Hello Podfriend!

It’s been a minute. How’ve you been?

Happy New Season! Wherever you are in the world, I hope this season brings good things your way. Where I’m at, there is a high stakes election underway and by the time this is in your inbox, the first results of the VP Kamala Harris vs. Donald J. Trump presidential election race should be coming in. Wish us all luck. We don’t know whether we will wake up to a horror show or to days as colorful as the ‘candy corn’ in our lead pic for this edition.

Speaking of candy, we are fresh off Halloween, that massive dress up candy fest. The kids have fun though. Every single year I tell myself I’ll dress up with the kids but never quite do that. This year is no different, I guess I’ve never really been a fancy dress kind of person.

What’s been going on in your world? I’d love to hear from you, so hit reply and let me know.

Time to now get into the rest of the newsletter, and a quick reminder to share this edition and ask your friends to join our squad. If this edition was shared with you, please subscribe to get updates and stay in conversation.

Here’s what we’re doing in this edition:

-Studio Update

-Companion Listening

-Horror Shows and Fireworks

-Giving me Joy and Pause

Alright pod friends, let’s get to business!

STUDIO UPDATE

PETS AND FASHION

The idea to start the dog treat company, Lick You Silly came to solopreneur, Barbara Clarke Ruiz, while she was collaborating with tennis superstar, Venus Williams on the relaunch of her own brand, Eleven by Venus. Barbara wanted to create high quality dog treats for her two corgis that frequently got sick from eating cooked food. She educated herself on YouTube university and launched her brand soon after. What she did not expect, was the meteoric rise in the Amazon rankings that came during the pandemic. Since then, hers is one of the leading pet product brands on the platform and she’s constantly selling out.

Barbara Clarke Ruiz is also an award winning activewear designer and fashion design consultant, which is how she’s funding her venture. In our conversation, she discusses how she rose in the ranks at international activewear brands like Adidas and Fila. She also tells us about the exclusive range she created for Kohl’s and her latest venture, Sport Culture Advisor, which she co-founded with a longtime collaborator. 

COMPANION EPISODE

ATHLEISURE DESIGN AND E-COMMERCE

Founder and Creative Designer of her eponymous athleisure brand, Lydia Endora shares her story and tells us how her grandmother inspired her love for fashion, the tenacity imbued in her by her mother and how she hopes to impact the lives of black women in the fashion industry. Lydia’s superpower is customer obsession. She puts a lot of thought into the designs at Lydia Endora, right down to what a typical day looks like for her clients. All her clothes are designed to serve this woman as she switches between activities throughout the day.

In addition to sharing her design process, Lydia talks about her hopes and dreams for her label, the women in fashion who inspire her and of course, how to get things done when you are the owner of a small e-commerce brand. 

ON MY MIND THIS MONTH

HORROR SHOW LOADING

As I’m writing this edition, I’ve just heard US Vice President and Democratic Party Presidential nominee, Kamala Harris call her opponent former President Donald J. Trump a fascist during her CNN-hosted town hall. A day before the VP’s unflinching declaration, Trump actually used the word s**t to describe his opponent. The gloves are off, and that’s cool, but this is a new low, even for Trump. What in the world is going on? This guy is talking about people’s genitals in public?! I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one thinking that the American political landscape has finally descended into banana republic territory. I’ve even stopped playing the news when I’m with my children, lest they start thinking that it’s normal for people to talk like this. I’m not a purist or prude but goddamn and wowza!

Like many US residents and citizens, we are all running through some scenarios of what the world looks like in the case of each candidate winning. It’s an interesting exercise because in my mind, there is no good outcome either way. If the Republicans win, we will see Trump take revenge on his political adversaries, a group he’s taken to calling ‘the enemy within’. If the Democrats win, there will be lawsuit after lawsuit contesting the outcome of the election and even more conspiracy theories about how the results are fake, how illegal immigrants were allowed to vote and how the ballot machines have somehow been flipping Republican votes to Democratic votes. The only thing that we are all probably hoping for, is an avoidance of another January 6th because that was frightening.

Either way, the political tone has changed so much that even the Obama’s are not holding back. I mean, Barack Obama’s comment about Trump’s obsession with crowd sizes was funny, but a little borderline. We don’t know him as that off-color comment making kinda guy. But he went there. It feels like the US is preparing for one big horror show no matter the outcome.

And despite all that, I’m crossing fingers and all things crossable for a Kamala win.

Happy Election Day my American friends!

