JAY OH BEES Y'ALL

Ola sons and bitchez!!!

It's Friday and on Friday, I'm a little less feshin and a little more let's look at the reality of this country's unemployment issues.  I've got two jobs to post today. Got them in an email from a friend who works for this company. They are looking for: Oh by the way, by they I mean 3rd Degree on Etv. The positions are for the Johannesburg office.

1. 1 x Producer who will:

- Report to Executive Producer
- Research and development of current affairs story ideas + investigation
- Script and supervise filming + editing of short and long form inserts
- Develop excellent news contracts and sources
- Attend and participate in regular production/editorial meetings
- At least 5 years experience as a journalist with some broadcast experience (radio or tv)
- A thorough understanding of SA's social, political and economic situation
- A thorough understanding of internal politics and current affairs
- Able to take the initiative and working independently
- Able to work well in a team and to be well read and have a good general knowledge
- If you're it, you'll be required to work irregular hours including weekends and public holidays
- submit your cv and application by 30 April 2013 to jobs@enca.com 

2. 1 x Junior Producer who will 


- Research and development of current affairs story ideas + investigation
- Script and supervise filming + editing of short and long form inserts
- Develop excellent news contracts and sources
- Attend and participate in regular production/editorial meetings
- At least 3 years experience as a journalist, preferably with some broadcast experience (radio or tv)

- A thorough understanding of SA's social, political and economic situation
- A thorough understanding of internal politics and current affairs
- Able to take the initiative and working independently
- Able to work well in a team and to be well read and have a good general knowledge
- If you're it, you'll be required to work irregular hours including weekends and public holidays
- submit your cv and application by 30 April 2013 to jobs@enca.com 

Last week I received a lot of CV's related to last week's job post about the production co-ordinator and general production positions - thanks to those who submitted their CV's. I forwarded your CV's to the relevant people and even though they might not call some of you right now, they now know about you.  Same as this, the point is to create a connection between seekers and employers. Although in all seriousness, this thing has kind of grown in its own direction and I've been approached by a small company to partner up and give it some legs so we can start acting like creative recruitment company. Watch this space.

Have a good weekend hope to see some of you at Sterring tonight. Will still have some seats available.

xxx

I DARE YOU NOT TO SING ALONG

I'm sorry, it must be the full moon that's got me listening Peobo and Britney on two consecutive days. 

GUESS WHO'SE LANDING IN JOBURG TONIGHT?

Now I'm not sure if she's alone (word on these streets is that she is) or if she's with her equally cool posse 

If you're a girl and have never had a girl crush, get ready sister. Shingai Shinowa is just the bees knees. How do I know? In 2010, 3 of my girl friends and I went on an epic road trip from Joburg to Lake Malawi via Zimbabwe and Mozambique in a Mini Cooper.  I don't know what we were thinking. Four girls who don't know how to change a tyre were obviously begging Murphy to apply his laws upon our unsuspecting naivety.  Naturally, one tyre burst on a pitch black Zimbabwean highway and we had to bring out our best truck driver charming skills. 

This after we had been stopped by cops for apparently speeding by driving at 70km on a highway. The cops took our licence and we, well Nana had to beg for them to give it back to us because we didn't have the US$50, which was the ''spot fine'' the cops said we must pay.  Our budget wasn't super tight but it was planned and we were going to make them work for the 50 bucks they were demanding.  Now we were in a foreign country and we quickly learnt we couldn't be sassy Joburg girls and get our way as we usually do. We humbled ourselves and eventually Nana just said ''Look, we don't have money because we're actually driving to a funeral in Malawi and we didn't plan this trip so our budget is super tight and we're sad enough as it is to be going to bury someone''.  Eventually, they gave us back the licence and we breathed a huge sigh of relief because we were actually going to a music festival at Lake Malawi.  

