Issue 36 July 2016

JULY 2016 Issue 36

www.flatwhiteconcepts.com | Issue 36

ED’S NOTE

@FW_Concepts

FlatWhiteConcepts

This is it guys! Slap bang in the middle of winter. Even my guinea pig has put on weight. ‘Winter Weight’ we call it. It’s necessary! It’s all about coffee, hot chocolate, stews, curries, wine and pop-corn - day in and day out. So really... who am I to complain? Winter might be freezing but it sure is delicious.

Welcome to our 36th edition. We meet some new coffee roasters, we share some amazing reci-pes, we delve deep into a popular coffee shop, we learn about creating a minimalistic lifestyle, and we even head over to Thailand. Plus, much much more. At the end of each month, as I scroll through the magazine, I’m amazed at just how much there is to see and do!

Enjoy the read and thank you again for your support.

If you want to get involved in Flat White Magazine, through articles or advertising, please contact me. We’d love to welcome you to the Flat White family!

With love, laughter and a lot of coffee.

Christinewww.flatwhiteconcepts.com

“In the depth of winter, I f inal ly learned that within me there lay an invincible summer.”

- Al bert Camus


TASTE

ASIAN FRIED RICE WITH FIVE-SPICE CHICKEN, RED PEPPERS AND EGG ‘NOODLES’

Midweek suppers should require minimal effort and offer stress-free cooking with just a few key ingredients and store-cupboard staples. This Asian inspired fried rice dish is packed with bold flavours and is better than takeouts. A stir-fry is perhaps the least intimidating cooking method and makes everyday dinners a breeze.

For a vegetarian fried rice option, omit the chicken and add a combination of your favour-ite vegetables such as exotic mushrooms and a generous handful of mixed sprouts. Courgettes, cabbage and baby corn also work well. Fried rice is the ideal time to make use of any leftover veg-etables that would otherwise go to waste. The five-spice is not essential but adds a definite Chinese slant to the dish with its unique blend of cinnamon, star anise, fennel, Szechuan pep-per and cloves. The ginger provides sweet heat and rounds off the well balanced flavour profile that you’d expect from great Asian food – salt, sweet, sour and heat.

Ingredients• 2 eggs, whisked together with 1 tablespoon water and a pinch of salt• 2 cups cooked basmati or jasmine rice• 2 tablespoon vegetable oil• 2 teaspoons sesame oil• 1 heaped teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder• 6 chicken thigh fillets, cut into thin strips• 1 red pepper, julienned, or a combination of red and yellow• 1 small shallot• A pinch of red chilli flakes• A thumb sized knob of ginger, grated

• 3 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce• 2 limes• 3 scallions, finely diced• Toasted black sesame seeds• Fresh coriander, to finish

MethodHeat a drop of vegetable oil in a medium-sized non stick frying pan and pour in the egg mixture. Cook through on a gentle heat, slide out of the pan and roll up to form a panckae. Slice into 1cm wide strips to form a type of egg noodle.

Heat the vegetable and the sesame oil in a wok or large frying pan. Rub the five spice powder into the chicken strips and add to the pan when the oil is super-hot. Once the chicken has taken on some colour, add the peppers, shallot, chilli and ginger. Stir-fry for several minutes until the chicken is cooked and the vegetables are just tender, but still have a bit of crunch. Add the rice to the chicken and warm through. Pour over the soy sauce and spritz with the juice of a lime. Fold through the egg noodles and finish off with a scattering of sesame seeds.

Serve with fresh coriander, lime cheeks and ex-tra diced chilli, if you like a bit of extra heat.

Serves Four

Bibby’s Kitchen @ Thirty Sixwww.bibbyskitchenat36.com



TASTE


TASTE

BROWN BUTTER CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

Sometimes all you need is a cookie! Kids un-derstand this concept better than anyone and they know about cookies. If it weren’t for cook-ies, there’d be no cookies & cream ice at Häa-gen Dazs. Big problem. Where else would one go when life called for a glass of cold milk and cookies? The Oreo team have nailed it with their marketing. It goes something like this. ‘First you twist it, then you lick it, then you dunk it’. And so the inseparable duo continues to thrive. Wether you’re an actual 5 year old kid or a 5 year old trapped in a 40’s something body, these brown butter chocolate chunk cookies are built to dipped, dunked or munched with a glass of cold milk or a frothy cappuccino. Brown butter, (already sounding like I’m going to love it), treacly muscovado sugar and p.l.e.n.t.y of dark chocolate chunks. The foundations are set for a mouthful of buttery yummoliciousness (yes, that’s a word in Cookieland and yes again, Cookieland is a place – shiny, happy people live there!) Rack ’em, stack ’em or line ’em up. Al-righty then, enough nonsense, let’s bake!

Ingredients• 100g butter• 50g castor sugar• 70g muscovado sugar• 1 teaspoon vanilla• 1 egg• 170g all purpose flour• ½ teaspoon baking powder• pinch of salt• 160g dark chocolate, roughly chopped

Method1. Preheat the oven to 180ºC.

2. Place the butter in a small saucepan and heat until it starts to splutter. Simmer over a low heat for several minutes until the solids separate from the liquid. It will start to smell nutty and take on a golden colour. Set aside to cool com-pletely.

3. Whisk the cooled butter, castor sugar, musco-vado sugar and vanilla together until well com-bined.

4. Add the egg and beat once more.

5. Sift in the flour, baking powder and salt.

6. Mix in ½ the chocolate chunks. Roll into balls and place on a greased baking sheet.

7. Press the remaining chocolate chunks firmly into the cookie dough.

8. Bake for 12-15 minutes for a softer centred cookie or 18-20 minutes if you prefer a more biscuit-like crispy crunch.

9. Cool a wire rack before storing in an airtight container.

Bibby’s Kitchen @ Thirty Sixwww.bibbyskitchenat36.com


TASTE

Love the name, tel l me more...I started my blog balls'n'beans as a project to keep me busy with something a bit more mean-ingful while I was travelling. With plenty of travel blogs already out there I wanted to chose something else I was passionate about. Gelato is something I've loved since the age I could walk and coffee is something I've increasingly

developed a taste for over the last 10 years.

Glad to hear you like the name! I chose some-thing which I liked the sound of and also made perfect sense, at least to me. Beans refers to coffee and balls mainly refers to ice cream, al-though it keeps my options slightly open . In the part of Germany I lived in for a long time, one bought small balls (baellchen) of ice cream. Just

We meet Robert from Bal ls n Beans...


TASTEin case I were to ever fancy blogging about my other passion, sport, ball sports that is, then the name still makes sense.

When you're not drinking coffee and enjoying gelato, what are you doing?Well, lately I've been travelling quite a lot, in-cluding spending about three months in my lovely adopted hometown, Cape Town. On top of that I usually do a lot of sport, mainly football and beach volleyball, which meant I spent a lot of my Cape Town time, while not in coffee shops that is, at Camps Bay and Cliffton.

Although I was playing with the idea of stay-ing in Cape Town I recently returned to Europe and will soon be starting my new "day job" as a sports category manager at a Zurich based start-up. It's going to be a bit of a change to what I've done so far. Up until now, with my educational background being mainly in sports engineering, I've been more involved in product develop-ment, rackets, footwear and apparel.

