Today was ribbon cutting day at Dora Tamana Preschool. We had a wonderful inauguration party for the jungle gym and sandpit that had been made possible by some very generous Mielie friends from Germany and the Netherlands. Here special mention must go to Guenter Berner, who turned this dream into reality.
The equipment was constructed and installed by Cerfs, who were an absolute pleasure to deal with. They gave as brilliant advice and delivered on time.
A perfect end to the week, I say!
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These beautiful photos by Kimsooja remind me of the bags of Mielie strips that make a long weekly trek to our Mielie loft. They were also just the prod I needed to say thank you so much to Mzo and especially Peter for driving far and wide to collect Mielie strips for us - a dusty and sweaty job.
Peter and his family packed up their lives in Munich, Germany to spend a year in Cape Town. He has volunteered his services as a weekly driver for Mielie, and his wife Annemarie is helping me establish a veggie garden in Khayelitsha. And Mzo, thank you too for always being willing to go the extra mile for Mielie!
I found the image on Madame Hervé.
On the home front note, my eldest, Daniel will be heading for Munich (currently experiencing their coldest winter in 20 years!) on 2 Feb, so there is loads of packing and planning for this great adventure.
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I have always unconditionally loved old stenciled enamelware and nowhere do you see so much of it and as many beautiful specimens as in the quaint and simple homes of Churchhaven.
Changing topic (and tone) please now permit me to become a little mushy. Anyone who regularly reads Mielie Peeps will know that I tend to file 90% of my blog entries under the category "inspiration" because, well, loads of seemingly unrelated things inspire me. Sometimes people also leave our Mielie loft saying they feel inspired by our crazy world. But to me the ultimate compliment is to inspire someone into action.
So imagine my delight when I received an email from Jenny to say that this little blog has helped her find her creative direction. Jenny says that reading Mielie Peeps and clicking through to the links I write about makes her feel as if she's part of a greater creative community. She has started making beautiful cushions out of old woolen blankets that she felts. And she can't keep up with orders! I feel so excited to have played a small part in this story. Jenny, let me know when you have your Etsy store running and I'll do a proper story, ok?
Hooray for blogs!
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... 1200 beads to be precise. Happy first day on the job, President Obama! You've already inspired billions. Our thoughts and best wishes are with you for the tough job ahead.
My good friend and co-tenant at Montebello, Fietje Pieters runs a beautiful fine beading project called Umthi Wobom (Tree of Life). Pictured above is designer, Anna Richerby, who designed the beautiful Obama pin above.
Umthi Wovom uses only Czech and Japanese beads in exquisite colour combinations to produce their beautiful creations. Just like at Mielie, the beaders work from home and bring their work in once a week. I love taking a break from manic Mielie world and taking walk down to Fietje, Anna and her talented beaders at the bottom of the Montebello forest.
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When Zanele is not busy -
- weaving Mielie bags
- training others to weave
- checking quality of work handed in
- helping to set up food gardens or other community projects,
she also runs a little sewing business. Last year she received a big order from the Dora Tamana Preschool (one of our favourite Khayelitsha projects) to make graduation cloaks and caps for all the little graduates who were about to go on to primary school. She also made Nobuntu, the principal, a school-girl's outfit, and at the last minute whipped up a beautiful denim ensemble for herself.
Picutred top left is Zanele and her son, Lusa, who graduated from Dora Tamana a couple of years ago. Top right: Zanele receives a gift from "head girl" Nobuntu.
With the help of some very kind German and Dutch Mielie friends, we have managed to install some wonderful playground equipment at Dora Tamana. The official opening party is on Friday, so I should have pics to show you early next week.
A quick thanks also to Hannah Morris for the cool article on Mielie featured in the online mag, Taxi Design, which you can check out here
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I'm taking tomorrow off and spending the weekend in Churchhaven - my favourite place on earth. No electricity. Limited water. A lagoon. Loads of inspiration.
I took these photos in the past week. They don't have anything to do with, well, anything, but I thought I'd share them with you all the same.
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I've been working on a pattern for a 5m snake that is destined for Finland. We made one a couple of years back, but I can't remember the pattern, which is actually not a bad thing. I would like to try it as a zigzag and also a curled up spiral snake, and the brilliant thing is that Outi, my Finnish distributor is keen to also try one of each! I'll keep you in the loop as the snake drama unfolds... hardiharhar
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Cape Town has been abuzz since the appearance of a mysterious 2.5m resin sculpture on on of my favourite rocks, 300m off the coast of Oudekraal. What is it? Who put it there? It disappeared as quickly as it arrived, only to reappear on Skeleton Gorge, halfway up Table Mountain. According to local newspapers the artist wished to raise awareness of our collective role as custodians of the environment. In similar vein, a year or so ago wooden mock fire extinguishers were mounted on trees in Cape Town forests to raise awareness of how easily forest fires start and spread.
Most Capetonians are lucky enough to live a couple of minutes from a beautiful walk. My favourite way of finding balance is my morning walk with Deon and the dogs (...and the boys, if they're awake). As custodians of our environment, I think our most important job is to celebrate the beauty around us by spending time there.
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These also came in on Thursday.
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Meet Carlyn, pictured here with our Sheila and her brother and two little cousins. Carlyn (8) is the daughter of Therese Wijnen of All Unique, Mielie's Dutch distributor. When they were in Cape Town last year, we took Carlyn and her family to Khayelitsha where most Mielie bags are born. We also took Carlyn's family to visit the Dora Tamana, a local preschool that we like to help out wherever we can. The school made such an impression on her that she put a piggy bank in her school and started raising money to help Dora Tamana. This week she proudly handed over R1500. Is that awesome, or what?
Thank you so much, Carlyn - you're an inspiration to us all!
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