GUY FAWKES

As the Americans are going through their post Halloween and Black Friday hangover, the Brits are celebrating Guy Fawkes Day. Once upon a time, the 5th of November was a thing throughout the so-called Commonwealth – cos the wealth is not common – including South Africa. Like all other children in Soweto, I would dress up in my mom’s or aunt’s dresses, were lipstick and blush and stuff my chest and booty with newspapers, pillow cases or whatever would make me look well padded in these parts of the body. We would then take empty tin cans fill them with stones and go around the neighborhood asking for money while singing ‘penny for the Guy Fawkes’ or more accurately ‘pennyyyyy, penny penny guy fox’ – Clueless of the meaning and the significance of the day. Check out these portraits by Marco Casino to get a sense of Guy Fawkes in the township.

So, Guy Fawkes was Catholic and under King James I there was no room for multiple religions. Only the Church of England, headed by the king himself, was the state religion. Catholics were barely tolerated and even fined for not attending the Anglican church. The Puritans -who were the extremist wing of the Protestants, and even more anti-Catholic – could just forget making any kind of demands regarding worship practices in the Anglican church. So Guy Fawkes and several other co-conspirators set about trying to bomb the House of Lords in 1605 so that they could replace King James with a Catholic king. Fawkes was was caught red handed guarding a huge amount of explosives under the building, and since then his capture is celebrated every year on the November 5th: Bonfire Night or Guy Fawkes Day.

It is of course still a huge deal in the UK and there are several fireworks displays throughout London and other parts of the country. Apparently it’s no longer a thing in South Africa’s townships. Or is it? Let me know if you’ve witnessed the celebration in recent years. All the same, I’ve not thought about Guy Fawkes in ages, but glad it crossed my mind this year because it was a fun thing to do and very different from ‘Trick or Treat’-ing.

GIVING ME JOY AND PAUSE

I’m happy to be returning to South Africa in November, my second trip this year. It’s been a while since I’ve experienced the Southern summer. It will be good to meet up with friends and everyone I missed last time around and to make new connections to help take the work of Shades and Layers forward. Most of all I’m looking forward to family time. It will be good to spend time with folks using my full attention.

The news about the passing of former Reserve Bank Governor, Tito Mboweni really hit hard. It also got me reflecting on what he meant for my generation, the ones who grew up with some of the young ministers in Nelson Mandela’s – as such the first true South African – cabinet. We grew to know him is someone dedicated to project South Africa, personable and super goofy. Of course we can’t help but be touched by his death, and especially at how sudden it was.

Speaking of sudden news. Has everyone recovered from the announcement of Siya and Rachel Kolisi’s divorce? Yhu, hectic. Some say they saw it coming. I think they are cynics. Nevertheless, if the public is this affected or devastated, imagine their family. This is the one time we can use the phrase ‘shame’ properly as a nation. IYKYK. And because we are South Africans and cannot take anything seriously, the memes are relentless, here’s one of my faves.

Loving some new podcasts that have entered my radar lately. Raising Parents is a treasure trove and addresses everything that’s on parent’s minds about modern parenting. Topics range from corporal punishment to questioning whether boys are being left behind. It’s largely American of course, but good food for thought, no matter where you are in the world. I highly recommend it, especially for those parenting away from extended family.

I also caught a couple of episodes of Lupita Nyo’ngo’s new podcast, Mind Your Own. It’s in turn funny and serious. It’s personal and universal. The stories are interesting and relatable. She also had a good and insightful conversation about the African diaspora with former Daily Show host, Trevor Noah on his What Now? podcast

I tried listening to Isabella Rosellini’s This is Not a Beauty Podcast and it didn’t grab me right away. Granted it was during rush hour and my kids were around, so that was not a success story right away. I did like one episode about how beauty and technology intersect and am willing to give it another try sometime.

Nevertheless, with all of this said I’m of course contemplating the rise of the celebrity podcast (which a lot of the time amounts to voice over work by the famous person) and how it’s changing the podcasting landscape. A topic for the next edition perhaps.

What are your listening to? What are you reading?

I recently revisited some Zakes Mda classics and binged them back to back: The Sculptors of Mapungubwe, Black Diamond and my all-time favorite The Heart of Redness. I have no clue what inspired this binge but I don’t regret getting back into these books.

Earlier this year a friend of mine gifted me a book called Leonard and Hungry Paul. What a tender account of male friendship, a life affirming celebration of the ordinary quiet life. Now I’m obsessed with the author Rónán Hession and what he’s been able to do in this book. Don’t know why, but Hession’s book also made me think of JM Coetzee’s Youth: Scenes from Provincial Life II, which I read many moons ago. I must say though, I remember finding Youth to be a little on the depressing side. Perhaps it’s the contrast of emotions that it evoked – about choosing a life – which brought it to the fore.

What should I put on my bookshelf next? Let me know by hitting reply.

That’s all from me this time around. Until next time, please do take good care.

Cheers,

Kutloano

(your host with the most)