Where are you based?I'm based in Zurich where I moved to early 2013. The last two years I've spent the Christmas/New Year period in Cape Town, the first time just for two weeks, and then recently three months! Maybe I'll really make Cape Town my winter base from now on.

Your favorite Cape Town cafe?I was afraid that this question might come.. It's a difficult one! During my last stay I guess my top three were Baseline Coffee, Bean There and The Blue Cafe in Tamboerskloof, partly also location based decisions. Towards the end I also discov-ered Dapper, Shift and RAW Espresso Bar which

I also liked a lot. Normally I like slightly smaller places, with a more relaxed atmosphere.

Your favorite travel destination?I guess I'd have to say Cape Town. (Ed’s note - good answer).

Where are you looking to travel next?With starting my new job soon, I still feel the need to take advantage of the free time I have. However having already been away for six months and it being summer in Europe I don't really need to go too far this time, so I'll be head-ing to Naples next week and travelling around there a bit. In Italy I've never been further south than Rome so it's about time, and from what I've heard food should be amazing, including great gelato of course!

How many coffees do you drink a day?It varies a bit, usually somewhere between two - four coffees per day. When I started drinking coffee I only drank espresso, but now I also like most espresso based drinks as long as they're done well, flat white, cappuccino and cortado.In terms of coffee drinks being done well, right temperature, milk consistency... in my opinion Cape Town must be right up there when it comes to barista training! It's really a bit frustrating go-ing to coffee shops (especially when I've been to places in Germany, Switzerland and France) where they have a good and expensive machine but don't know how to use it properly.

Life really is too short for bad coffee.

Visit www.ballsnbeans.com


TASTE

baseline coffee,Because bad coffee shouldn't happen to good people

After spending a few months in Spanish speak-ing countries it was nice to return to Cape Town for my second time. Not only was it nice to be back in a surrounding where it was easy to un-derstand and be understood, but also being back in a more familiar food and drink scene was comforting. For me this especially means being able to order a flat white or a cappuccino without being too concerned that I get some-thing completely unexpected, as well as even if I have to go out of my way for it, being able to get some more than decent gelato.

I’ve said before, for me, Moro Gelato was THE place to go, to get my regular gelato fix. At first this was the only reason for me to cycle, mini bus or uber it to the Mason's Press in Wood-stock. With baseline coffee being practically next to Moro Gelato I had passed it and ac-knowledged it, but at the same time I was usu-ally on a gelato mission so it took me a while and multiple reminders from both Stefano and Heine from Moro Gelato until I finally stopped by baseline coffee. Since my first visit I haven't looked back, and Mason's Press became a per-fect balls'n'beans destination, allowing me to kill two birds with one stone, getting both a ge-lato and coffee fix.

baseline coffee became one of my regular Cape Town spots, not just because of the great coffee, but also because I felt at "home", both Stacy and Deon are very welcoming and friendly, the music's good, it's not too big, loud or crowded,

so also very well suited for a coffice location, which I took full advantage of. I'd like to share baseline coffee with you, even if you're not in Cape Town. So read below to find out about the baseline story and see what the camera shy baseline coffee team have to say about giving back to the community and coffee in SA. How did your coffee career begin and how did the idea for baseline coffee come about?

Deon first became interested in coffee when he lived in the US – although not the speciality coffee scene (Starbucks right?!), the love of this liquid that helps all of us “non-morning people” operate was real. On returning to SA in about 2007 it didn’t take long to see that there was a real gap in the market when it came to really great, locally roasted coffee that South Africans could connect with. And so, the journey began with a goal of not only making great coffee, but also giving back. The brand was originally launched as Kupa Coffee (pronounced “koo-pah”, Swahili meaning “to give”) with the idea of involving local community members in the process & using an eCommerce store to sell to consumers. Unfortunately the idea was a little ahead of its time, with the average coffee drink-er not yet ready to embrace online shopping & the expensive logistics costs involved. So Deon continued to run the business on the side whilst he worked in a full-time job (Digital Marketing) and instead of involving the community direct-ly, he began working with a few select founda-

Robert Mills from Balls n Beans interviews baseline coffee

Shop #003 Mason’s Press

7 Ravenscraig RdWoodstock


TASTEtions to donate and channel the business’ giv-ing. Deon took up the reins full-time with coffee roughly 4 years ago and I (Stacy) joined him 2 years later. The business was re-branded in early 2014 to the brand it is today: baseline coffee. The idea came about after a long discussion be-tween Deon and myself about where coffee in South Africa was and where our coffee stands. A “baseline” represents both a unit of measure-ment and a level to strive for, and this is what we are about: our mission is to raise the bar when it comes to quality, consistency and flavour in cof-fee. We pride ourselves in bringing our custom-ers the absolute best with green beans carefully selected and imported from around the world, and crafted to perfection with care right here in Cape Town.

But you can only fly under the radar for so long, so in early 2015 our Espresso Bar and roasting operations were opened to the public in Wood-stock in the new Mason’s Press building, so here we are… What made you decide to open up your own cof-fee shop and what challenges have you faced?

The growth of our business has been more or-ganic than aggressive over the years (we don’t see ourselves as typical “sales people” and self-admittedly, are pretty bad at “sales pitches”), and because of this we flew under the radar for quite some time. When the coffee scene really started exploding in Cape Town we were en-countering more and more people who didn’t know who we were. It helped that we were al-ready partnered with a number of well-known restaurants & coffee shops, so the coffee could stand on its own, but we eventually decided that we needed to stick our heads (and our brand) above the fray. Thus, the decision to open an Es-presso Bar. We searched for the right premises for about a year and a half and eventually found the space we’re in now. We were so incredibly keen to start that we began trading when the

building was still a hard-hat zone and we were the only shop-fitted space, with our main cus-tomers being the construction guys!Setting up and running the Espresso Bar, which operates like a café-style establishment, has of course not been without its challenges. With us being situated in a more industrial-type loca-tion one of the major challenges has been get-ting our name out there – you wouldn’t expect to turn up off of Woodstock Main Road and, amidst a number of business parks, find a Coffee Roastery & Espresso Bar! Even after we’ve been here for a solid year we still regularly meet peo-ple working/living in the area who didn’t know we were here. We love it – it’s like making new friends every day! The other major challenge is one which is shared by all operating in the hospi-tality industry: staffing. Finding and keeping the right staff is a challenge, especially when you’re looking for skilled staff of a higher than typical calibre. Oh, and finding time to take a break – your business is very much a part of your every-day and doesn’t always keep office hours! How does it feel to have your own coffee shop and what do you like most about your job?

Some days we get that “aha” moment: you look around the space and all the seats are full, there’s a queue at the bar, the music is jamming and you get this big, stupid kid-grin on your face because “Hey, this is OURS”. Owning the Espres-so Bar has been different from operating our wholesale business because we spend so much more time interacting face-to-face with our cus-tomers. I think that’s one of the things we love most about it – the interactions we have every day with our community of coffee lovers. What's the soundtrack in the coffee shop?