Back to the wheel business.  One tyre burst and it was dark and we were stopped in the middle of nowhere. It was so dark we couldn't see each other. Nobody would stop to help us because our car was from Joburg and clearly people thought we were really cute hijackers.  Eventually, a truck driver stopped to help us change our tyre.  When he looked at the spare tyre, it turned out to be one of those narrow ''biscuit'' tyres that might as well have been on a bicycle and wait for it....it too was flat.  It was around 8pm and we were 8 hours away from Harare.  The trucker told us to drive at 60km per hour and he will drive behind us until he has to turn.  Two of us sat with the super thick burst disgusting tyer between us in the tiny back seat of a Mini.  After about 5 hours of sheer unadulterated hell on a road that doesn't end, we stumbled upon a little town that literally came out of nowhere.  All we saw was a little hand written sign that said ''Chivhu'' and a dim flashing sign that said ''24 hour wheel and tyre fitment centre'' We couldn't believe our eyes. Before we stopped the car, four guys were already coming towards us because I'm sure they saw our what the fuck please help us faces.    It turns out we had hit a pot hole and the rim of the wheel was screwed.  The men beat it back to shape, pumped our tyre, pumped the biscuit, put it back in its socket in the boot, we got some cokes and were swiftly on our way to Harare with about 4 hours to go.  I sat in the front next to Nana who was driving and after about 20 minutes, I heard a funny sound coming from the front passanger tyre.  I didn't want to alarm the others and kept quiet for a while until prevented me from sleeping.  

Eventually, I plucked up the courage to say something's up with the front wheel.  At first they were all in denial and said there's nothing wrong and I should calm down.  30 min later, I insisted on it and because there was actually nothing we could do, we agreed we can't stop because what are we gonna do? Two of us fell asleep while the others drove.  The next thing I remember was waking up with a copper on the passanger side asking us what's wrong with the car?  We were stopped at a road block at like 2am and upon the copper flashing his torch on the front rear tyre, hefound this:

They helped us change the tyre, biscuit came out again, disgusting burst tyre resumed its place between the back seat people and we basically all silently wanted to end it all as we continued to Harare.  Please note, we still had 2 countries to drive through before we reached our destination.  Eventually, we arrived in H-Town at 3.30am, which was meant to be our time of departure to Mozambique had things gone according to plan.  We stayed at a friends house which was actually a manor, and the next day went to fix the tyre in town.  Sleep deprived, we got on the road again heading for Mozambique. You don't wanna know the trouble we got into trying to get out of Zimbabwe.  An hour and a half of negotiating in the blazing heat, they finally released us after one of them came to ask ''So whose funeral are you going to in Malawi''.  We hadn't cooked up our little lie properly and they were testing us because Nana had already told them but now they wanted to ask one of us who wasn't present during her interrogation.  It was me whom they asked and as I said ''our friends....'' and as I was about to say mother, Nana jumped in and said ''parents''.  They knew we were lying but somehow let us go.  Eventually we got to Moz and it was fantastic.  We didn't stay but drove through Tete and a few other towns and we were finally feeling like this is a road trip and it's meant to be fun.  The border out of Moz into Malawi closed at 9pm and we had been stuck in a giant stop and go at Kariba Dam and it took very valuable time away from us.  Eventually, we got out of Mozambique at about 20h40 and sped out of there to get to the other side by 9pm. As we left Mozambique, some kid who had shown us which offices to go to get our passports stamped was demanding that we give him money for his assistance. We were like, kid please get out of our way we're way too late to deal with this.  We drove for about 15 min to get to the other side, flew out of the car to the border office, two of us got our passports stamped and we could go through, as the other two got to the window, the teller shut the blinds and put a ''closed'' sign on the window.  Rrreeeeealllyyy??? 

