Launching Arachnid Creations

I have been away for too long, I apologise and I will tell you why... As many of you who know me...I am here to fly the flag for Africa.!!!

I have been toying with the idea of creating a fashion line for years and have been sharing my thoughts and ideas with friends until they got fed up with me and like the Nike Motto, they told me to stop blabbing and "just do it"

I googled Celebrities wearing African Fabrics and the results were astounding. See for your self below... Beyonce, Rhianna...etc I think to myself, isn't it just.., soon this fabrics will be re-packaged and sold back to us in the most ridiculous prices by 'Top designers' while we the owners snub what is inherently part of our culture. At first, the question that came into my mind is "am I good enough" but then my passions and love for designing with my stalwart faith in God won.

 Hence I have been working hard to launch my new fashion line primarily designed with African Fabrics called Arachnid Creations. Our motto: "Matchless Designs and Timeless Pieces".

I promise you, my designs is not to be confirmed to "African Parties", you can wear it to parties of course but then to work, church, Barbecues, shopping etc. My collection is versatile and eclectic and most importantly affordable . Don't take my word for it, visit my website on www.arachnid-creations.com and they also say "Pictures can speak a thousand words" so click on this link https://wwwdropbox.com/l/x9WV7 to see the pictures of my Launch. (You might need to download dropbox on your laptop/phone but can be easily done and useful for storing precious pictures)
 Till I reach out to you again.. Enjoy and please leave a comment, I would love to hear from you....Tell me where you could wear some of my designs to:)
 Love ya
Jumoke

What If

To my millions of readers, (calling the things that are not as if they were)

Sorry I have been away since December, I promise not to do that again seeing I have been sorely missed. Yes I know its April but I am still caught up with the festivities of December, not the shopping frenzy bit or spending money I don’t have part but the having good friends around and having loud conversations, shouting over one another and interrupting each other's conversation. Good friends, Good Food, Good conversation, I love it!

I don’t think it has to be January to make a New Year resolution; I give you permission to make it any time of the year! If you have been unsuccessful for the past three months, don’t give up, dust failure off and start again. Let me give a word of encouragement, please forgive me for being so presumptuous that you want my advice. This might sound like a cliché but Go for your dreams, reach for the stars; and do not let anything stop you from reaching your goals. Not the haters, not even you. Sometimes we think we don’t have enough to be successful, we do! What if... the diamond you are looking for is in the inside of you. You just need to give birth to it (...Huh) seriously, that business you were looking to start, do not procrastinate, just go for it. That weight you have been carrying around, start losing it, one day at a time, one resolve, one step before you know it...victory.

Along with your doing, don’t forget to do something nice for someone. As you travel through the underground and you hear the sonorous music of the buskers, do not walk on by, appreciate the beauty in the symphony you are listening to and spare a change. What if when you listen it fuels your senses with renewed vigour for the day? What if...when you tap into the rhythm you will get ‘it’? I know I would want some sort of acknowledgement if I was doing something that creative. Trust me you will feel better afterwards. My brothers, don’t pass by that homeless guy, I know you think he uses his money for drugs, what if he doesn't.., My sister, what if...that boss of yours that is horrible to you at work is going through a divorce or tough times, give him a break. I know he is taking it out on you and it is not fair but at least he is not shooting you down with a gun because he has had a bad day like we sometimes hear on the news. Sponsor a child in Africa or UK; give the gift of your time to people who are needy, what if your money really makes a difference. What if...

Stop waiting for someone else to do it, we complain a lot but it is time to put ourselves out there. Let’s make our generation and fill it with worthy heritages for our children. This is my rant for today; I like to rant for another.

Language Please!

Put your hands up and do a jiggle if your children know how to speak your indigenous language. To the others go to the naughty corner, raise your hands up and pray for God to have mercy on your soul. OK, maybe that is a bit too severe. Let’s get real with ourselves though, by the third generation from our children, our languages would have disappeared from our family lineage. Do you know what beautiful stories, adages, folklore and culture can be passed down through languages?

What is so alarming is that even back in our home countries some parents don’t talk to their children in the native language, what???? Is this a status thing now, that your children should be blowing only  English grammar like a trumpet? It is disgraceful, (I am talking to myself too as I m guilty of this traditional deprivation towards my babies but I am rectifying it and my children are making good progress.) Take pride in your heritage, our language is what makes us disparate and unique, we should unashamedly take pride in the one thing nobody can take away from us...