Hmmm, it’s pretty hard to narrow it down as we play a wide variety of music. It depends on the time of day, how full the shop is, who is in the shop at the time and what kind of a mood we’re


TASTEin. It can be anything from liquid drum-and-base to Blink 182, to deep house. We have been known to throw it back too, and love a little Dire Straits and The Police in the early morning. If we can get our hands on good local music, we give that a spin as well, and we have some custom-ers who occasionally bring us some cool mixes to play too. Any advice you can give to people who might want to follow your foot steps?

Do your research. There is a big difference be-tween the idea of owing your own coffee shop or roastery, and the reality of owning it. Some of the things they don’t tell you when you start your own business is that you don’t get “off” days (at least not for a long time into it); no mat-ter how you feel, you have to show up, always. One of the greatest rewards about doing your own thing is effort in = rewards out, but this is also one of the biggest challenges. Oh, and be prepared to say goodbye to your weekends J Is there a philosophy behind your coffee?

We like to think that artistry is one of the by-products of great passion. Think about some-thing you’re passionate about – let’s say photog-raphy, or writing – when it’s driven by passion you endeavour to add your own mark, flair, make it your own. So, you’re an artist too in the love you take in weaving your craft.Our philosophy, something we firmly believe, is that life is filled with moments. We fill our eve-ryday with all of these moments, and most of them just pass by, so if we can “make” a moment for one of our customers – make it great, make it memorable, make it easy, make it an escape – then that’s our job done. And also, really great coffee should be accessible to all coffee lovers, from the “aficionado” to the “instant convert”… Because bad coffee shouldn’t happen to good people…

Is there anything in particular which you think makes your roasted coffee stand?

You tell me :) To be honest, we’ve just tried to stay focussed and real. Coffee without the pre-tention. We’ve stuck to a few coffees and made sure that we do them well. We’ve played a bit more over the last year and will continue to do so, especially with single origins. When we hit on something that we think is special we re-lease it out to our Espresso Bar customers… but generally you won’t find us standing on hilltops yelling that our coffee is the greatest. Taste is so subjective – we love the way our coffee tastes and to us it’s very distinctive, but everyone is in a different space in their coffee journey and has different preferences, so all we can do is en-courage people to try our coffee and decide for themselves. How do you brew your coffee at home? Why?

Until recently we had one of our spare 2-group Wegas on the kitchen counter (which was great for the coffee, not so great for the electricity bill!). Why? Because it’s awesome :)At the moment we have an old school La Pavoni that we use to extract espresso for our America-nos, mostly because bigger equipment doesn’t last long until we put it to more serious work somewhere else. Otherwise we’re still fans of the good ol French Press, especially for testing our single origins. What about coffee inspires you?

Probably the fact that it’s always changing: new trends, new ways of roasting and brewing, new crops. We love the fact that we haven’t “ar-rived”. So, as long as we have more to learn, ex-perience and experiment with, we’ll continue to be inspired!

By Robert Mills, Balls n BeansThanks baseline coffee team, for answering my questions as well as providing me with a coffice whilst I was in Cape Town.


TASTE

RECIPE DEVELOPER, FOOD PHOTOGRAPHER

AND STYLISTwww.bibbyskitchenat36.com


TASTE

The StartI never drank coffee growing up, I always thought it tasted burnt, bitter and just bland. It was only when I visited Steven, my brother who was liv-

ing in London, and he introduced me to the world of freshly roasted speciality coffee that I really fell in love with coffee. He got drawn into the speciality world through Jono and Rob (Ro-setta Roastery). It all started with learning the techniques of making espresso and latte art at

We chat to Gareth Ahrens of Citizen Roastery...


TASTE

home which then led to wanting to know more about the roasting process - starting with pop-corn machines we graduated to our first ‘proper’ roaster, a Quest M3.

At this stage Steve had moved back to Cape Town and we had the Quest shipped in from Tai-wan and Citizen was born. We started by selling to friends and family, the Quest only roasts 250g at a time, so we would spend hours in my spare room roasting away in the evenings. We wanted to do things the correct way from the start, so we would log all our roasts in Excel, trying to keep the roasts consistent, getting our hands on the best quality green coffee we could afford and only roasting to order.

We now have a 5kg roaster and have built a shed in Steve's backyard where we roast from. I think for us the whole culture behind speciality coffee is what got us hooked. Everyone we have met in our journey so far has been so friendly and open to sharing ideas and theories on how cof-fee should be roasted, brewed and served. Cape Town has an amazing community of roasters, all pushing to learn more and roast the most delicious coffee possible. We also love the fact that coffee from different regions in the world all have their own unique taste, and being able to have the control over that in the roast is the most exciting part.

So its still very early days for us, but its been a great journey so far and we look forward to what's to come.

The NameWhile we were opening the Quest M3 delivery, we were eager to come up with a name right there and then. We happened to be listening to Avalanche City and their song "The Citizens" was playing. So we decided on Citizen and like the sense of belonging that it carries.

Buying the CoffeeWe sell online through Cape Coffee Beans, peo-ple can also just email us at [email protected]. We have also recently got our coffee into Chop Chop in Harington Street in town as their premium coffee offering. We will soon be stocking coffee there to purchase too.

The StaffCurrently its just myself and my brother. We probably drink about 3 - 4 cups a day.

Outside of CoffeeWhen we're not making coffee - working! We still have full time jobs and run the coffee on the side. But outside of that, we're big into spending time with our families and being outdoors in this beautiful city.

If we were to find you at a coffee shop, where would it be?I would have to say Rosetta Rostery, definelty some of the best coffee in town. We also love going there because we know we will get into an interesting conversation with Jono or Rob on the depths of coffee, and learn something new from them.


TASTE

Sweet Potato ToastAs in - sweet potato made in a toaster!

So a good friend of mine, who knows about my constant struggle between my love of bread and my love of being healthy, told me about this. Ap-parently it’s a thing at the moment. And it’s true. There’s even a hashtag for it. Go to Instagram and check out the images: #sweetpotatotoast

So what is sweet potato toast exactly? It’s sweet potato - made in a toaster. That’s it. Of course, I was skeptical.I mean, surely it’s not possible. Surely? Well, there was only one way to find out. I cut my sweet potato into very uneven slices (you try cut sweet potato perfectly - not easy). I then popped them into my small two slice toast-er and after one cycle I turned them around. Then I turned them around again. Then again. Then again. Then again. Possibly about eight to ten tries later my sweet potato ‘toasts’ were done. They were not pretty and some parts were completely cooked while others were bordering

on raw. I topped them with my homemade burg-er patties (okay, fine, my husband made them), some tomato, lettuce and avocado. And yeah, they were great. They just weren’t perfect - which is why the photo on this article just shows a stock image of sweet potatoes. But if you go to Instagram you will find people who do it right. So, would I recommend it. Yeah - why not. I’ll still be eating bread but this is a nice healthy alterna-tive.

Suggestions:

• Make sure your ‘toast’ slices are cut thin and evenly. Mine were far too big which is why I had to toast them so many times.• Use a good powerful toaster, possibly a four slicer, for best results.

