Atleast I’m showing up

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So this year, for many, have been tough. Death. Job loss. Sickness. For me, it’s a little more petty. I’ve been called a shitty, inconsiderate, miserable and stealing friend. Not once, not twice but a minimum of 8 times. By 3 different people. So I decided that I would take said criticism and I would change. I would show up more and I would try too change how I interacted with people. Through this all, nothing much has changed.

I’m getting ignored and I’ve made my peace with that because at least I’m still communicating, I’m still trying. I’ve had serious-ish heart to hearts about why people think of me this way and I’m trying to be less that. Less consuming if you will. In actual fact, I am choosing to enjoy the last few days of my time at home. I go back to an in office job next year and then it’s people facing all the time. Maybe that’s the problem. I’ve been at home for 20 months and maybe that has made the real no bullshit me come out? Before covid, not a single person had a problem with me or my attitude but I guess 20 months at home can really fuck with your pysche even if you don’t know it.

So ya, as the year draws to a close, I’m reminding myself that at least I’m still showing up and for me, that will just have to do. If it’s just showing up with daily messages or the occasional check in, that will just have to be ok for now. If it’s not, then let’s talk.

Let’s make more than a Christmas change

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So I know that many of us, through the year, give on ‘special occasions’, more likely Christmas than any other time. We have toy runs, food runs etc. As of 2022, I’d like to do something different, a monthly parcel for families in need. The only way I can do this is with your help. I recently was able to help feed a family for a week (which isn’t long) for R200. Imagine how much further I could reach if everyone who reads and shares this post donates as little as R50 a month.

R30 a month towards a grocery parcel, R10 toward toys for Christmas and R10 towards stationery. It really isn’t much and if I was by the means to do this alone, I would without a doubt.

For years I’ve wanted to start a shelter for the homeless, even a mobile shelter. I’ve come across many of them and have had conversations with them that revolve around how they’ve found themselves in these situations. Perhaps I’m just gullible but I’ve always tried to place myself in their shoes, unsuccessfully though. But just imagine for a moment, you’re flat on your back, broke and having to ask a stranger for as little as a R5. That’s what a packet of pads at Spar and Shoprite costs. That’s the pricing of a loaf of bread from Shoprite. A loaf of bread that I’ve eaten before. No shame in admitting that. Ain’t nothing wrong with a R5 bread.

We can be the change, not just at Christmas time but year round.

Please comment on this post or send a private message to my IG or Facebook for banking details.

The New World of Interior Intelligence – how we can use our microenvironment as a stage to tell the story of our lives

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Creative behavioural strategist Kim Williams – recently shared her insights as keynote speaker at Decorex 2021, on how we have entered a time where great design has moved past purist notions of practicality and become centred around creating strategies that produce spaces that are mindful and serve our life and work objectives. There is a depth and an insight that we have into what we want from our spaces that Kim refers to as interior intelligence and it is taking interior designers and clients alike on a whole new journey.

Having grown up spending many hours indoors in her yellow bedroom as a child because of a club foot, Kim has a particular insight into feeling isolated in our interior world and shares her top insights on how the evolution of intelligent interiors can facilitate a better experience of living.

Evolution of perspective

As a child, I spent many hours looking out at the world which shaped my understanding of how interior spaces can be a sanctuary during chaos. As I shared my story in my new book – MyYellowRoom – I realised how my experience of feeling isolated in my room prepared me for the needs of my clients before social distancing was even an idea, and helped me understand the power our spaces hold. My room was a place I could control and change, and I was fascinated by how people’s engagement with my room would alter when I changed the elements within it.

It taught me that our behaviour is largely influenced by how we experience the elements around us. There is real power in shuffling the objects you already have in a space to refresh your personal perspective and renew a space’s emotive power. By valuing both the designer and the client’s unique perspectives we can create new life stages to facilitate specific experiences in our spaces that are truly expressive of the client’s desires and absolutely authentic to the people who inhabit them, regardless of the budget limitations.

Evolution of residential spaces

Our homes and interiors have evolved alongside us through the various stages of lockdown to become places that facilitate the experience of living well. Corporates had always known that our spaces have a drastic impact on us and over the last year, we have seen residential clients awaken to the same truth.