We walked out of the office along with the other people who had been denied access into Malawi and as we reached our car, guess who was waiting for us demanding his money? That kid had ran 10km in pitch darkness and out of sheer amazement, we gave him his money and he left.  We were going to sleep on the no man's land between two countries that night and we thought, maybe it's a good thing, we were tired. When we heard the sweet beats of R-Kelly's Happy People coming from an obscure place, we couldn't help but follow the sounds and we stumbled upon a very small dilapidated little shack. A shack that had beer and music.  I can't describe the relief we felt when we saw that little shack.  We bought some beers, had a bit of a razzle on the dance floor, met some locals and eventually went back to our car and rolled out a blanket and played 30 seconds.  When the game ended, Akua and I fell asleep while Nana and Celiwe went to discover what lay beyond some bushes because there was music and seemingly another party on the other side.  The next thing I knew, I woke up with Nana sitting in the front seat talking to some man.  I was dipping in and out of sleep and eventually woke up when the man asked Nana ''Do you think you're beautiful?''.  When she responded ''No, I think I'm ugly'', I said ''babe why the hell are you talking to this guy, he must just leave us alone''. I looked around the car and there were 3 other men surrounding it and Celiwe, who had managed to find her way to the back seat next to me, was shaking.  That's when I knew something was really wrong.  It turns out the four men had a gun and it was on top of my friend's head while he interrogated her about her looks, Zimbabwean politics and the friendliness of the people of Malawi, whom we should think of as our brothers and sisters.  That is an edited version of a long and really difficult few hours. Eventually, they left after Nana's amazing ability to negotiate under pressure.  We couldn't really sleep that night and as first light hit, we were the first to get into the queue to get our papers. Eventually, we got to Malawi and still had some driving to do before we got to the lake.  On arrival at the lake a few hours later, we all had our individual breaking points.  Mine came on the second night of Lake of Stars , the night I saw the Noisettes perform.  When I watched Shingai sing and perform for the first time, I couldn't help but cry and think that shit, it was all worth it. 

She is an amazing singer, an inspiring performer and all I could think was, this shit was all worth it. It was all worth it. And I didn't even know the Noisettes before that.  I, no we have been huge fans ever since.  According to my source, Shingai is going to be performing in Braamfontein at Puma Social Club on Friday night.  We have our film screening so I'll probably miss it but I will definitely still go to the PSC after to see if I can catch even a little bit.  If that fails, I hear the Noisettes will be performing in Zimbabwe next Thursday at HIFA...I just texted Akua to see if she perhaps might wanna go on another road trip next week? Her response was ''Eish'', and knowing my friend, she is probably considering it. Eish indeed. 

A NEW FANTASTIC POINT OF VIEW

Hehehe just because I really loved old Peabs back in the day! Thanks Disney, the 90s kids owe you one. 

Whose coming to Sterring on Friday?

Hello guys and gurls! This Friday, Sterring is back! On Friday 26 April, we're screening Andrew Dosunmu's Restless City in our back yard and you're invited. Andrew Dosunmu is a Nigerian fashion photographer and film maker who started out as a design assistant at Yves Saint Laurent before becoming a creative director, photographer and now a film maker!  He's directed music videos for super musicians like Angie Stone, Maxwell, Kelis, Talib Kweli, Isaac Hayes and Wyclef Jean amongst others so you can imagine probably eats, drinks and shits visually! The shorts I've seen of this film are beautiful and the story looks racy and engaging.  It's about the lives and loves of two African immigrants living in New York and it was shown at Sundance in 2011 with a fantastic reception. Check out the trailer here

Here are the deets:

Friday 26 April 2013

At 54 6th Street, Parkhurst, Jofunnezburg

18.30 - 22.00

R100 gets you a seat + a boerie roll/pesto pasta + cocktail 

Prebook by emailing sterringjhb@gmail.com 

We have bales of hay to sit on but you can bring a camp chair

Don't forget to bring a blanket!

Bookings are limited! 

If it rains, we postpone it to a different dry day. 

Hope to see you 

EISH

Somebody sent me this picture over the weekend and as much as I'm happy to be featured in the current issue of Elle Magazine, the only thing I can focus on is the giant error written after my name, that I am the owner of Mememe. Please everybody, this is not true. Doreeen Southwood started Mememe in 2001 when I was in Standard 9.  She owns Mememe. I co-own the Johannesburg store with her. It is a credit I could only wish for. Although I didn't tell Elle Magazine that I own the store, I felt super guilty for being credited incorrectly :-(

ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?