Let’s make a toast to sweet potato!

create

KGB UnWined Wine Appreciation Courses

If you would like to join, or for more information please contact:[email protected] • 082 308 2483 • www.kgbwine.co.za/unwined-courses

Whether you are looking for a new hobby, the perfect present for a loved one or friend, or just hoping to literally

“UnWined”, then this is the course for you.

The courses offer a great setting to share any questions you have ever wanted to ask about what’s in your glass

or how it actually got there. In addition, this is a wonderfully sociable and relaxed way for wine lovers to

get together and of enjoy a large range of proudly South African wines. Share with your family and friends and get

a group together for a fun-filled evening.

Each week a winemaker, or prominent personality from a respected wine estate, will bring a range of wines for

us to savour. We will cover different themes each week and you will be treated to a variety of at least 6

wines at each session.

Northern Suburbs: PlattekloofJuly

20th & 27th August

3rd, 10th, 17th & 24th

Southern Suburbs: Newlands August

16th, 23rd, 30th September6th, 13th, 20th

October11th, 18th, 25th,

November1st, 8th, 15th

Winelands: StellenboschAugust

25th

September 1st, 8th, 15th, 22th, 29th

Course dates and venues for the rest of 2016 are as follows:


create

I'm not a prolific writer—I usually only write when I have something I specifically need to say—and in the past that has almost exclusively been on the topic of cars.

You see, I kind of just fell into writing—with no formal qualifications or training—I just 'winged it', as they say. I had a few thoughts about cars and decided to write them down one day, and when a respected automotive journalist told me I should keep at it based on the merit of what I had written, I did. I kept writing down my thoughts, a few people kept publishing them online, and eventually I carved myself a small space as a motoring journalist.

Lately, working on Zero Covers has allowed me to apply myself and my writing beyond the scope

of cars, and I'm thoroughly enjoying it.

Yet, I should write more. I know this. And not just about cars or working on Zero, I should write about everything. Being a dad, a husband, a stepdad. About divorce and not being able to see my son from my first marriage as often as I want to, and should. About depression, anxi-ety, love, relationships. I should be writing more about everything.

There's a reason why the last time you were truly moved by a book, a movie or a song—why you were moved to action or brought to tears—because what you were reading, watching or lis-tening to was or is based in life and real world experience.

What to do when you don't know what to do next?

Write.


createWhen I got separated I wrote about it. When I got divorced I wrote about it. When I became a father I wrote about it. When my son thought I was a monster I wrote about it. When I real-ised I had depression I wrote about it and when I wanted to kill myself I wrote about it.

So often these days, when hardship arrives at our front door, our kneejerk reaction is to seek out help, from someone or something else. We look to friends and family, books, blog posts, movies and songs. We seek to understand what it is, what it means and why it's happening to us. We look outwards for anything which might lessen the hardship, ease the pain, give us direc-tion, when more often than not, we should be looking inwards.

I firmly believe that we're hardwired as humans to be able to sort our own shit out. We're such clever things, there's nothing we can't invent/fix/develop. Yet fixing ourselves and our lives is not something we do well. Now, I'm not saying that when a truly tough time arrives in your life that you should withdraw from everyone and all those around you. That you shouldn't seek out advice or understanding based on others life learning or experience. Of course not.

What I'm saying is that before you do that, you should look towards yourself first. I challenge you, that when the next big, seemingly insur-mountable catastrophe crashes into your life, to take 15 or 30 minutes or even an hour to sit down and write about it. Just write.

Before you pick up your phone to message, open Google or tap on someone's shoulder... STOP, and pick up a pen and paper, or open Word and start writing. Write about anything and every-thing. Just write the word 'fuck' one hundred times if you have to! But don't stop writing.

And before you say, "I can't write. I've never been able to write." I'll stop you right there be-cause you can write. You communicate yes? You

can string a sentence together yes? You have detailed conversations daily yes? Well, then you can write. I'm certain that when people say they can't write, it's because they haven't taken the time to try. Sure, writing is hard, but slow-ing yourself down from your busy life, in order to transcribe what it is that is happening in your head, is way harder.

Taking the time to understand the feelings, the thoughts, the rage, the hatred and even the love in your head enough to be able to write it down is hard. Damn, it is hard! I know. Which is why the easiest thing in the world, is not to. It's why we turn to others to fix everything for us before we turn to ourselves first.

But, if you do, I can say with certainty that some-thing will happen. It might not be earth shatter-ing or life changing or even worthy of any liter-ary awards (if is, hey that's great :). It probably won’t be adapted into an Oscar winning movie, or change the world. Heck, it probably won’t be seen by anyone, and that’s fine.

It might seem like a scrawled, incomprehensi-ble mess at the time, but something will hap-pen. I promise you, because, when you take the time to write, a quiet conversation takes place between you and you. You’ll start asking your-self questions. And you know what? You’ll start answering them, and you’ll start understanding too.

And, when you start understanding you’ll realise that whatever it is that is happening right in that moment, it’s not then end of the world, you can move forward, and you will.

So, what to do when you don't know what to do next? Write.

By Luke Preston


create

When many people think of freelancing, they think of lazing around the house and not getting out of bed till noon. The truth is, it’s nothing like that. Sure, you’re able to set your own hours but if you want to be successful or even pay your bills, you’ve got to be dedicated, committed and you’ve got to work your ass off.

Before leaping into the world of freelancing ask yourself these five questions:

1. DO YOU HAVE THE SKILLS NEEDED TO START FREELANCING ON YOUR OWN?

There are a number of great areas that one can freelance in. Website design, copy-writing, ed-iting, graphic design etc but there are just as many individuals out there making it happen. Decide what your niche is going to be and then consider what makes you unique. What is your unique value that is going to make someone hire you over someone else.

2. DO YOU HAVE THE NECESSARY NETWORKS?

It’s often said that it’s more about who you know than what you know. When you’re freelancing, you definitely need to know what you’re doing and have the skills to match but you also need a network of people who can hire you. Could your current employer become your first client once you leave full-time employment? Could they maybe refer you to someone else in need of your services?

3. HAVE YOU GOT A PLAN?

Go into your freelancing “business” with a plan

of action. Don’t expect to just be able to wing it. Know who you are targeting, where you will find clients and how much you will charge for what services. Be prepared to offer free or discounted services to build up a portfolio but don’t under-sell yourself if you have the necessary require-ments and experience. Value yourself and build a solid plan around that value.

4. ARE YOU READY TO PUT YOUR PLAN INTO ACTION?

Once you’ve decided that freelancing is the way forward for you, make sure you don’t sell your-self short or set yourself up for failure. Make sure you are committed to your plan and that you know what direction to head in. Get your personal brand set up and develop various marketing materials around that. Have a brand ready to show to prospective clients. It’s much easier to trust someone who seems to have it all planned out and ready for action than someone who is getting around to it.

5. ARE YOU PREPARED TO WORK ALONE FOR LONG PERIODS OF TIME AND HOLD YOURSELF ACCOUNTABLE?

You need to be prepared to be alone. A lot. There is going to be no one to hold you accountable and make sure that you actually get the work done on time. You need to be great at managing your time and planning your schedule because it will be really easy to just laze around in the morning and then find yourself short on time to get what matters done.

