The Birth of Ms Tash

The latest incarnation of my vintage clothing business, Ms Tash.
I now have a somewhat AWESOME spot at a local cafe, Foodelicious.

Everything I buy is vintage and smells funny. Maybe that's why I don't have a boyfriend. Lucy Liu

These are three of my gorgeous finds from today's shopping expedition.
To view more, go to the Ms Tash Facebook page.
Click HERE to view the rest of the Ms Tash clothing range.

Hush!

While scouring second hand shops for stock for Ms Tash, I came across this wondrous find:
a beautiful pair of genuine Hush Puppy court shoes, with original packaging and price tag (all R19,99 of it).

I am selling them for R100 (including packaging).

But, in all honesty, if they weren't four sizes too big for me (they are a 7 or 8), I would forfeit the cash-dollar and keep them myself!

My latest project

This is a book cover I recently designed for publishers, Hands-On Books. The book is an anthology of poetry by Capetonian Kelwyn Sole, and I have to admit it was fantastic to read an incredibly-talented poet while designing and laying out text.

I think I could design and layout books all day long if the writers are always this good.

The title of the anthology is "Absent Tongues", and I used a photograph I took two years ago of some barnacles I found at the beach.

The barnacles are simply lifeless shells. Their emptiness resonated with me and seemed to click with the book title.

Any further editing I did (I overlaid the photo with a watercolour texture which I set at a very low opacity) was to capture the tone and mood of the poetry.

Nutella, iPads and other fancy things

So I am busy using my boyfriend's iPad while he's slaving away like a baus at is new job (I can't get a permanent job yet seeing as I am going to Europe for a month in may... Which would actually get organized if my TRAVEL AGENT would email me BACK!!) and, seeing as I have been a bit of a lazy blogger of late, thought I would post something about the vague sense of self-delusion I have entered about my life (such delusions include refusing to believe that Nutella doesn't replace itself and that it costs thirty bucks; that bleach will make my stained white shirts WHITE and not a piss-stain yellow, and that Six months from now, I will actually have a paying job with a desk and maybe a benefit or two).

Delusions aside, i have come to the conclusion that while my laptop has given me chronic Carpal Tunnel Sydrome, this iPad is going to give me arthritic fingers.

Since this is the height of profoundness that I shall be pushing myself to reach today, I should probably quit while I'm ahead and go make some more Nutella toast.

La Finale

Here is the business card I have decided on... for my vintage clothing business btw.

Any complaints/ comments/ compliments/ criticism are welcome.

xxx

Ms Tash so far

Just to keep you posted, I just sold these two tops and this is my latest idea for a business card. Or the business card I will use until I find something better.

DEATH to interiors!

I am sick to death of the same old bla-bla bullshit jargon being used to describe interior decor in South African decor magazines... and on their online counterparts! I am unsure of whether this is due to a serious adjective shortage in the editing departments of said magazines, or if this is not due to something far, far sinister: the homeowners themselves.

I have always been a fan of Top Billing simply for the hysterical laughter it forces my family to emit as we watch in gleeful delight as the too-wealthy attempt to describe the decor and the "PIECES" they chose for their new kitscharama homes [my favourite type being that of the restoration and Tuscan types.. but this is another story]. Inbetween laughing at the seriousness of the homeowner (as they delight in the made-to-look-old feel of their 'historic' setting), I feel twinges of guilt as these poor fools clearly don't know any better.

My rather obscene Top Billing fetish aside, you'd think that South Africans would stop effing copying each others interiors and get creative in their endeavour to design and decorate a home that supposedly "expresses the personality of its inhabitants" and creates a "seamless interplay between the leisure and work spaces in the home".

In frustration at the number of artfully-placed San pots filled to the brim with one nasty-looking "indigenous succulent" and arrangements of classic pieces that correspond with the "eccentric tastes of the stylish owner" (who, mind you, has quite an eye for antiques and more historic pieces) I drew a blue print for the average designer-cum-art director-cum-curtain shop owner-cum cook book writer-cum photographer's home.

a) Well-timed, blurred movements of stylish house-owner's equally designer offspring (furnished in the latest spoils from Woolworths and Old Khakhi). May be accompanied by a further photograph of said child playing guitar or enjoying the contents of her infuriatingly beautiful bedroom.

b) A 'William Kentridge' (said artist is no longer a person, but an object) as the stylish house-owner is a collector of South African art. (She/ he also has a lot of money and asked her informed artist-friend who she should invest in).

c) Posed-to-look-Unposed portrait of stylish house-owner's off spring in sepia. Sepia is very flattering. Sepia tones well with the rest of the composition.

d) Antique (of course) brass cup that holds a few carefully-placed, vintage knick-knacks (purchased from one of the many decor stores on Florida/ Kloof roads).