Have you seen the Chinese, Spanish, Indians, how they rap with their children with pride in their respective languages. Do you know it has been proven that if a child is taught in their indigenous language, they activate the part of the brain that makes them clever (without getting too technical)  and they do well in other languages as well. Wake up people! Nobody is selling this ignorance to us; we are the ones buying this crap ourselves. Do you know the pleasure I take in being able to trade secrets with my daughter in public when I want no one to understand what we are saying, one of the many perks.

Forgive me for being so harsh, it is out of love and the wish to preserve the beautiful things we have in our culture. Some of us are so readily open to take on other trends ( I call it trend because they are so transient that I can’t call it culture) we imitate the way the white man speak, we like to dress the way they do and in our taking we have taken some disgusting stuff as well and forgotten where we came from. I am not saying we should be parochial and not open ourselves to new things but let’s embrace what is ours first, It’s not too late, speak it to them, teach them, sing to them in your language. Eventually when they go back home, they will not use their left hand to give directions to their home and no one will be able to sell them BS. Keep the cord strong, the flag flying; teach your children your indigenous language, you will be amazed on how quickly they will pick it up and how interested they are in learning it. Don’t leave it till it’s too late

This is my thought provoking rant for today, I leave to rant another day

 Please leave a comment...

I know you! Do you know me?

 I remember my first day at work in Canary Wharf, I was in awe at the fast paced atmosphere  of the place, even the air felt rushed , the expensive suits, the tall buildings, the decadent gourmet shops. The smell of coffee and power perfumed the air, with the proverbial noses stuck up there too.  At first, I could not curtail my exhilaration, I felt like shouting ‘can you handle the truth’ (as in Tom Cruise wannabe in ‘A few Good Men’). I had been let loose and I wanted to leap over walls but after two weeks of not making a single friend and being shunned and scorned by  the  sparse people around me who I can call my own, quickly my elation turned into whimper of emotions. I felt lost and alone.

  For the first time in a long time I felt invisible, every one scurried along like the world was about to end, I heard animated conversation between two people on my left and they were talking about graphs and paragraphs, Huh? I looked down at my own work outfit with disdain, the pride I took that morning in wearing my slim fitting blue guinea brocade shirt tapered on the sleeves and collar with green Ankara was fading fast. I sat down on the benches in the indoor shopping mall feeling sorry for myself. I looked up and the glimmer of hope showed itself in another African sister coming my way, to me she looked like an angel, I was sure I could strike up a conversation with her. She was dressed to perfection, ‘looking tight’. I stood up and said hello, if looks could kill, I would be dead by now.

 So why do we not like to acknowledge one another? Do you know how you make me feel when I meet you in the lift and you turn your face away, when I say hello and you don’t answer. Do you know how you demean our  race when you will only talk to me when no one is around, why is it that it is from you that I get the most hard time from, when you should be my Iroko tree..  We have been through a lot you and I, don't you know! you are my solace. When I see you I am happy,. Why are you not happy to see me succeed like you, surely our struggles should not be in vain? Yes! You might have been burned before but we have got to come together and change the way we see one another. It starts with you and me. No one will respect us when we are not strong together, you are part of me and I you. I know you,  do you know me? Please say YES

This is my soul searching rant for today, I live to rant another day

Like A Peacock

Like a peacock, let us strut our culture, our heritage with pride. 

 "African clothing is the traditional clothing, often vibrantly coloured, worn by the indigenous peoples of Africa. In some instances these traditional garments have been replaced by western clothing introduced by European colonialists.” (whyyyyyyyyyyyy I scream.) Let us take a cue from the Asian culture and wear our Ankara, Guinea Brocade, Lace, Kente, Adire etc to work, to play, to church, to parties, let us splash it all over our houses with pride, for curtains, our cushions, bed sheets because they are beautiful and gorgeous. No one will put Africa on the map except us, the media often paint us in a negative light and this is one area we can stand together, one step at a time I say.  Let us start by embracing what we can truly call our own, let’s express ourselves through our clothing. I wear my African clothing to work with a modern twist; I sew my work shirts with Ankara, complete with cufflinks and embroidery. I dare to be bold and people compliment me all day. Why has curry become a phenomenon now in UK. I will tell you why because the Asians value their culture and they have spread it as the wind carry seeds. Let me ask you a question, when you see an Asian person in his/her traditional attire, do you blink or think it odd, NO! we are so use to seeing them in their beautiful array of clothing that we have subconsciously accepted it, why can’t we Africans do and be the same.

This is my beautiful rant for today, I live to rant another day