You also need to be okay with the solitude which

Five things to consider before becoming a freelancer


createcan be very lonely. There isn’t someone in the next room or at the next desk to bounce your ideas off. You are going to have to figure out a lot on your own.

“IF YOUR ANSWER TO THE ABOVE

QUESTIONS IS YES YES YESSSSS THEN

WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? GET

OUT THERE AND GO MAKE IT HAP-

PEN!”You need to make sure you’ve got all your ducks in a row before you set off in this direction. You need to be sure that you can financially support yourself while your free-lancing business takes off and that you have a good service and the skills to market yourself well.

If you’re anything like me – free-lancing, while extremely chal-lenging is extremely rewarding because that feeling of satisfac-tion that comes with knowing you’re doing this for yourself is what really makes it worth it.

By Jonellewww.tyrannyofpink.com

Meet Jonel le

HELLO! I’M JONELLE.

When I was 19, I moved from a small town to “the big city” to attend University. I studied a number of degrees including Politics, Social Anthropology and Diversity Studies. After I fi-nally graduated with a Master’s Degree in Social Development, I worked for various Non Profit Organisations in various fields which included Education, Women’s Rights and Conservation.In October 2014, I found myself unhappy with my life and the path it was leading me down so I quit my full-time job and started blogging as a way to figure out what I feel passionate about. Turns out, what I’m really passionate about is becom-ing a mother, writing, social media and connecting with others who are in similar situations. My blog was the perfect way to bring these things together.

CHANGING MY PERSPECTIVE

In September 2015, I had my first child, Oden. A beautiful and healthy boy but his journey into this world literally nearly killed me and I found myself in ICU and on life support. I woke up post surgery with un unexpected stoma and my whole life completely changed. What most surprised me though, is that I found myself fighting desperately not to die.

I realised in that moment, that I am finally living my true life and being exactly who I am meant to be. I made a promise to myself to never try to live up to anyone else’s expectations or try to be anyone I’m not. I’ve finally learnt the art of self-acceptance and I’ve never been happier. Never again will I subscribe to some-one else’s dreams.

THIS IS MY JOURNEY!


create

We chat to founder of zero phone covers, luke prestonTell us about how the concept for Zero phone covers came about.Like a lot of people, I really love my iPhone. Howev-er, more than that I truly appreciate it as a beautiful piece of product design, and when it comes to phone covers or cases, for me, more is always less.

I wanted a cover which really thin - barely there - yet was premium quality and still offered protection from every day bumps and scratches. And, without any branded logos either. After looking around and finding either cheap, poor quality, rubbery covers, and bulky, ugly cases which were expensive I decided to bring to market my own vision of what I had in mind.

Talk us through the manufacturing process.I think a lot entrepreneurs would love to source lo-cally manufactured products, but the fact remains that right now South Africa is just not geared for this, in both engineering skills and material costs. China as we know breeds both an economy and culture ripe for manufacturing, with economies of scale translat-

ing into attractive pricing. And so, I set to work on finding a company who could supply the cover I was looking for.

A core value for me is affordability, and for Zero Cov-ers, I really wanted to keep the price as low as pos-sible. South African's are so sensitive to the Dollar/Rand exchange rate, and we tend to miss out on a lot of products which are exclusively available online overseas which are expensive, and really expensive to ship here too.

In order to try and keep an element of local South African flavour I made the decision to keep packag-ing local. Again, I was after a premium bespoke look, which would immediately stand out from the crowds of plastic blister packaging used in the market. Using recycled kraft cardboard envelopes and unique hand signed thank you inserts, really works I think, and feedback from customers has been very positive.

What phones are these currently available for?Currently Zero covers are only for iPhone (5/5S/5SE, 6/6S, 6 Plus/6S Plus) and Samsung (S6, S6 Edge, S7, S7 Edge)


create

Tell me about more about the look and feel of the phone covers.In terms of colours, I wanted to stick close to what Apple and Samsung offered, which in turn matches my minimalist philosophy. Initially at least that is. So colours which compliment the existing phone colours such as Silver, Space Grey, Gold and Rose Gold for iPhone and White, Black and Gold for the Samsung range. Saying that, we're keen to add to the existing colour line-up, and will be in the future.

The covers are matte transparent rather than solid coloured too so they feel great and look stunning on your phone.

let’s talk about your journey.I've had many roles up and to this point in my life - professional baker, freelance car journalist and copy-writer, the latter still occupying a full-time space in

my life but have always dreamed of doing my own thing. This project as allowed me to explore a few things I'm passionate about, like, branding & logo de-velopment, packaging design and design in general as well as website design and development, and pho-tography.

It's been a fantastic learning curve, and the eCom-merce space is super-exciting as well as challenging. It's really inspired me to keep creating, with a few more new products on the horizon too.

Lastly, if we were to find you at a coffee shop, where would it be? Oooh, I do love my coffee! Having grown up in Dur-ban it would definitely be somewhere overlooking the beautiful Kwa-Zulu Natal North Coast.

Visit www.getzero.co.za to find out more.And take a look at our competitions page where you can win one for yourself!


DISCOVER

What’s the Problem?We’re so focused on accumulating stuff that we’ve lost sight of what’s important. We’ve for-gotten what it’s like to just be.

There’s a disconnect.

We believe our happiness lies in what we own, when in fact the opposite is true. Our posses-sions weigh us down and we become resentful, disheartened, uncertain even. We don’t let that stop us though. The more we have, the more we want. Bigger, better, faster. Screw waiting, give us both our damn marshmallows. Now. T

his demand for instant gratification leaves us wanting, but we don’t let that stop us either. In-stead we attempt to fill the void by continuing our cycle of buying. Convincing ourselves that this time we’ll be happy. That this [whatever] is exactly what we need to make our lives better.

But all we end up with is more stuff.

The void we’re trying to fill just gets bigger and bigger. Until it’s like a metaphysical Tel-etubby (with indigestion). And now we’re even more miserable because we were so convinced that the stuff would make us happy. And why wouldn’t it? Everywhere we’re turn that’s what we’re told. On TV, in magazines, at the movies,

the message is the same: If you buy this [what-ever] your life will be better. Perhaps we just didn’t buy the right [this]? At a loss as to what else to do, we take to this business of accumu-lating with renewed gusto. And in the process we become unhappier, deeper in debt and even more stressed. I’m going to break it to you gen-tly. Those bastards lied to us.

Stuff does not make us happy. I’ll say that again.

Stuff does not make us happy.

What’s the Solution?We’ve agreed that there’s an elephant in the room, now let’s look at what we can do to usher it back outside where it belongs. With the oth-er pachyderms. We’ve all got a serious case of want-itis and it’s time we faced facts.

We need to stop buying and start decluttering.

We need to make space in our lives. Space to breathe. Space to move. But most importantly, space to reconnect.

Remember earlier how I said there’s a discon-nect? Well this is the source of all our problems. As humans, we’re so focused on our individual needs and wants that we’ve literally lost touch with anything that doesn’t directly affect us.