The sudden transition from open-plan living illustrates this perfectly. Nowadays, people are prioritising places for focused work, managing the movement of others in their spaces and desiring nooks in which to cocoon and self soothe in solitude before feeling recharged enough to rejoin the jubilance of typical family life.

Evolution of the virtual space

We are seeing a radical integration between our physical and virtual spaces. The virtual and physical worlds are set to merge and we are looking to designers to make sense of this integration. To help make sense of the potential chaos at the intersection of these worlds through balancing technology and comfort within the personal narrative of their client’s space.

The evolution of individualism

Individualism emerged before Covid and has been bolstered by it and we are far more attentive to expressing individual aesthetics in space. Younger generations have been challenging us on how we perceive people, what our contribution to society is and how important it is that we understand who we are and who we are seen to be.

We are thinking critically about our experiences of space from sight to sound to shape to texture and how these principles can be used to express parts of our client’s personalities. The process of pulling out individualism and combining that with trends and how we put the two together to help individuals, families and brands express themselves in interesting ways that are meaningful to them, will be the catalyst for many exciting innovations in the near future.

The evolution of mindful connection

The importance of mindfulness is on the rise with many more people creating spaces to practice whatever mindfulness activities support them. Mindfulness is amazing for productivity. The sense of connection we gain from these practices gives us clarity on how we think about what we are executing.

We have also realised how important nature is to refresh, recharge and heal. A connection to nature is a powerful dynamic we must factor into our spaces. The emphasis on the awareness of our impact on nature is not going anywhere either. In fact, I think we will become more aware of what our design products are made from, where and how the raw materials are collected, where the manufacturing takes place and the final carbon cost the product has.

The evolution of nostalgia

We have started to design with our own memories as we once did with the latest trends. In part due to us not being able to travel, or see family, we have learned to create better memories when we are presented the opportunity. For a while, we were not able to just grab a coffee, or pop away for the weekend or have big family gatherings. Now when we do have those opportunities we feel a strong desire to document them and incorporate them into our spaces with special items and photographs.

We also see people trying to immerse themselves in cultures that they love, or an era that they loved, to trigger the memories of that wonderful holiday they had or romantic memories of a less complex world. This all fits perfectly with the uprising of repurposing and DIY, both of which are long-standing stable trends that have become mainstream – as is seen with the second-hand malls all over Europe. Repurposing gives us the opportunity to make things our own.

Designers are at the precipice of assisting clients to create spaces that set the stage for their lives on which to play out. Every client’s microenvironment is a stage of the story of their lives and the duty of a great designer is to make those stages facilitate a great experience of life. With the potential that technology carries, the deepening of our mindful connection, the change in our perspective and the groundedness we find in our memories we are capable of creating amazing spaces that are truly riveting to experience.

For more Insights from Kim Williams, and to sign-up to receive her freshly published book MyYellowRoom visit http://www.kimwilliams.co.za. You can also find her on Facebook and Instagram @kim_williams_design.

JessicaJane Launches Her Effortlessly Delicate Summer Range

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Inspired by Venetian and Parisian Summer Fashion


We are granted almost limitless opportunities to express ourselves through fashion, yet nothing compares to the undeniable feeling of beauty that an outfit that truly fits who you are gives you. Jessica Molebatsi – fashion designer and founder of the JessicaJane label – believes that every outfit should be an opportunity for the world to discover us as we want to be. That every woman deserves to feel as comfortable as she does beautiful and her latest summer range is a celebration of that beauty and the power of the feminine form.



In her latest range which is made to fit each client, Jessica was inspired to distil the feeling of elegance that we find in Venetian and Parisian summer fashion. The result is a range that is as light as a summer breeze with a presence that can carry the most regal of women.



“I got my inspiration where I always do – the women who wear my clothes. I want to be their greatest friend and ally and create clothing that takes everything they wished their clothes make them feel – and brings it to life. ”



A welcome break from relaxed denim shorts, t-shirts and the colours of summers past, Jessica’s latest collection swirls with comfortable sophistication. She achieves a wonderful balance between feminine elegance and soft playfulness with her subtle use of satins and delicate cotton voile. Her use of iconic summery cotton and muted patterns dance with her deliberate cuts to create the perfect summer smoothness.



