Modern ICONS

On my natural hair journey, there are a lot of things 'they' slyly fail to mention before transitioning from relaxed natural hair ...

Natural hair doesn't automatically become the picture of health...
it takes and needs great care and moisture, conditioning, moisture, conditioning MOISTURE ! Did i say moisture ?

It has become very apparent that each person's hair is as individual as a finger print ..i.e, olive oil used on it own in my hair dries the fo shizzle outta of my strands.

My hair now that  i'm trying to grow it, drinks up hair moisturisers like a sahara... one thing that has helped amongst a plentitude of other oils and potion is Lush's R & B @ £9.95 it is a bit expensive for quite a small tub(100g) but contains such nourishing, and earth friendly stuff... plus a lil does go a long way ! A pleasant smell and a lotion does weigh ...

This was recommended to me by Kera of Moody Manes ( check out interview below!). My hair seems to love this stuff. Logic tell me natural works best natural so its a given that this stuff should work really -You'll find the product is packed with goodies such as oat milk, fair trade olive oil, coconut oil, jojoba oil amongst a world of other goodies...

Continuing on my path i do look to every avenue for hair inspiration.. then you find because one wears a natural we are a kinda minority.. the women at the forefront rocking a natural appear to have such inspirational strength. I have come across a couple of who I've become drawn to and may well be on to their way to becoming modern icons...

I have blogged about her amazing voice before Janelle Monae, her energy speaks volumes by the way she expresses herself....

Now I never thought I'd  think this let alone type aloud but Solange Knowles is seriously  reppin', despite the great force that is her sister, she has been able come into her own... 

Nikisha

Cipriana

I have come across a few sites for our curly coiled sista.... Urban Bush Babes  is by far my favourite! founded by Nikisha & Cipriana, best friends and "pasionista's"  based in NYC they have a website  movement which is packed with insightful hair regimes, product reccomendation and fabulous vintage style and finds!

My search goes on... let me know if you have any modern ICON's you look to ?...


Ciao for now :0)

Ms Scruffy OWL

Take a seat, cuppa at the ready and bar of chocolate if you like .... for another inspirational session with another real heroe Kera of Scruffy OWL.

I met with one part of the‘Urban’ duo  don’t actually love this word… it seems to me, this was a term used for pigeon holing what black people do… that’s in my opinion. Now its turned around to address the youth culture …. What does it really mean?? Note to self do not pigeon hole!! Anywho I digress and regress.

I meet Kera part founder of Scruffy Owl, and all round creative explosion.

Kera Modelling one of her Scruffy OWL tees.

With a mother who designed jewellery, she encouraged Kera to follow her talented juices. Kera is a free spirit, oozes charm and is casually exquisite which is reflected in her character. 

Hair by Moody Manes, Make Up Ru MEL

Along with Scruffy Owl, she coifs hair through Moody Manes, her mobile stylist business  and is now learning to tattoo which should emerge in six months! All this energy falls under her brand Kinetic Moodz – kinetic referring to waves that go on forever and Moodz, changing of moods. People… she came up with this name when she was 14!! I think this goes to show the talent which is bubbling under the surface, I look forward to her peak.

http://purpleferdinand.tumblr.com

For those who don’t already follow on her on twitter you will find, she is on the pulse of all things unique, inspiring and non conformist: see picture to your left by Tortured Minds - tumblr. Re posted by Kera.

So her fashion story really began when in New York, London born but was flown to the big Apple when she was about 9yrs old.

29 yr old Kera went to an Art & Design high school in New York, Manhattan majoring in Fashion Design.

She was flown back to blighty in her late teens, and then immersed herself as a Londoner - when interviewing Kera you can't but feel NYC is still in her heart, the odd twang or still slang slips through after nearly 10years.

She went on to study at the esteemed however infamous London College of Fashion – hers was an experience that made her want to throw fashion over the fence. After her depleting experience at the London College of Fashion (LCF), Kera went on to join the rat race… on her life's journey she met her partner, her kindred spirit. He didn’t really work in fashion however had an affinity with great design.An almalgation of both their beings Scruffy OWL was born:

Scruffy Other Ways of Libertion… ( this has become my favourite name in the universe !!).

The Scruffy – is a bit of an oxymoron .. you never find a scruff owl now do you !

Check out their facebook page click here.

