Marina and I were very privileged to spend this week in the company of
Kathleen Holland, a marketing strategist from Canada who helped us to
develop a road map to grow our little Mielie business, into a healthy
Mielie field that feeds many people.
I learnt so much, I wouldn't know where to start to tell you. I'm really
fired up to start executing our plan - heck, I can't wait for Monday!
We took Kathleen to meet some of our weavers in Khayelitsha this morning.
As always, it was wonderful to see all the Miepie peeps in their homes.
They had all received their new orders yesterday, so everyone was busy
sketching their designs up on the hessians.
So, what does the photo of a Shelley bag have to do with all of this, you
may well ask? Nothing, actually. It's just that - aarg - my camera's battery
was flat when we were in Khayelitsha, so I thought I'd give you this pic
instead. I love its subtle shades - for those who speak Mielie colour, I'd
say that the colourway is Lagoon meets a hint Army, don't you think? I also
love way it matches my wrist gloves, knitted by Astrid.
So sincere gratitude to the following people:
- Kathleen for sharing her time and the benefit of all her experience with us
- Zoe and Craft Network for making it possible
- Deon for holding things together on the home front.
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On a Thursday, our weavers arrive at Mielie carrying their week's work
on their heads. I've heard that it can be really bad for your neck and
spine, but it still makes a pretty good party trick!
Thursdays are always very social and noisy, with old friends catching
up and new friendships made. My Xhosa is still in its baby shoes, so
usually I have to ask someone to translate. The most popular topics of
conversation? Food and men!
And then it's time to clean up,
load up and head home.
Thank you for your beautiful work and see you next week, manenikazi!
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Show:
On Monday we sent these curtains off the Heritage Hotel, who commissioned
them for one of the hotel rooms.
The flowers and butterflies were hand-felted and -stitched onto sheer 100%
linen – very expensive material compared to the cheap reclaimed materials
I am used to working with! I was really nervous to measure, cut and sew it.
We positioned a little wool fleece "cushion" behind each flower to make it
look a bit plumper. I'm really pleased with how it came out, and, even better,
my client, Vicky, is also happy with the result.
Tell:
Remember my blog entry last Thursday when so many Mielie crafters arrived
wearing lilac and I told you about "the purple shall govern"? I found this
pic for you. (The book is about ways to protest injustice peacefully)
Ask:
I am spending this week in a workshop hammering out a marketing strategy.
It's been fascinating, it's been eye-opening... it's been and a lot of hard work.
I have a question for you that will help us immensely:
What is the one* word that leaps into your mind when you think of
Mielie's products?
* OK, I'm a Libra - I would never restrict you to one word only. If you
need 5 words, fine - just not 100 words, ok?
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Yesterday, I intercepted these beautiful clutch bags before they were packed.
It was a beautiful day with a bit more light than we've had in the past couple
of weeks, if a bit chilly. Perfect light for snapping bags at the Greenhouse,
the nursery at the Montebello Design Centre, where we are based.
If you are looking for some inspiration on the recycling front, look no further
than Ann P Smith's website. Oh my goodness, I'm in awe.
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Remember the wave bag I told you about here?
Well, sewn up it looks like this:
See what I mean about the pattern getting a bit lost? Oh well,
we'll just have to wait for the carpet version of this design.
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Some news from the home front. For the past two years my eldest
son, Daniel (16) has been steadfastly working towards a dream of
going on student exchange to Germany. It's finally been arranged,
and Gregor, the boy with whom he will stay next year, is arriving
in two weeks' time. (Crazy panic, run around in circles waving
arms in the air.)
We have been very busy with builders and carpenters this weekend,
putting a shower into the boys' bathroom and converting my studio
into a third bedroom.
Oh, and I forgot to mention - finding a new home for my piles and
piles and piles of junk, which for years have been conveniently
dumped in the studio.
So this was the weekend of deciding what stays and what goes, and
also of rediscovering some treasures... like this Sarie magazine
that is two weeks younger than I am (from October 1964)
For the next two items I have two words: Burn them!
I also re-bonded with this mug:
When I was 10, my brother and I pooled our pocket money to
buy this mug as a Christmas gift for my father. We were so
excited because we just knew it was the perfect gift!
(my father rarely drinks even a glass of wine - certainly
never any poison!) Don't you just love the way the Skull
swings when you take a swig of rum?
Sheez, what were we thinking?
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This cheerful face belongs to Nolundi, who officially started
working as Mielie's shop manager today. We've watched Nolundi
grow up from a bubbly teenager to a graceful, bright and funny
woman. Her mum, Nomthunzi is one of Mielie's most fantastic crafters.
Nolundi replaces Widaad, who worked in the shop for almost four
years. Widaad has moved on to pursue a career as a travel writer.
Thanks for everything, and good luck, Weeds!
Isn't this Contour cube just the most beautiful thing ever?
It looks like a block of multicolour wood, or a semiprecious
stone cut into a block. It's destined for Sweden. Lucky Swedes...
* Wamkilikeli = Xhosa for "welcome"
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Was it pure co-incidence or did the lilac fairy fly over
Khayelitsha this morning?
While we're on the topic of colour, the Mielie Popcorn prize
for the most fabulous colour usage goes to Zoleka this week.
Her understanding of our Mielie colourways is an inspiration.
In her hands, she holds what will become a Tilted Blocks bag
in Lagoon colours. On the table are a Hot/hot, and an Africa
colourway.
Zoleka originally hails from East London. She has two children.
More than anything else, she loves to have a cosy, warm and
welcoming home. She says her door is always open - so when
next you visit Khayelitsha, pop in!
Ok, I'll finish today with some strawberry-blueberry ripple.
*In the bad old days of South Africa's history, anti-apartheid
protesters were met by military vehicles with cannons that
sprayed indelible purple ink – an easy way for the authorities
to identify "trouble-makers". One of the best pieces of protest
from this era was the following piece of grafitti:
"The Purple shall govern".
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The bag of the minute:
…is this Aloe on black:
It was woven by this fabulous person:
There are lots of things we love about Phumeza, but the
gold star on her front tooth is right up there!
The thought for the day:
We've recently spent a lot of time working on our mission
statement,and have been asking ourselves some pretty soul-
searching questions. This sentence has been pinging around
in my head:
At Mielie we believe in the power of re-examination, in
drawing the potential from people and materials that most
would have overlooked.
The Xhosa word of the week:
…is godwa, which means "but". I love the dadooom sound
of it - like a bad omen.
Enough Inspiration for a lifetime:
can be found at Marimeko
well worth the time it takes to download.
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When the woven bags arrive on a Thursday, we often refer
to them as pelts, because their shape is reminiscent of
the Genuine Leather symbol - you know the one. They then
get sewn up and have their handles and linings added.
Last week, this pelt arrived:
The design was, shall we say, a reinterpretation of this -
Hmmmm, not what I expected, but I LOVE it. Only problem is,
when it gets sewn up we'll lose most of the effect because
it will have a front, a base and a back.
So I think we should use it as inspiration and make a carpet,
maybe something like this -
I'll pop in a photo when the real carpet arrives.
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