Her favourite element of this collection is the dreamy cream satin and the super-soft floral print that just sigh with luxury.



“I think with summer fashion, we want to rejoice in the feeling of happiness and warmth and lightness, and I think nothing feels quite as light and happy as voile”



Her favourite is the full cream satin suit. Classy yet comfortable and strikingly understated. Other statement pieces include the floral super soft satin pants with the floral super soft satin crop. This outfit is incredibly comfortable, and doesn’t even require ironing! Making it the perfect pocket-sized travel companion.



The best garments allow us to say something about ourselves. Assembling your wardrobe is a meaningful exercise where we literally wear our hearts on our sleeves. And our hearts are full of life and love for this collection.



To view her collection visit http://www.Jessicajane.co.za or follow her on Instagram @jessicajane_molebatsi.

Contact via WhatsApp +27 72 526 9474

Or email info@jessicajane.co.za

Succulent Summer – Tips for Piping Scrumptious Succulents

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Every summer, all the succulents in our gardens, on our windowsills and in our planter boxes explode into life. Summer and all the life it brings should be celebrated and what better way than with a scrumptious cupcake adorned with captivating cacti that look ready to soak up the summertime sunshine.

While the intricate looking cupcakes may look prickly to pipe, prodigy piper Grace Stevens is here to share her top tips on how to get pinpoint perfect succulents to adorn our summer table spreads.

Perfect icing consistency

The consistency of your buttercream is super important to get right or your culinary garden can quickly become a delicious but disappointing mess. If you have followed the instructions of your recipe but something still isn’t quite right – there are a few steps you can take. If your buttercream is too stiff, and you are struggling to extrude it from your nozzle, mix a little milk or water into the buttercream until it is spreadable like peanut butter.

If the buttercream is too soft, and you find you have very little control over the extrusion speed – try giving it a rest for 30 minutes in the fridge. Sometimes, the heat of your hands can cause the butter in the icing to liquify. Cooling it in the fridge helps the butter to resolidify so you have better control over your form. If I’m piping lots of succulents on a short timeline, I’ll always use more than one piping bag with the same nozzle and buttercream and alternate using each piping bag to prevent my buttercream from getting too warm.

It is also important to make sure your icing sugar does not contain an anti-caking agent or cornflour. This is because the viscosity and expansion properties of the cornflour – the way it reacts to pressure under your hand – make it almost impossible to get a proper stiff buttercream with these cut products. It is far better to use pure icing sugar for better control.

Simple tools

The great part about succulents is that they use simple tools to achieve the same impact as complicated sugarcraft. Once your icing assembly line is set up, you should not need fabric icing bags as these are usually used to insulate the icing from the heat of the hand in bigger scale kitchens. At home, you can use disposable bags that can be tossed when you are done – which makes clean up much easier.

To make sure that you properly control the speed and extrusion of your icing from your bag avoid overfilling it. Much like holding a pencil in the correct place gives you control over lettering, holding your bag in the palm of your hand gives you control over your creation. Personally, I find that 100g of icing per bag fits perfectly in my hand and gives me pinpoint control.

When it comes to the precision of your final product it is difficult to overestimate the importance of keeping your hands, tools and work surface clean and organised. Trust me, nothing is more disappointing than accidentally piping the wrong colour directly onto a cake or turning around to find half of your succulents hanging squished to your sleeve. Keeping your tools clean makes for clean work and immaculate results.

Selection of succulents

When deciding what type of succulent to pipe, remember to be patient with yourself while you are learning. Considering your abilities if you are a beginner means choosing a succulent that requires one nozzle and one colour. If you are more advanced, they are a great choice to experiment with realism and I often use a good reference picture or a real specimen to push my colour matching skills. Striving to achieve the perfectly balanced green by experimenting with the tonal value and adding black or brown.

Arrangement and texture

During a class, I had a very nervous student who had tagged along with a friend. Once she piped her first succulent, her reservation melted quicker than buttercream in an African summer and she left beaming enthusiastically about the bouquet of succulents adorning her cupcake.

To get the most out of your succulent arrangement use succulents that vary in texture to create dimension. If you are more advanced and want to add flowers, make selections that won’t compete with the textures in the succulents so that the eye can easily follow the design of your cake.