A Minimalist Manifesto


DISCOVERWe’re not aware of what’s happening outside of our own universe.

On those occasions where something does threaten to penetrate our bubble, we shut our eyes, stick our fingers in our ears and say, “I don’t want to see that. I don’t want to hear that.” Be-cause seeing or hearing ‘that’, whatever ‘that’ may be, will force us to make a change. And change is hard. It requires effort and tenacity and vulnerability. It’s so much easier to just order an-other latté and go back to pretending everything is fine.

What’s the Next Step?This isn’t going to be quick or comfortable, but done a day at a time, in small increments, it will certainly be doable. More than that, this process of reconnection will probably be one of the more rewarding journeys you ever embark on.

Start by letting go.The first step to reconnecting is making space. It’s time to let go of everything that’s cluttering up your life. Clutter can take many forms, from physical items in your home, to habits and peo-ple. Yes, even people.

For now though, let’s just focus on letting go of the physical stuff. It’s the easiest area to start with and it’ll give you the space and momentum to fully immerse yourself in the fantastically fun and exciting process of reconnecting.

But how do you let go? Where do you even start?After waxing minimal at TEDx Cape Town in 2013 I came up with the #30DayDeclutterChallenge.

It’s super simple. Just start by getting rid of one thing a day for 30 days.

My theory is that by Day 30 you’ll have built up enough momentum to want to just keep going. By then you should (unless you limited yourself to throwing out marbles) be seeing and feeling the results.

When to keep something and when to bid it farewell.Perhaps you’re wondering how to decide what to keep and what to get rid of?

Sporty and I are pretty ruthless nowadays. If we haven’t used something in three months it goes. There are obvious exceptions, such as winter clothes, however if there’s something we don’t use then on the giveaway pile it must go.

If three months seems a little too extreme you can always opt for six months or, at a push, a year. Just be really honest with yourself when as-sessing whether an item should stay or go.

The trick is to not overthink things. Just make the commitment and get started.

Don’t beat yourself up if you struggle to let go, but don’t be too easy on yourself either. Put on your big girl panties or superman undies and just do it.

You can’t sit on the porch forever, it’s time to run with the big dogs.

Here’s to reconnecting.

By Angela Gaye Hornwww.angelagayehorn.com


DISCOVER

GETTING TO KNOW OUR READERS

What are you watching at the moment?My baby growing up too quickly... okay, enough soppy stuff. I’m cur-rently hooked on Ray Donovan and it’s getting awkward because I keep trying to try out a Boston accent and I fail miserably every time. What are you reading?*covers face with hands* shamefully, nothing. I don’t have the time nor the concentration. Before winter hit though, I was reading Bill Bryson’s books because I find him to be one of the most hilarious writers of the 21st Century. He makes me want to pack my bags and take my family travelling.

What are you most proud of?My ability to adapt and pick up new skills has really helped me over the years and I’m proud of what I’ve achieved.

WE CHAT TO SHANTE HUTTON

www.roseandthorns.co.za


DISCOVERThree items always in your fridge.Cheese: The world is a better place for it. Mature cheddar is my go to cheese. Butter: This is probably why I can never do the banting diet because whilst they celebrate butter, they condemn bread and we all know that a freshly baked, crusty baguette is useless without its dairy counterpart.Capers: I can’t get rid of the damn things! I think everyone has a use-less food item that they bought one time and never used. I think my bottle of capers is growing something. What did you have for breakfast?Banana and peanut butter smoothie. I have to forcibly stop myself from eating PB out of the jar and by putting it into a smoothie, I can make the jar last more than two days. What is your dream profession?Wow, tough question. I like to think that I’m living out a small portion of my dream career but if there were no barriers, I’d possibly like to do something more with travel and food photography. What is your guilty pleasure?Chocolate chip cookies – Woolworths do a white chocolate, short-bread version and I can eat the whole box (10 cookies) in one sitting. What cafe are we most likely to find you at?Isabellas at Willowbridge has a buy 1 slice get 1 free Wednesday spe-cial on their cakes! What was the last picture you took with your phone?It was a selfie of myself and my one month old daughter. I look ob-sessed and she looks terrified. Who would be your top five famous dinner guests?Elizabeth 1 – I’m fascinated by the TudorsRobin Williams – For a deep and honest conversationAlan Rickman – I grew up on his moviesHeston Blumenthal – For the crazy foodRyan Reynolds – For serious eye candy What would the movie of your life be called, who would play you and what would the soundtrack be?I wouldn’t do it that wayStarring (a fatter) Anna KendrickFeaturing the music of Sara Bareilles and AC/DC


DISCOVERMy Thailand Adventure

The beginningFriendly, fun-loving, exotic, cultured and historic are just some of the words that come to mind when thinking of Thailand.

Newly engaged with the urge for adventure we set off on what would be my first real experience abroad.

Landing in Bangkok for the night, we caught a train from the airport to Phaya Thai terminal and then the second to Ratchathewi terminal. Tired, yet excited we rolled our bags down a few streets to our hotel ‘The Residence“.

The Residence was one of our more expensive accommodations at R517.89 per room including breakfast. The Buffet breakfast was a combina-tion on Western and Thai, freshly squeezed juic-es and of course COFFEE. I must just recommend the scrambled eggs, they were surprisingly the best I have ever had.

We spent the morning walking through the streets nearby astonished by everything in our view. The taxis and scooters whizzing past, the rolls and rolls of wire above our heads provid-ing this bustling city with power (and whatever else), the multi level malls selling everything from electronics to clothes, but lastly the intense smell of the street food creating an everlasting impression. INTENSE.

PatongNext stop was Patong. We arrived to an after-noon tropical downpour in Phuket, but our spir-its were instantly lifted as it had blown over by the time we reached Patong. We stayed at “The Silver Resortel” as it was withing walking dis-tance to the beach and all the action.

The Hotel was quaint, the wooden detail in-teresting and the pomegranate welcome drink very, very delicious. Our room was clean, com-fortable and had a tiny balcony overlooking the streets which was just perfect.


DISCOVER

We spent our time in Patong shopping for clothes(Bargain, Bargain and Bargain), lounging by the beach which wasn’t as clean as I im-agined, and of course EATING! By day we indulged in Fresh fruit shakes of every kind, shwarma wraps that we would make us return in an instant, and The Famous Thai Pancakes that were filled with many different combinations. Our favorite being the Nutella/ ba-nana and the Condensed milk/banana.

By night we ate at our favorite little local restaurant Sabai Sabai. Their service super friendly, cheap prices and their meals life chang-ing. The Thai Green, Red curries and Phad Thai’s were the tastiest we had throughout our entire trip. I would highly recommend this place, you will not be disappointed.

We were lucky enough to experience Patong over the ‘Yi Peng’ fes-tival. This festival of lanterns which lit the streets up with decora-tions, night markets (with so much food), stage performances on the beach and fireworks in the distance. Lanterns were later set off into the water (biodegradable) and into the sky.

Our afternoons always ended off with a beer/ cocktail on the beach, eating more Thai Pancakes and admiring the sunset ending another day of bliss.