Oh my gaurrrrd!!!! A. Sauvage is a bloody genius! A bloody frikkin genius! 

PARTY OVER HERRRREEEEE

Pull through if you're around! It'll be the day after my birthday so I'll have about 28 reasons to celebrate. Plus if you haven't seen our new Mememe Range, now will be a perfect chance!  PS click on the image to make it bigger! 

AN IVORIAN IN MOCORRO

His name is Louis Phillippe and I just dig his whole thing. I don't have much patience for personal style blogs but this shit right here......

http://louisphilippedegagoue.blogspot.com/

A PRODUCTION JOB UP FOR GRABS AND A PERSON LOOKING FOR A JOB IN FASHION

Hey guys

This week, I've got a job on offer and one CV. A friend who works in TV production is looking for the following: A production co-ordinator based in Johannesburg to work on a feature film for two weeks. Must have a car. I think the job starts in May.  And people looking for work and internships in TV production, she would like some CV's.  If you're it, mail me missmillib@gmail.com and I'll connect you.

Udderwise, here is this week's sole CV. I really am battling with time to look through the rest. 

A 28 year old woman is looking for work in fashion. Oooh gurl aren't we all? I'm not sure what kind of work she is looking for but here are her qualifications and her experience.  She has a driver's license and is tri-lingual, is there such a term? She's done a lot of studying in her life by the looks of her CV, most notably she did a Diploma in Wedding Planning at Intec. Who knew? She studied Fashion Design  at the Universitiy of Johannesburg focusing on the technical side of grading and pattern construction, applied clothing technology, design studies, computer pattern making among other things.  She also has a diploma in Marketing Management and Events Co-Ordination.  For the last three years, she's worked for Swiss Port as a Airline Passanger Handling Agent and she left that position because she wants to pursue her career in fashion. Any takers?

Please email me if you are interested in knowing more about this person. 

Thanks, and have yourselves a lekker weekend! I'm gonna go watch my friend Joao experiment with some instruments at The Goethe Institute tomorrow afternoon! Check it out here

RIRI

SNEAK PEEK, THE RESULT OF LAST WEEK'S ''MODLER SEARCH''

Last week DJ Khenzero and I were looking for models for a poster we wanted to make for a party he's playing at at Mememe (date has been changed to 1 May btw) and there was such a positive response, I'm stillll getting beautiful Joburg girls sending me pictures.  Here's a sneak peek of what the 6 girls I found got up to! Steve Marais of Gaschette Magazine took these pics last Sunday in a shoot that happened at Mememe's back yard where the afternoon party will be!!!! It'll be a goodbye summer vibe and party songs especially for girls!  Can't wait.  I'll post the real poster on here when it's ready.  Thanks to the models from left Kagiso, Zoleka, Alexandra, Tumi, Gcobisa and Nikiwe! You guys were such good sports! 

New stuff at MeMeMe Joburg

MeMeMe Joburg finally got some new stock this week. We've got some new bags from Jinger Jack, clothes from Jane Sews (who has made a stellar entry into the hand bag market with that multi colour brief bag above) and some new stuff form Adam and Eve.  And finally FINALLY tomorrow we're getting the second batch of MeMeMe Range clothing. Will post pics tomorrow.  

I'VE ONLY GOT EYES FOR HENRY HOLLAND EYES

 

 

 

Last night I went to buy toilet paper and some bread at Woolies in Blue Bird. Little did I know that I was about to witness some life threatening spectacles on my way out of the centre. I literally dropped bread, paper and keys along with my dignity when I got down on my knees to take pictures of these beauties.  I didn't know the designer and found out on Instagram from Urban Mosadi that one pair is Henry Holland.  Henry Holland himself replied on Instagram confirming that he conceived of and gave birth to these babies. I have walked past that shop at least 128 times and I have never stopped to look at the window because before they got these, they used to display spectacles and sunglasses on faces made from plastic 2 litre bottles. Grim.  But since they bought these and some Supers, that window looks amazing. 