Transporting your creation

Succulents are a perfect place for beginners not in the least because they are easy to transport to show off to friends and family. Unlike the more complicated designs of traditional flowers. They can easily be piped directly onto the case or piped well in advance and refrigerated or frozen until you need them. If you are transporting them, it’s best to do so in a covered cardboard box as they will crust over if left out at room temperature. Not to mention it makes them far less fiddly to handle.

We have long adored the geometric curls, glorious textures and extraordinary colours of succulents. Knowing the simple piping techniques behind them takes them from being an indulgence we dream of right to our tables. This modern arid aesthetic is so hot in the icing and gardening worlds, turning our regular cupcakes into the perfect prickly treat for our next picnic.

For more summer secrets, follow Grace on Instagram@ grace_stevenschef, visit her website http://www.gracestevens.co.za, or meet her in person and book your one on one experience.

Balancing Femininity in a Shared Space

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Truly excellent interior design has the power to make our homes inclusive and create equal spaces that empower us to fulfil the kinds of domestic roles we choose.   Building spaces to enable confidence where you live and work, and that pays attention to the division of domestic responsibilities, can create healthier relationships and happier people. 

Kim Williams, creative behavioral strategist focused on designing interior spaces, knows that when you pay attention to how people naturally gravitate in the space and design around it, excellent design is born. 

Here are Kim’s top thoughts on how to balance femininity in your shared space.

Find fulfilling roles 

Our spaces should enhance our functioning as human beings regardless of gender. While it’s true that the old fashioned notions of men being in the garage and women in the kitchen have become antiquated, ultimately roles and the structure they bring to our lives are the cornerstones of a successful family unit. In any home, it is important that everyone has a purpose and be given a place in which they can happily fulfil that purpose.

Traditional roles remain so topical because it taps into our fundamental human desire to not be limited. Historically speaking, many gender-based roles limited both sexes from exploring other dimensions and elements of who they wanted to be within a unit. Thankfully, we are seeing a societal shift towards our homes becoming spaces that encourage us to be whoever we want to be.

The beliefs that dictate how we use the space in our homes are deeply entrenched and inseparable in the western world from the roles we were expected to play. However, with the rise of millennial couples, attitudes towards who is responsible for what types of tasks in the home are changing.

The shift in the domestic space is toward being an accepting and inclusive realm that encourages a more equal share in domestic labour and a more integrated action decision-making process.  

Understand your relationship dynamics 

Our ideas of masculinity and femininity have intricate ties to the culture that surrounds us and how culture influences our home lives is ever-evolving and complex. However, culture does not dictate what relationship dynamics will work for your design process. 

The relationship dynamics in shared spaces impacts design so profoundly because they link to how we function in a space and therefore what we will need from it to thrive. 

In one home I just finished, the husband was the primary decision-maker and was deeply involved in how the space felt and lived. However, the wife was also given her say and was often involved in the final decision resulting in the whole project being completely codesigned by myself and the both of them. 

Currently, I am finishing another home for a young couple in their twenties, where she has been more involved in the initial phases of designing and planning because it is what she loves to do, and he is very involved in the sign off of it.

Our family units work like teams where we all have different roles usually because they play to our strengths. All successful design dynamics respect that each party has a contribution to make but also have a clear primary decision-maker. Traditionally that has been the masculine figure but ultimately gender doesn’t matter.

We also tend to make design decisions according to what roles we fulfil. For example,   whoever is in charge of maintaining the garden will tend to make landscaping decisions and whoever is in charge of cooking will tend to take the lead in the kitchen. Since culturally, we are in a place where we are more open about what roles we want to take on, spaces tend to become tailored to the needs of the person who uses them the most.

Acknowledge individual needs 

How a space is used and by whom makes an enormous difference to how you zone the space. You want to acknowledge idiosyncrasies whilst preserving the all-important connectivity and flow between different spaces. 

Connecting people through spaces that allow them to embrace the various facets of themselves is after all the greater purpose of design. 

