South Africa
Teacher. Librarian. Writer. Critical reader. Inclusive educationist.
Freelance English and isiZulu features writer.
Former journalist.
Noteworthy organisations I have contributed work to include The Times daily newspaper in South Africa; The Sunday Times weekly newspaper; UmAfrika newspaper; the children's literacy organisations Nalíbali and Book Dash; and Unisa in collaboration with the British Council and NPO MIET Africa.
B. Soc.Sci (English; Media & Cultural Studies)
Contact: [email protected]
A study guide on Inclusive Education for which I consulted as a critical reader.
That's when the precinct's glitterbugs get all dressed up to swarm the gold-lit modern bar with their possible model friends. Sunday afternoon is the day to go if you're primarily there for the sports on TV and the food.
Necessity isn't the only mother of invention. Sometimes invention is born from a desire for the perfect pair of red-letter day shoes. Womenswear designer Elli-Nicole Sazeides has created a service that gives shoe-lovers the freedom to customise the swanky footwear of their dreams. Launched online last year, Elli-Nicole Shoes is a fun, six-step process in which clients can virtually "assemble" their own shoes by choosing from a selection of styles, colours, embellishments and accessories...
Getting an education, author Terry Pratchett once wrote, is a bit like getting a communicable sexual disease; it makes you unsuitable for many jobs and then you get the urge to pass it on. This is true, by extension, of the reading bug.
Khanda Manqele and Wandile Mshengu created Sophisticated Monkey Brand (SMB) in 2010 as a "born-free" lifestyle brand focused on bringing together fashion, photography, music and other creative ventures. "We founded the brand as a movement which was out to challenge conventional street culture as it is known, and to show the youth of South Africa how two young guys from Durban understand and interpret the culture from a Durban perspective."
Local leatherworkers inspire positive change one bag at a time. Image by Jackie Clausen for Times Media.
The kooky-cool siblings are the youngest of four daughters and the team behind MaDlamini Sisters in Vintage, an indie label dealing in bespoke leather goods, refashioned vintage wear and whimsical accessories. Their love of their Dlamini heritage is tightly woven into the fabric of their brand.
We are at the last Durban leg of a three-city "slow fashion" exhibition hosted by indie design label darling Jane Sews. The event is part stop-and-stare ''art" exhibition, part sensory experience. There is even a performance component - two men whirr and snip away at their machines, laying bare the process that goes into the creation of a single dress.
At 28, the designer heads a team of three, marrying high-end design principles to urban street fashion aesthetics at his small studio in Durban. His label, Tempracha, began nine years ago in Umlazi, when he sat down at the second-hand Singer sewing machine his mother had bought for him and made a tote bag.
Consider it - they work long hours, sometimes from as early as 3am until as late as 7pm - ferrying an endless stream of often irritable strangers. Under those circumstances, few drivers have the time and energy to pack lunch hence the thriving taxi rank "fast food" industry.
That effect is the lifelong goal of Vivid Audio loudspeaker designer Laurence Dickie. Though it is a British company, Vivid Audio' s futuristic-looking, pod-shaped amplifiers are crafted in a modest Durban workshop.
Third generation chilli farmer Mahalutchmi Govender talks about the family business. Image by Siphiliselwe Makhanya.