P hi P hi IslandWe booked an open return ticket on a public ferry to Phi Phi Island. This boat ride took around 90 minutes, was comfortable and felt safe. The Island is often criticized as being too touristy, but trav-elling over non peak season made our impression favorable. Only one thing came to my attention when approaching the island, crys-tal clean water.

We spent 4 nights at ‘Phi Phi Banana Resort‘ which although was very rustic boasted an amazing view. An air-con was also a major bonus, which I highly recommend when traveling in Thailand.

We waded our days away on a little secret beach we came across while exploring the island by foot. We were mostly the only two there making it very relaxing and peaceful. Floating in the quiet wa-ter, surrounded by mountains made me realize how fortunate we had been to experience all this.

We ate local food at various eateries and enjoyed a king cone just


DISCOVERabout everyday. Evening beers on the beach were non negotiable as there was often some sort of entertainment going on. Fire shows, Kara-oke, live music were just a few highlights.

Waking up early and hiking to the View Point is just the medicine you need when wanting to reconnect with nature. From Banana Resort we turned left and started our hike towards the View Point. The walk wasn’t to strenuous, but I do rec-ommend going before the temperatures are too high and to take a bottle of water. Preferably ear-ly morning or sunset are the best times. There is an entrance fee of 30 Baht but its worth the view. There is a little cafe were you can get re-freshments from, and many rocks with shade to sit under while you catch your breath. The view from the top is spectacular, the two bays so close together is a reminder of how easily the Tsunami wiped out this small vulnerable island. Walking back down we took the stairs which led straight into the main Phi Phi streets.

During our trip thus far I was very fascinated by the colorful long tail boats. We decided to ap-proach a local and asked him to take us to the famous Maya Bay. He was friendly and we easily agreed on a price. The day out with my fiance’ on a long tail, what could be more romantic?

The trip included Monkey bay, Viking Cave, Pileh cove, Loh Samah Bay and finally Maya Bay. We were allowed to snorkel along the way which was magnificent. The clear water made it very easy to enjoy all the marine life surrounding us. I didn’t

want to get out of the water.

Arriving at Maya bay was a little disappoint-ing from all the speed boats and tourists. The sights however are beautiful and worth the walk around. There is a fee for the Bay which I found a little expensive for what it was. I do however un-derstand that it is needed as it is a National Park.

There are toilet facilities further back from the beach and a small shack that sells drinks and snacks.

KrabiKrabi really surprised us from day one. There was a quietness about the atmosphere that I thoroughly appreciated. The locals were kind and didn’t bother you when browsing. The night markets were perfect for a night stroll, the little street restaurants were buzzing with chatter and the beach although not the most striking was still and dreamy.

We booked in at ‘KL House‘ which unfortunately didn’t include breakfast. Just a tip when booking a room, request one with windows as we were in a room in the middle which didn’t have windows. The staff however made up for where it lacked by being very helpful when giving us advice on trips to take or where to venture off to.

We had our breakfast daily across the road at the ‘The Smiling Dog‘, which served up mouth water-ing crepe’s and offered WiFi.


DISCOVERRailay beach was both beautiful and interesting as it is completely surrounded by high limestone cliffs. It took a mere 5 minute walk along paths from East to West through thin jungle cover. Along the way we stopped at a little local food stall where we finally discovered ‘The Thai Iced Coffee’. This coffee was so great, nothing we had from here on out would ever compare. My mouth waters just thinking about how incredible that moment was.

The Phra Nang(Princess)cave found in the East side of Railay was another attraction. The legend of this cave was that a legendary sea princess lived here and that she would protect fisherman and give them success in catching fish. Many fisherman have taken different offerings over the years before going out to sea. Many wooden, or more modern day phallic symbols have also been offered over the years to help with fertility.

After an almost two hour scooter ride due to be-ing horribly lost we entered into this natural Spa. Ah, the steamy hot water to soak away the stress of the ride was just what we needed. This was my first time experiencing a natural wonder like this, and I highly recommend you add this to your itin-erary.

We spent a while in the cooler water below, as the heat called for a refreshing dip. I would imag-ine this place gets more crowded in peak season, so try choose your times wisely when visiting.

P huketPhuket town was our short two night stay before heading back to Bangkok. We stayed at one of the best Backpackers in Thailand ‘Phuket Back-packer Hostel‘ and enjoyed one of their private rooms.We easily caught a bus back to Patong to enjoy our favorite Shwaramas for the last time and to finish off our shopping.

During this time we also came across a lady sell-

ing very interesting fruit called Rambutans. These were sweet, juicy and reminded me of an over-grown litchi with hair.

Back to Bangkok we went to enjoy our last few days in Thailand before heading back home. The Platinum Fashion market is great for finding clothes, mostly female but a better variety. The Siam Paragon is where we ate all dinners. The food court has a variety of different cuisine and the freshest sushi for dirt cheap. We also ate at a buffet one afternoon which consisted of select-ing fresh seafood and veg off a conveyor belt and cooking it in the boiling stock provided. There was also fresh sushi available.

Siam Paragon was incredible to browse through. The shops were expensive name brands that I wouldn’t be able to afford in a million years. The men in suits waiting for prospective customers, minimal items hanging off rails and fancy shop interiors made me nervous to enter so I browsed the beautifully decorated windows instead.

This Buddha is located in one of the biggest tem-ples in Bangkok, and was my personal favorite. The enormous Buddha measures 46m long and 15 m high. It was modeled out of plastered around a brick core and finished off in gold leaf. The Mother of Pearl detail in the feet are incred-ible.

This Temple has a lot of interesting facts (Lonely Planet’s Summary is very helpful), and its worth reading though it all before you go. Its earned great appreciation, especially the mosaic work.

Thailand is one of those places you can visit over and over and I hope to one day return for an-other round and better photographs. The food is one of my favorite cuisines and the room for exploring is infinite

By Chandre Joneswww.foodingit.com


DISCOVER

Mostly MindfulMinimalism made easier

We chat to minimalist, Angela Gaye Horn


DISCOVERHI ANGELA, I’D LOVE TO HEAR ABOUT YOUR DECISION BE-HIND LIVING A MINIMALIST LIFESTYLE?

We sold everything in July, 2008. The initial idea was brought about by the thought of our impending move and everything that entailed. Sporty (as Saskia is known online) and I move a lot. I’m not sure why, we just seem to enjoy living in new places. Prior to downsizing this was —as anyone who’s ever moved house can attest to— really stressful and expensive.

At the time I assumed the decision was purely a practical one (and it was, make no mistake), however I later realised that the minimalist seed had actually been planted a little over a year earlier, when I was cleaning out my parents house after moving them into an old age home. Seeing all their stuff and then comparing it to the lives they’d lived, I realised how much it had weighed them down. I thought about our home, which, while not nearly as cluttered as my parents’, certainly had its fair share of stuff we never used.

It wasn’t planned really. I just remember thinking about what a schlep mov-ing was and how I couldn’t face the thought of doing it again. So why not just stay put, you might ask? I think as much as the actual moves them-selves were always hard work, the allure of living somewhere else was al-ways greater. I guess we’re worried we’ll stagnate if we stay in one place too long.