Passive and active personalities, different ages and cultures all impact how I design a shared space. The different ages that children are at, the different stages of your own life and the phases of a relationship are all primary drivers that functionally dictate what you need from a space. How you are brought up also has a limited influence. As we get older, we become much more aware and emotionally mature individuals and do introspective work to understand what it is that we want. Part of designing any space is introspection on the clients part to ensure they are communicating with me what they need to maximise their investment in their space. 

Understanding the individuals that makeup families is fundamental to design. When people come together and when they go apart is different for every family. Some families may be sporty and want their communal lounge space to centre around a games area and TV. Others may not watch TV at all which is becoming more common as we move to use our devices more. 

The behavioural aspect of the design is more important now than ever as we move beyond the basic functions of our homes like eating, cooking and sleeping to create our homes to be lifestyle hubs. Today we crave places that enhance our productivity and empower us to live our best lives. 

Find your balance

My clients often prove that the correct balance of femininity and masculinity is unique to every couple. When it comes to their home design, women are traditionally more interested but there is no clear overarching dominance – more of a give and take in the collaborative design process. Individuals tend to be accountable at different points during the phases of design, such as women being involved in planning and men being involved in the sign-off phase. Availability also plays a significant role and if one person is more available than the other they tend to play a larger part.     

Part of the driving force behind the domestic social shift towards equality in our homes is men wanting to be more expressed in their homes and feel more ownership of their spaces. There has been an evolution where I see women pressuring for the things they want less and taking a more collaborative approach. Men on the other hand are being more forward about what they are looking for in the spaces they enjoy – especially the kitchen.

This is in part due to us being more confident to express which roles we enjoy and in part due to men acknowledging their need to have spaces that are designed around their needs as well.  We all have important contributions to make as people and from a design perspective playing with beautiful feminine energy and powerful masculine energy is a dynamic I simply adore.

The most successful interiors are composites of feminine and masculine elements unique to the inhabitants of the home. A balance between light and dark, a balance of colour and neutral, a balanced understanding of how to use a dark space versus a light space to create a mood. 

Consider multi-generational dynamics 

Balancing masculine and feminine is challenging already, so how do you balance them in family homes where you have vast age gaps too? Between my partner and me, there is a nine-year age gap. Although we do come from different generations, living together has always been easy as the real issue that causes friction in shared space is respect. 

When you understand what is important to your partner and focus on creating an environment that satisfies that need, masculine and feminine elements naturally balance out into incredibly beautiful spaces. 

Understand the characteristics of people who inhabit the space, where they spend their time, what they enjoy doing, what is important to them and the lifestyle they live. If they spend lots of time in a very high-pressure environment or work from home, designing areas for them to decompress is important. 

Everyone reacts differently to pressure; some need quiet spaces while others need the energy of others to recharge. Once you understand what is important for the people who use the space you can use zoning tactics, such as permanent shelving and custom storage, to facilitate what you need.

Everybody, just like every item in your home, needs their place – regardless of age. Silence is very important to my partner to destress so we made sure his space was upstairs and away from my son’s space – who is energetic and can be a little noisy. 

Create connection 

Facilitating a harmonious connection between the feminine and masculine elements in your design is a question of setting up a strategy upfront. Detail what you want to achieve, who you want to achieve it for and why you want to change the home. 

Consider all the design elements of form, function, flow, energy to create something special and unique. It is not always about what I am trying to bring to the work but what I am trying to bring out of my clients. 

Our home spaces define our behaviour and should account for our unique tastes. Planning is therefore fundamental. People often make the mistake of rushing out to buy random items to throw together without considering how they work together. Considering layout, storage, proportion, light and colour, and who uses the space and how often, are principles that apply to spaces of all sizes. Fundamentally, getting the plan signed off, thinking before you act and planning for sporadic items and spontaneity in a room is key.

Excellent design is a well thought out process that curates thinking and translates it into art that has the power to facilitate behaviour. Our shared spaces are there to help us evolve as human beings and as we find the strength to be courageous about who we want to be in our domestic spaces. If we can all learn from the principles of role division and work towards making contributions that are mutually defined, appreciated and respected by all we will be well on our way to creating spaces in which we can all evolve into happier healthier beings. 

For more Insights from Kim Williams, sign-up for her blog at www.kimwilliams.co.za or follow her on Facebook and Instagram @kim_williams_design.