e) A piece of coral-coloured coral. Said coral is in fashion. It must be because there is a sudden influx of East-African pieces and influences in stylish house-owner homes. Where this coral disappears to when it is no longer in vogue, nobody knows.

f) Art Deco piece from an auction in London (ah, of course, how did we not know this?). stylish house-owner did not know what the term Art Deco meant. Apologies, stylish house-owner still does not know what the term Art Deco means.

g) Artfully-placed fashionable-ugly dog (a French Bulldog or Pug will do. Well-turned-out long-haired Terrier crosses will also suffice). Henry (pronounced the French way of course) was given to stylish house-owner as an Anniversary gift and he simply looooooooves his doggy treats (provided by our dear friends at Woolworths, of course).

h) An iconic Paul Smith, topaz-coloured vase containing indigenous plants (of course) chosen by Frencesca Wilson (she did the garden you know). Stylish house-owner has been duped - interior decorator bought the Paul Smith vase on stylish house-owner's Platinum card. The one you see is a dahrling immitation a la Monsier Price. (Decor journalist is too polite to mention this to stylish house-owner, who walked into the Paul Smith concept store in Greenside one time in 2009 by mistake).

i) Slaster-and-grit shelving crafted by some up-their-arse concrete artiste (nothing is MADE, it is crafted) and installed by some up-their-arse shelving specialists.

j) Jielde lampshade - stylish house-owner made an autonomous design decision and opted out of placing an actual lamp under the shade. Interior decorator, appalled and amused, said nothing, fearing the end of her wicked spending on stylish house-owner's Platinum card.

k) Concrete screed by installed by some up-their-arse flooring specialists. In muted tones of Serengetti-Arabesque to create a sense of continuity throughout the house, of course.

l) Interior wall in Malamute Grey (Plascon #409). (Did I forget to mention that, upon purchase of this abode, stylish house-owner kept the shell of the house - for it had good bones - but tore down the rest of the structure to reveal a fashionably-empty lounge/ kitchen/ bedroom/ study?)

A Funny Little Thing Called Human Rights

I am a Feminist. Unlike many of my female peers, I am unafraid to shout this from a rooftop and would happily wear it on a t-shirt (with or without a bra) or the front of my panties if it would get me more attention. I will not go into the whole spiel now (someone probably already wet their too-tight frilly undies after my first sentence), but will leave my dear readers some images from the Women's Rights movement to warm things up.

Social Stereotype #1: The Suit

My boyfriend has recently started at Deloittes, and I have recently started calling him a 'Suit'. Because he's a nice suit, I haven't been too scathing. But check out Urban Dictionary for its less gentle definitions. (Some made me laugh out loud with their accuracy).

Wisdom of the Young

I always knew my baby sister (six years my junior) was beyond her years. She is beautiful, intelligent and so wise, I am often the one asking her for advice rather than vice versa. However, when she read her English oral to me, I knew I had to post it on my blog, if only to serve as a reminder that there are courageous, strong-willed human beings in our midst, and they are often far younger than ourselves!

"The current event I will be speaking on today is that of the suicide of Jamey Rodemeyer, a fourteen year old boy from New York who was a heroic activist against homophobia and bullying.

Approximately of the 4500 teens that commit suicide every year, 450 of them are gay. That’s basically a third of our school.

Jamey was openly gay and blogged about the torment and hate he received every single day because of this. He was told that he was disgusting, that he was going to hell because being gay was a sin and that he must just die, everyone would be happier if he did. When he was at school, people would call him a fag and constantly abuse him. Throughout enduring all of this, Jamey still remained brave and supportive to the followers on his blogs.

Jamey committed suicide on September 18^th, 2011.

How many more teens should have to end their lives for people to realise that they need to do something about the bullying. At our own school, this form of bullying takes place every single day, it just shows what unintelligent, narrow-minded fools we have in our midst. So what if someone is homosexual, it’s not something they chose, just like you did not choose to be straight. So the next time one of you even dares to pass a comment, or act like it’s a contagious disease, remember, you’re just contributing to someone’s pain and suffering and you don’t know how long, or short a period of time it’ll take for them to break down. Hate speech is illegal and it is punishable by law. Remember that the next time you call someone a fag."

Another Sad Headline

Get the full story at Mail & Guardian.

Stoked!

One of our assignments in torture class last year (aka Design 4), was to design a 120 page magazine. The 120-pager, as it came to be known, was not the only reason I sweated blood when it came to portfolio time, but it owned a hefty chunk of it.

After being inspired by uber-cool NYC Surf Collective, I decided to create (design/ photograph and write) a surfing magazine for women. There are loads of trendy. die-for-those-flip-flops surfing magazines but I wanted to create a niche one for a South African female market, that, although based on surfing, offers a variety of other articles to a woman who makes surfing part of her life, but is a woman in her own right too.

The above are just a few spreads from the magazine. Enjoy x x x