THIS BOY

Can't lie and say I don't like Tyler the Creator's music even though it is 90% misanthrope 

I'm currently listening to Yonkers again and again.  

I'M SORRY, WHAT?

Still recovering from this guy. 

FROM MOROCCO WITH LOVE

Still recovering from the discovery of this blog so for now I actually cannot talk about it. Let me first restore my breathing.

HELLO SMANGA

I didn't manage to capture any fashion week street style because I just didn't have it in me but I really enjoyed this look from Smangaliso. 

MY THOUGHTS: SA FASHION WEEK SUMMER 2013 COLLECTIONS

Hey doll faces!

Happy New Week. I took a bit of a hiatus from the world yesterday and did my favourite thing: lay in my bed covered in books, reruns of series I have seen and nasty food. And now all is better.

Last week was SA Fashion Week's presentation of Summer 2013 collections by South African designers and I must say, the whole thing is looking more oiled with each new season.  The standard of shows this year was better than before, the quality of the clothes on the runways was generally better and it was trimmed of a lot of fats, like too many designers showing. I have been attending Fashion Week since 2007 and it's good to see a steady growth.

I was impressed by the crop of young talent, although some of them have a lot to do to understand the fit and construction of clothing as well as how to make clothes for a real South African market instead of an imagined, ideal market.   But conceptually, they get it.  I particularly liked Annemarie Honnibol's winning collection (she won opportunity to show at Berlin Fashion Week), the idea is great from nucleus to execution, a good use of natural fabrics, the collection is wearable and really good quality.  And she has a humility that she will need in the long road ahead. Even though the clothes are not necessarily suited to my ever changing personal taste, I really enjoyed the commercial appeal of Bianca Warren and Sober's collection. I had never heard of them before Fashion Week and these are two labels to watch...and buy!

Stoned Cherrie showed a small and quintessentially Stone Cherrie collection on Thursday during the Tresemme Collections. It was very South African, with a grown up incorporation of the Joburg Skyline and clothing you would want to be seen in on a special day if you are a modern woman in your 30s. Another label that I've enjoyed watching grow from strength to strength is Rubicon. Hangwani has managed to improve her womenswear offering with every new season, opting for less show piece and more commercial.

I must say, the majority of the Afrikaans Designers always manage to bring something extra to the table each season.  The clothing from designers like Black Coffee, Tiaan Nagel,  Suzaan Heyns, Superella and now a new generation in the form of Annmairie Honnibol is laced in historical reference, a sense of belonging to something and somewhere, the clothes are innately South African. The black designers had their moment in the early 2000s with the Sophiatown and traditional wear references but since then, there's been a bit of a lull when it comes to a black identity coming through in the clothing. There's definitely an urban and peri-urban perspective coming from designers like Shaldon Kopman of Naked Ape, Skortch and Loxion Kulca, but I feel like there is something that we still haven't found.  I guess it comes with knowing our history.  My aunt went to an African restaurant in Soweto recently and upon looking at the menu, saw that the only breakfast option was Bacon and Eggs, which is a very English breakfast.  She ordered it and when it came with beans in mayonnaise, she called me to tell me and we had a little laugh about it. But seriously, that's just about not having a full grasp of our own history, which on many levels, makes it difficult to make things that are truly reflective of where we come from.  I'm sure Zulu's, BaSotho, MoTswana's etc have a traditional breakfast food but as our West African brothers and sisters like to day, we in Southern African have been ''over-colonised''.  I'm reading a brilliant book (Frontiers: The Epic Creation of South Africa and the Tragedy of the Xhosa People by Noel Mostert) that is currently enlightening me about being Xhosa on so many levels and it's a pity that this knowledge is not common. Before you say, history is told by the victor, this book is written by a white man that is only interested in telling the truth about our history. Anyway, this was not meant to be a rant, but like anything, fashion is deep seated within the complexities of culture and its expression.

Here are some of my favourite shows from last weekend.  The first two images are from Clive Rundle's installation and the rest are from Tiaan Nagel's.