Follow them on twitter http://twitter.com/#!/Scruffy_Owl

And you can purchase Scuffy OWL clothing through; http://urbfashion.co.uk/shop/

Scruffy OWL is heavily influenced by hip-hop and break dance and for me what runs through is a freedom of expression.Catering for both women and men, their tees are a steal at £24.99 and really wicked hoodies from £44.99( that tee below is my next purchase ! )

Fly High Hoodie £44.99

Womens 80s rope chain T-shirt £24.99

PASSION .... Dance, her (nearly) 6foot statuesque height was her obstacle which is why she never pursued her first dream, however with her high school break dancing days (fortunately for us)  brought Scruffy OWL

WORDS FOR THE WISE ... "don't let people, their insecurities or short coming in life dictate how you feel about your art and how you feel about yourself"

MOTIVATION....God, her christianity... "the road will never run smooth" but through all the twist and turns she keeps God in her life to get through.

ROLE Models .... her Mama , as mentioned previously, her Mama's artistry helped her raise Kera, her mother didn't let life mudane obstacles impact and as is in her mother now runs through Kera's veins was a great positive outlook on life.

what speaks to her in ART is Jean Michel Basquiat (one of my favourites), and other graffiti artist such as Bansky.

favourite DECADE 70's it all about "Peace, LOVE" and the all the other funky good stuff

'No one can make you feel inferior without your consent' Eleanor Roosevelt

Whist at LCF unfortunatley the tutors did have negative impact on her learning..... however the assurance that one day soon, she will reap sweet but silence vengeance to see one of her old tutors rocking Scruffy OWL tees ! 

Stayed tune for her imerging tatoo business, she has countless tat's, 9 and counting! I for one can't wait for more her Kenetic Moodz.

CIAO ;0)

Beauty Junkie returns

So we all know I can't stay too far from beauty for too long... AND OMG there are some really cool nail effect nail polishes on the market !!

Barry M and OPI have a really cool crackle nail polish. OPI's colours for this range are more metallic and a bit more rock...inspired by Katy Perry click here to have a look at their range

The idea is that you paint your nails with any base solid bright colour e.g., your normal reds or pinks. Then you use one coat of the Barry M or OPI crackle nail colour.

Have a look at the you tube video below, this ladie compare's Barry M's version with OPI. It seems the OPI is easier to apply, it has a thinner consistency compared to Barry M's version. BUT there isn't much difference in it really.

Topshop Flagship store in Oxford Street sell Barry M's polishes so.. we know what i'm doing in my work lunch break tomorrow !

I think I'm going to attempt a leopard skin esque design

We still have a couple more weeks left of April meaning some more inspiring interview so stay tuned !

Ciao for now ;0)

Empower begins, continues but will never conclude....

The month of April I claim it to be a month of empowering women. I will be conducting interviews with successful, and up and coming professional women. From these interviews I hope to inspire, promote and bring about sheer goodness !!

Once upon a time.... in January 2011 I was curled up with a cup of tea and digestive biscuits, the wonder of Black Girls Rock Awards shone upon me, I thought i'd bring a lil piece of the action to blighty!

The concept of Black Girls Rock is a non for profit organisation for the youth; to empower and motivate young women and turn around the negative way in which black women are portrayed in the media. The organisation seeks to mentor and build these youth with high self esteem and self worth through various educational programs

As a woman whose motivated and inspired by 'real' women what better way than to bring our true heroes to the forefront. I'm constantly filled with beaming pride when I see my peers filling the roles they have worked hard towards.

So people lets raise our glasses (cue something bubbly), here is a clink to our hard work and perseverance to attain our dreams.


Without further to do our first empowering interview is with

Chantell Walters - Fashion Designer.

I meet the beautiful Chantell in the buziness of St Pancras after she has finished from a thought provoking meeting about the next steps of her ever growing fashion line. 

Chantell  Walters

Her personality, character and talent is one which has drawn attention from various bloggers and esteemed editorials such as the New York Times fashion pages, Essence Online and Grazia Daily. Her fashion story started at the young age of 5, with the influence of her trendy young mum who she was 'embarrassed' by, because she didn't fit the norm at that time, thankfully her mum continued to regularly visit boutiques finding treasures and experimented with hair and beauty styles, and "after hours of dressing up in her [mothers] clothes" her mother ultimately became a fundamental influence in her life. Mamma Walters precious word for Chantell during her teens were that "she hadn't raised her to become a follower".

28 yr old Chantell made her first dress at 19,  after graduating from the prestigious London College of Fashion her fashion story really began.

PASSION.. her greatest passion in her life is her cute Son, his innocence and "carefree attitude to life" and aptitude for being anything he wants "if he chooses to be buzz light year, he will be" inspires her and drives her determination. Since being a mother she feels even more passionate about her goals in life, more so, to be a great role model to her son, to teach him that "working hard" will get him anywhere he wants and enable him to achieve anything.

the MOTHER, Chantell sometimes likens herself to Will Smith's character in the film the Pursuit of Happiness. Encouragingly she has a strong family network who help her to achieve her dreams, even though her trips to New York can be bittersweet being away from her son, she is able to maintain continuity in her sons life by exposing him to London's rich arts culture and relishes reading time.The hard work, juggling her mother designer role, for her is all worth it for the long term. As with all us women she has the innate ability to "multi-task".

