3 Into 1 Does Go
Often you may feel that dreams don’t come true? Maybe they won’t, but never stop dreaming. London 2014 saw the rise of cultural events within the Black British community Azawala, SLG Creative Designs (aka Skone) and Nefateri Asantewa were amongst the many independent Black businesses that wanted to make a difference by highlighting and nurturing the talents of artisans from Afric
a & The Caribbean. After meeting at numerous events in London ie Black History Studies, Open The Gate and Africa On The Square the three traders spoke about joining forces to set up as The Africa Collective at the Mella Centre on London's Oxford Street. Although our time was short lived the seed had been sewn. The fusion of Artwork, Fashion and Jewellery and accessories made a perfect combination for a pitch with varied style and appeal. Azawala www.azawala.com provided the contemporary artwork primarily sourced from Ghana where circa 2010, brothers Jos and Nick started collecting individual pieces of Ghanaian and Nigerian art. Some artists came recommended like Daniel Akortia, Betty Acquah, Kobina Nyarko others were found along the way. Our agreement was simple. We buy their works for a negotiated price and after resale to a wider market in Europe a percentage of the sale is returned to the artist. This works well in keeping both parties engaged and energised.To date Azawala has firm ties with the original artists and has found a new crop of talent within the Black British community that have joined in to enhance our range. Our most unusual collaboration was made with a Russian fine artist Oksana Leadbitter who after providing her with the subject matter has produced some of our striking pieces. The ongoing search continues for talent both home and abroad. 2014 Azawala took a space at The Artworks Elephant complex in South East London which was our first taste of trading from a permanent position. We enjoyed 18 months of building a new client list and watched our profile grow. SLG Creative designs (formally SKone Designs) www.SLG-Creativedesigns.co.uk
A trip to Africa reignited my creative side and I started producing art work, jewellery and tee shirts for sale, through my creative business. This then developed into designing bags and homeware items which are made by locals in Africa. My Mission and intent is to provide unique, value for money, high quality, hand produced products in an assortment of styles to accommodate all taste that are mainly sourced in the UK, Africa and the Caribbean. Through my travels, I have discovered a number of richly creative, hand-crafted artisans and my goal is to provide a platform on which to showcase their creativity as well as my own products. My ethos is to provide products that are ethically produced by a dedicated network of independent skilled artisans at a fair wage ethos. It is important to provide not only a platform to showcase their talents, but also to create a source of sustainable employment and growth opportunity for them. The main product line of the business:
·Rhinestone and acrylic art collection and new emerging artists from Africa
·Hand-made silver jewellery using a mix of recycled glass beads, agate and crystals
·Hand crafted leather bags, blended with fusions of African kente weave & mudcloth
Homeware collection – based on original hand produced batik prints for statement lighting, cushions and stretched canvas prints
Nefateri Asantewa – www.nsasnefateri.com
Is the Creative Artistic Director behind the beautiful image brand ‘Nsaa Nefateri’
Nsaa Nefateri Greetings Cards was founded eight years ago. It all started in her conservatory and has now made it to the High Street via several stockist in the UK and abroad.
‘’I continue to design, develop and promote cards, gifts and stationery that reflects the beauty of African-Caribbean culture, a celebration of Beautiful Hue’’. Nefateri is a 2016 BE Mogul award winning entrepreneur recognised as being one of the UK’s most inspiring Black Entrepreneurs and a mother of 5. She is also a Fashion Developer, Writer, Artist and Poet. As a creative soul Nefateri continues to Uplift and Empower people to embrace who they are. The Dream became reality in May 2016 when an unexpected offer was presented as an option to have a complete retail outlet with courtyard that could be developed into a creative space. The offer was too good to dwell on, although this would be quite a task for one outfit but I recognised the possibility of the perfect project for sharing if we were to gain the most out of the ample space on offer. In this situation who better to call than the tried and tested who could create a winning formula to make this work. The concertina effect was deployed by hitting the right notes which brought us back together. After 3 months of rebuilding an empty shell we are so proud to present
Gida at 55 Loughborough Road, Brixton, London,SW9 7TB Tel 0203 583 6387our new offering in Stylish, Contemporary and fashionable shopping. From the Hausa language of Africa Gida is the word for ‘Home’. We bring the work from the home of the Artisan, to our home, to your home. Such a heart warming statement. In doing so we help enhance the lives of the talented craftsmen and women that work alongside us. We are a self- funded project and within Gida we recognise the importance of support and access to others. We now offer specific rental and hire space for Artists, Designers, Poets, Event Organisers and encourage any creativity with value to use our space at very attractive rates. As Humans we are living longer and healthy intake is high on the survival list. Gida has now sourced some ethnic teas blended with herbs to create a medicinal alternative. Our smoothies are freshly made from natural ingredients that contain nutrients to aid and assist your wellbeing. We also have a selection of amazing cakes that are only baked to make you go Mmmm.. There you have it Gida is living proof that you can defy logic, science and maths by just applying the following:
Communication, Commitment, Dedication, Loyalty, Humour, Support and Trust and you like us will see that 3 into 1 does go quite nicely.
