)
With an ageing Indian dancing bell, a 1963 Burda skirt pattern and a page from a vintage woman's weekly, this is a photojournal I am seriously ( ! ) considering keeping for myself! The pages inside are deep blue card, interleaved with translucent paper reminiscent of the patterned wax paper that rested above the chocolates in the chocolate boxes of my chocoholic childhood!
Here is my own (private,private, private --- teenage-girl private!!) journal: more like this coming!
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