RISK taking, it seems is fundamental to Chantell's successes, on one of her trips to New York during fashion week she walked straight through to sit front in the coveted front seats of a runway show! "If you don't go out there, no one is going to know you exist" her wise words of WISDOM for those who don't want to live with regret is "if you feel like doing something follow your instincts and go for it !"

MOTIVATION 'Carpe Diem' seize the day. To keep her in her energetic state of mind her daily routine is reading something positive and regularly listens, in particular, to motivation speakers Les Brown & Eric Thomas the Hip Hop preacher

her ROLE MODELS .. the "mad scientist of the world" such as Erykah Badu, Byork and Kimora Lee Simmons. These women are "unique in their own way and live life to the fullest!"

her main FAVOURITE DESIGNERS Alexander Mcqueen, Hussein Chalayan, Balenciaga, Ralph Simmons for his Menwear, Vivienne Westwood.

'No one can make you feel inferior without your consent' Eleanor Roosevelt

Whilst at uni one of her teachers, tried to make her feel inferior by constantly predicting her very low grades, irrespective of her unconditional offer for the university and constant high grades that surpassed average marks i.e., achieving "A", needless to say Chantell Walters survived through this and frenemies by her unrelenting "Tunnel Vision" of her goals and surrounding herself with successful, encouraging people and mentors; in addition, listening to successful business stories helps her to focus.

FUTURE is her inspiration,  her childhood interest on sci-fi has heavily influenced her designs, consciously or not.. Looking at the names chosen for her previous collections AW10 Space Odyssey , SS10 The Hitchikers Galaxy go to show she and her designs are is very much fashion forward, unique and most importantly wearable.

Chantell Walters plans to re launch herself and her brand very soon. Definitely one to watch with collections that leave a statement and beautiful fluidity with much personality.

I left Chantell feeling pumped from her infectious and positive energy.

Check out her designs, her next collection is sure to be another show stopper which are to involve interesting prints, I imagine not too far removed from her science fiction origins.

www.chantellwalters.co.uk

Just Because....

... i thought i'd share with ya'll.

I was actually looking for inspiration of new natural hairstyles, and came across these inspiring and intriguing  photographs ... both new to be and not. 

The following photographs were taken from 1901 - present. It struck me while discovering these photos that unless one goes out of their way to find these sorts of images. We very rarely see african's in this amazing light.

This following picture was taken in 1901, apart from the greyed hue of the photo. This could easily be a contemporary photo taken in 2011. 

The way in which this woman has accessorised her hair with flowers, emphasise's the notion that nothing is new! Such elegance...

 1901

I found this picture on a Flckr site taken by Gbaku. One of the comments to this photo questioned why the woman would do this? Immediately, it was obvious to me that women through all the ages, are about emphasising their best assets. It just goes to show plastic surgery even though appears to be a modern concept, is maybe not so new??!

 Taken in Liberia in 1943 by Gbaku.

"the way that I use backdrops in order to pose people for their pictures is all about transporting them, taking them to places where they don't go," he says.

After which Samuel Fosso famously began taking photo's of himself. The first time I saw this artist was at the Hayward Gallery in Southbank about 5yrs ago. The exhibition was centred on contemporary African Art, this exhibition open my eyes to the wonder of African Art... Samuel Fosso's piece below was one that has also stayed with me. Because of it extravagance, sense of humour yet poignancy.

Le Chef. Samuel Fosso. 1994

Checkout this Artist Seydou Keita (1921 - 2001), a self taught photographer based in Bamako in Mali. I'm in love with these photos they are too cool and kinda 50's chic! Taken between the 50's and 60's. Keita had a studio in Bamako. It seems he was a bit of local hero, where Mali's social elite and middle class would go to his studio to have photo's taken. He would use various props such as mopeds and car, car's which at the time were quite a luxury to be shown with. Maybe Africa's answer Mario Testino of that time? Fortunately his art wasn't too much of a well kept secret and found its way to New York, after which he became quite wealthy selling pieces as much as $16,000.