HOW DID YOU START THE PROCESS?

It’s amazing how things work out once you’ve made a decision to do some-thing. In our case: downsize on a drastic scale. We listed everything we wanted to sell and created an advert on Gumtree. Unbeknownst to us, our neighbour (who didn’t own a thing), had just decided to settle down and buy a house of her own. She bought almost everything on the spot. The sundry bits and pieces that remained were quickly snapped up by bargain-hunting strangers.

WHAT HAVE YOU FOUND THE MOST DIFFICULT?

Initially I think we let ourselves be affected by other people’s reactions. Because owning stuff is so important in today’s world, as soon as we got rid of our belongings unspoken assumptions were made. This held especially true after we sold our car. I think everyone thought we’d hit on hard times. Fortunately, we no longer care what others think and our friends and family also now get that it was a conscious decision and not a visit from the Sheriff of the Court that set us on this path.


DISCOVERNowadays the most difficult thing is finding a furnished apartment that isn’t cluttered. Persuading our new landlord that we would prefer not to keep the microwave or TV is sometimes even more challenging. From the look of abject horror on their faces the last time someone made that re-quest was never.

DOES A CLUTTERED LIFE REALLY LEAD TO A CLUTTERED MIND?

Definitely, but perhaps not in the obvious ‘messy desk’ scenario that im-mediately springs to mind whenever this adage is bandied about (though I’m sure there’s some truth to it). What we discovered is that the more stuff you own, the more demands there are on you. Things like ‘I have to get the TV fixed’ or ‘the car needs a service’ or ‘I need to replace the batteries in the remote’ are always there, weighing on us. When we first downsized we were shocked by how much more time we had and how little there was to think about or stress about.

BEST TIP OR PIECE OF ADVICE YOU CAN GIVE?

Don’t think of this lifestyle as a one-size-fits all. It’s not a race to the fin-ish line, where the person with the least amount of stuff wins. There are minimalists out there who can fit everything they own into a carry-on bag, while others have a house, a car and kids. It’s more about changing your mindset. Stop buying just for buying’s sake. People always assume stuff will make them happy, when in fact it’s our experiences that provide the most value in our lives.

IS THERE ANYTHING YOU REGRET GETTING RID OF?

We went through a phase where we were juicing every morning. We loved it, but it was time-intensive so we decided to stop. We gave our juicer to some friends who wanted to introduce their little girl to the joys of green juice for breakfast (she loved it, by the way). In retrospect we were a little hasty in our decision. Although knowing it was being put to really good use definitely helped ease the sting of regret.

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN SOMEONE GIVES YOU A GIFT THAT DOESN'T FALL INTO YOUR LIFESTYLE?

Fortunately that almost never happens anymore. I’ve found people cotton onto our way of living pretty quickly and so they make a point of asking before they buy anything. (When they do I send them straight to Amazon.com. I’m always on the hunt for new books to download to my Kindle.)


DISCOVERThat being said, when we do get something we can’t use or don’t want, we just regift it. We’re of the opinion that it’s better to give something away to someone who’ll use it than to keep it out of a sense of guilt and let it collect dust in the garage.

A more important consideration for us, however, is dealing with those situ-ations where a gift is ‘expected’ of us. We’re of the opinion that the large majority of people (adults and children alike) want for nothing. So we’ve taken a really mindful approach in our gift-giving endeavours. For example, when Sporty went to visit her family in Perth she bought each of her neph-ews a tree through Greenpop.org. They were a little disgruntled initially (kids are conditioned to expect toys as gifts), but once she showed them how to input their tree’s GPS co-ordinates and they saw it pop up on a map they were happy. Not ‘new iPad happy, obviously), but happy that they’d learned something new.

HOW HAS THE REACTION BEEN FROM OTHERS?

In the beginning our friends and family were a mixture of horrified (societal conditioning) and concerned (what had we done with our money?). Now I think they’re a little bit envious, because they see how easy our life is. In fact, most people, when they find out how we live, express some envy. More and more though, what we’re seeing is that people want to hop onto the declutter bandwagon and come along for what is clearly a life-changing ride of a lifetime.

Visit www.angelagayehorn.com


Vv

EXPENSIVE AD CAMPAIGNS ARE A THING OF THE PAST.

www.sledgehammerstudio.co.za

WIN


Vv

EXPENSIVE AD CAMPAIGNS ARE A THING OF THE PAST.

www.sledgehammerstudio.co.za

Competition timeRead each competition carefully for details

on how to enter. Good luck everyone!

WIN


Comp 1

Zero Phone Coverswww.getzero.co.zaZero branding - Zero weight

Modern smartphones are sleek and sexy, so why ruin yours with a bulky, ugly cover? Zero Phone Covers are impossibly thin (just 0.35mm), super-lightweight and feature zero branding, offering full

protection for your phone from everyday bumps and scratches.

Three lucker readers can win a Zero Phone Cover.

WIN

Details: Available for 6/6S or 6 Plus/6S Plus Choose between Silver, Space Grey and Rose Gold

HOW TO ENTER:

Email your name and contact details to [email protected] with the subject line: ‘Zero Phone Covers’

Entries close: 27 July


Comp 2

Vin d’Easelwww.vindeasel.com

Vin d’Easel - small art for big people.The concept arose from our love of photography, illustration and art. We wanted to combine

those elements to produce a tangible product to share with the public. All our art is supplied with miniature easels and comes in a gift box.

Win an easel of your choice from Vin d’Easel

WIN

HOW TO ENTER:

Visit www.vindeasel.com and choose your easel! Remember to look under both ART and PHOTOGRAPHY for product choices. Then email your choice, along with your name and contact

details to [email protected] with the subject line: ‘Vin d’Easel’



Comp 3WIN

Winefolkwww.winefolk.co.za

Winefolk was established by a few passionate wine personalities to supply wines directly to consumers, door to door in South Africa. As an online company they have made good progress in

a short time with knowledgeable and efficient service to our customer base which is growing daily. Their company corporate image reflects Authentic Wine People with the philosophy that what

matters is what’s in the bottle and not what’s on the label.

Win a a EGA mixed case from Winefolk(4 bottles EGA Kiwi+ 4 bottles EGA

Elderflower + 4 bottles EGA Rooibos)

HOW TO ENTER:

Email your name and contact details to [email protected] with the subject line: ‘Ega’



Comp 4WIN

Citizen [email protected]

Citizen partner with the most dedicated coffee brokers who specialise in micro-lot, high quality, speciality coffee. They are passionate about single origin coffee and roast each variety to what they believe brings out its original, unique flavours. Coffee is best enjoyed fresh and that is why

they roast to order, insuring each bag of coffee sold is as fresh as possible. They roast Mondays and Thursdays, and delivery can be arranged.

Win two 250g bags of coffee (Costa Rican and Ethiopian) from Citizen Roastery

HOW TO ENTER:

Email your name and contact details to [email protected] with the subject line: ‘Citizen Roastery’



DO YOU WANT TO ADVERTISE WITH US?Email Christine on

[email protected]

the end

Documents

Issue 36 July 2016