This weekend was spent in Polokwane at the Protea Ranch Resort for our friends' wedding. It was 3 days of total bliss and being able to unwind with plenty of day-drinking at the poolside, and getting to hang out with our closest friends far away from city life. The bride and groom spoilt us with a game drive, followed by what I can only describe as my own personal heaven - getting to play with and cuddle lion cubs! We went into an enclosure where there were about ten of the little angels bouncing about and I just ran in and sat down and let them jump all over me. You know how when a cat gets those retractable claws out and it buggers up your delicate clothing? Well lion cub retractable claws destroys delicate Forever New tops (genius choice in outfit on my part). Not that I could even begin to care, lion cubs can eat my entire wardrobe in exchange for a nuzzle. This, only a close second after swimming with Monty the dolphin in San Diego, was the best experience of my life.
The wedding itself was the perfect combination of one of the most gorgeous weddings I've ever been to, as well as the most raucous. We were blessed with ideal weather and in the most unique setting with the couple saying their "I do's" on a deck overlooking the reserve. Lions fed during cocktail hour and the reception was decked out in fairy lights, but not too many so not as to take away from the gorgeous sunset and how the reserve was lit up at night. It was a truly "African" experience and its not often us Capetonians get to soak up that kind of thing.
All of this splendor was followed by a jol that lasted until 3am, where shoes were kicked off, guys lost the sleeves of their shirts and the girls were sporting ties around their heads - it was THAT kind of party.
Now, with being on the downhill approach to 30, I shall spend the week ahead recovering from the hangover.
Every day I spent a large amount of time pouring over style blogs and getting myself worked up over some serious wardrobe envy. So when I was sent these images, video and interview from Puma, I was grinning from ear to ear. Its such an honour to feature this superstar of style on my little blog today.
Sought out from the streets of
Paris, Los Angeles and New York City, PUMA’s global group of Collection
Directors have been assigned to enhance PUMA’s seasonal key products with their
creativity, vision and passion under the ‘Next Starts Now’ platform.The first of the Collection Directors to be
introduced this month is Illustrator, Designer and self-proclaimed ‘Bun’ Queen,
Sophia Chang. NYC-born and bred, Chang’s enthusiasm for killer product designs and
POP culture was infectious for her first collaboration with PUMA.Tasked to visually reinvigorate the season’s
Women’s Lifestyle Footwear collection, Chang and her dream team of talents, used
the city streets of LA and New York as her backdrop for a photo-shoot that was
remarkably colourful, spontaneous and empowering just as the collection itself.
Read the interview below and be inspired!
What is the best part of being an illustrator and
why?
SC:You’re living your dream as
a kid! Well, I am at least. Fortunately, I work for myself so I set my own
deadlines and act as my own boss.
Finish
this line – I get my best ideas when:
SC:…I’m hanging out with
friends and chatting.So I tend to
interrupt 90% of the conversations I’m in.
Your illustrations have a signature style – how did
you develop this aesthetic?
SC:I didn’t have a “style”
throughout college. That was a real struggle for me.I think the style just came thru time. The
more I worked, the more exposure I had with different tools…it eventually just
evolved.
You say
you love and are inspired by hip-hop…Who are your top 3 hip-hop artists/acts of
all time and list your top 5 tracks?
SC:I’m inspired by a lot of hip-hop and R&B
overall. The list changes over time. It’s very difficult for me to pick a top
3. I guess maybe SWV, Jay-Z and 2 Chainz for now.
Do you remember your first pair of PUMAs?Do you have a favorite PUMA style & why?
SC:Yes! My first pair was when I worked at PUMA Retail
in college. It was a pair of black and white PUMA Clydes. I’d say that would
still be my favorite pair, it’s an all-time classic!
This is the first season you have partnered with
PUMA on a project, what was it like to work with the campaign from start to
finish? Which part of the PUMA collaboration do you find to be the most interesting?
SC:Working with PUMA on this campaign has been a great
experience!I was able to wear different
hats as a design consultant, producer, stylist, and illustrator.I was also able to reach within my own network
of creatives and form a dream team for the vision – photographer, Ja Tecson,
Fruition LV’s team and NaiVasha Thomas.Team work makes dream work!I love multi-tasking and wearing different
hats…or should I now say sneakers?
What does “Next Starts Now” mean to you?
SC:It’s an optimistic message.It means so many things to me…. It’s an
encouraging message - the future is bright so don’t delay and take hold of your
goals!
What does the PUMA brand represent to you?
SC:PUMA represents a classic brand that is a staple in
footwear culture.
Are you a
self-proclaimed “Bun Queen” or did that title come with time, and finally, how
high does your bun really go?
SC:Good question (laughing)!I have a lot of hair and it’s super thick…basically
like a lions mane.When NY summers got
really hot and humid, the hair went up in a bun.I’ve done this my whole life but the summer
of 2011, it started to become my nickname.I would meet up with friends and they would say “I spotted your bun 3
blocks away!”
As I was out and about
that summer I started to take photos on Instagram of my hair with people,
places, textures, patterns, landmarks and so forth.It became this weird sensation and I just
went with it!
What’s
NEXT in store for Sophia?
SC:So many things!
I work on a lot of different creative platforms – magazines, branding,
design, apparel, graphics, web/mobile and more.
I have a few upcoming projects with PUMA I am very excited about and the
next few months will be very interesting.
Can’t give away too much detail, so you’ll just have to stay tuned!
Its been a manic week - hence the radio silence here on Pretty Mint. Its been a week of mania, drama, and receiving one too many midnight phonecalls that you generally don't want to get.
So the weekend was a welcome respite from it all spent taking it easy with family and friends - and squeezing the living daylights out of the pooches. That never fails in cheering me up.
With the husband away I slept in, drank coffee out of his mug and took charge of the remote. I got errands done, and the home looking spruced up. As you do when you don't have a man under your feet ;) In-between it all I visited the folks, some friends and family, and met a brand new addition to the clan in the form of the gorgeous baby Tayla. Welcome to the madness little angel!
Summer also peaked out from under the covers briefly enough on Sunday for the girls to enjoy High Tea at the Mount Nelson and it was just total bliss catching up with the crazies while sipping on the first G&T of Spring/Summer 2013.
Happy Heritage Day. May this week ahead be far more productive and drama-free than the last!
Last week was the Spree.co.za blogger photoshoot. They hosted a few of us gurrrl bloggers atThe White Roomthis week for a preview of their Spring/Summer collection, and to take it to the next level, we were put in the hair and makeup chairs, and styled by Spree's Fashion Director, the charismaticChris Viljoen.
Here are some of the amaaaazing pictures and a sweet little video montage from the event. Thanks again to the wonderful people at Spreefor such a glamorous and spoilicious event! And a big thanks and hugs to the very patient photographer, Glen Montgomery.
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