Ciao for now ! xx

Fashion & ethics ... Not that deep :/

So on this Sunny Sunday, I took a trip to my favourite haunt Spitafields with the intentions of purchasing a picture frame… I think you know where this story is going! My addiction and lourve for clothing is one that runs deep. So lemme get to the point I came across a really cool stall which sells organic and ethical tshirts. That go by the name of Organik Rocka which is an amalgamation of fashion music and consciousness. All the things I try to stand for! I based a predominant part of my dissertation on Ethical Fashion which has unfortunately go by the the way side however ! Ethical fashion will slowly but very surely be reintroduce to my wardrobe. If we all just stepped away from the primarks of the highstreet and used our buying power, don't get it twisted people we as consumer have serious command on the high street and have been for a good 5years or more... Demanded more ethical fashion and organic goods like we do with with our food. The world will be a better place. Now where were we ... oh yes Organik Rocka, now apparently they have gigs and parties … Seems like a movement I look forward to being a part of. Check out their website organikrocka.com I treated myself to there ‘star tee’ shown above in a green colourway. The cotton is gorgeously soft and well made. The charming Kai who was on the stall explained to me that, the cotton was particularly an aspect on their business which they were passionate about getting on point.

Glasses without shades..

I mossied on from the sparkling contemporary glassed roof Spitafield market to the erm after thought smaller market which is closest to Brick Lane and its trendy Big Chill bars and the like. I found some really cool shades, which were like 80's vintage goliath - Run DMC stylie shades however they were frames with a see through lens i.e., not serving it’s purpose !! I really L O V E these frames but I feel a fraud buying glasses with a see through lens. Guys help me … Will I just look like a fash victim !?!?! I said just earlier I aspire to be conscious … :/

I'm Reeeeeallly sorry for my long absence i pinky promise to keep you all fashion lovelies informed of my ever long finds xx




Ciao for Now !

Faaaa lalala HAPPY CHRISTMAS ! & A MERRY NEW YEAR

I hope you've had a belly busting, and well watered Chrimbo.

Now this instalment of Rubi Finds has become occupied with Rubi's Locs, I have received a number of compliment on my hair. THANK YOU ALL!! *Blushing*, I am especially proud and delighted of these compliments because my hair is natural and in a beauty obsessed world having a natural, as much as it is praised, is not usually the subject of many desires. I have come across articles and blogs which do dwell over the difficulties of transitioning over to a natural.

The ardious task of looking for inspiring hair styles is a looong and winding road. However i have come across a few ... 'Contemporary Natural Hair' facebook group is by far the BEST i have seen for natural hair styles on the web and believe me i have search! This group displays advant garde styles a such as the pic below, doesn't she look fierce with those sexy african coils !!

More often than not, I come across hair styles such as Miss black britain who is gorgeous with hair that suits...

When the media depicts natural hairstyles is often related to gorgeous mixed raced chicks with mid lenght hair (as above), as a result i think this make it harder for those with tighter colied/african hair to take the step to natural hair. Thus my issue is that when searching for afro hair styles for short to mid to length its difficult!!!! tooooo many sites/blogs/people are obsessed with attaining long hair, instead of being happy with they're own lengths. Ultimately people should be more concerned with the maintenance of good hair and by 'good hair' I mean in good condition !! Check out Chris Rock's documovie - 'Good Hair' which take us on a journey of black women's hair and their trails and tribulations, and sometime unfortunate association with their own hair. I honestly think every young black tween should watch this movie, so to be informed and educated of the beauty that is their afro hair.

My natural hair story began because of my boredom with relaxed hair styles, for the first time since Zhane, a sexy strong individual women burst on to the screens with a bald head! Amber Rose, now love her or loath her, to me this woman looked bad!

By this point I shaved half my relaxed hair .. may I just say I did this way before the whole world decided too as I was inspired by my ol' favorites Salt & Pepa. I digress , so instead of having to wait for my hair to grow i thought why not just shave the other side off ! Then it grew a bit and I played with colour.. roll on 9 months including a huge afro weave. My hair is now a length which i can now play with and because of the limited search, i have had to become my own inspiration which brings me to the reason of the blog.

Part of my play is using two strand twists - youtube have a world on how too's for this.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBQlEA0CqOI&feature=related check this vid out ;0)

I'm often asked how i achieve my most recent hair style, basically i two strand twist the night before, the longer its kept in the better the curl. Therefore;

• The night before two strand twist by parting mid - small sections of your hair. Literally twist the two sections of the hair and then twist together. Then twist round into china bumbs.
• Cover hair with a silk or satin like scarf, be careful not to wrap your hair too tightly.
• In the morning untwist without combing out which leaves the hair with a natural like curl avoiding any heat damage. To assist the hold I use Taliah Waajid Lock it UP, which can be bought online from http://www.afrotherapy.com. This is similar to a gel so will hold hard. I think its best to use on freshly washed hair and let dry naturally overnight.

Then use hair grips to manipulate into place and style as desired. THEN Voila !

Ciao Ciao and see ya in 2011 !!!