Manly Farmer's Market 21/6/2008

The weather held out & we had a fabulous market day at Manly! The Ikhaya spot was truly special with the water & boats behind us!

Manly Farmer's market

Jan Power is hosting another great market tomorrow in Manly on the esplanade. There is sure to be lots of activity & many early rises tomorrow to get there for the freshest produce & flowers. I am all packed up & ready to go - hoping for a bit of sunshine so that I can enjoy the beautiful view over the water & boats! I promise to post some pics from the day!

I look forward to chatting with you tomorrow......

Fashion for PEACE

A fantastic fashion event has taken place in the Nairobi National park to raise money for victims of Kenya’s post-election violence and show a different face to their continent.

The Fashion for Peace event drew mainly West and East African models onto a catwalk in a marquee under the moonlight in an area usually known for its lions and rhinos. I have picked out 2 of my favourite designs - the black dress is by Cameroonian designer Imane Ayissi as worn by supermodel Ajuma. The Gourd gown is by Nigerian designer Bayo Adegbe

Fashion for Peace is aimed at changing people’s negative perceptions of Kenya & Africa in other countries & is a call for peace.

Proceeds from the show are to go to the 300,000 Kenyans uprooted from their homes in fighting after a disputed December election. More than 1,300 people died.

Hi,

There are a few weeks off until next market day which is a blessing in disguise, there is alot of research to do for the internet shop. I have come across so many great websites. I even found an Eco shop in the UK that has a Facebook profile, they had 422 friends! Incredible! Who would have thought?

I have also become a particular fan of blogs - especially the ones with lots of pictures! Black & Spiro in Brisbane have a lovely blog called absolutely beautiful things - I love seeing what amazing pictures Anna Spiro has loaded up! I can only aspire to have such an interesting blog! www.blackandspiro.com.au 

I have been trying to source products for my website that are not readily available in Australia & in doing my research I have found so many quality African products - so hard to choose!

I want to make sure that the products are fairly traded & that the craft has created employment for the people who really need it. That is the real motivation here & I want to bring these stories to you. Appreciating the beautiful hand crafted products means appreciating the story that goes with it. Its about celebrating what this product has brought to the people involved.

I am very excited about a delivery that I am collecting from the post office tomorrow. I will be loading up some photos to hopefully inspire you too.