FAMILY MATTERS
JUNE 28 - JULY 4, 2012
INSIDE
What’s in word?: Find out from our inspirational interviewees p24
Paralympic medal winner Bonnie St John, plus book reviews and p33 giveaways
Always time for beauty: how to look good in minutes p34
I N S P I R AT I O N A L YOU
Artwork by Tonderai
FAMILY MATTERS amily Matters (FM) is a monthly supplement from ‘The Voice’ that F will cover: relationships; parenting;
book reviews; activities with children; adoption and fostering. |It’s also a forum for your issues, so let us know what is going on. “Family is complex but one thing is for sure, you don’t have to have blood ties to be family”, FM Editorial Consultant Yinka Sunmonu.
24 THE VOICE JUNE 28 - JULY 4, 2012
WHAT’S IN A WORD TO BE International Couture designer Korto Momolu, a first runner up in the fifth season of ‘Project Runway’ says, “To be is about pride. I am proud of who I am, proud of my past, proud of who I will be, proud of what my future will become and proud of the legacy I am creating for my daughter.” “With the way the world is now, I instill messages of confidence in her without her even knowing it. I whisper in her ear that she is beautiful, that she is smart and that she can be anything, that no one can stop her from where she wants to go.” “It’s slowly talking to her but not giving it in a speech. It’s something that my husband and I do daily.” “One day, if someone tells her that she is ugly, she will say, ‘I’m beautiful.’ She will internalize the daily messages
because the world out there can be terrible and she has to hear the positives to be able to deal with the negatives.” “Confidence is your foundation as a person and you need to know who you are and be strong.” Korto is hoping to launch a range in the UK soon. Find out more: www.kortomomolu.com
DETERMINATION Get Paid Director Raman Sunmonu says, “I used to play for the Charlton Youth Academy. I thought that I’d made it and rested on my laurels. Never do that. I vowed the experience would not happen again. I have my business now and it’s about planning, pushing, persevering, remaining positive and not understanding the word ‘can’t. I’m prepared for the journey.”
people have never had anyone who believes in them before. If you can instill that faith in them, then it gives them self worth, and a desire to try and improve themselves, and that makes all the difference.”
ASPIRATION Twenty four year old Giovanni Marino, owner of ‘Primo Caffe’, Orpington, has the word aspire in his DNA. His father is a successful businessman, from humble beginnings, who worked hard. Giovanni says, “I think when you see somebody doing that, it inspires you.”
INSPIRATION Inspirational foster carer Pearl Cotterell says, “I always tell the teenagers I look after that, no matter what, I’m not giving up on them, and I know they can turn their lives around.” “So many of these young
JOY
“Growing up, my mum instilled in my siblings and I that we should always seek happiness and not be deterred,” says The Groom Consultant Samantha Aki who specialises in styling grooms for their special day. “There are times when things may get you down but if you surround yourself with joy, you will soon have a smile on your face.”
KINDNESS “Kindness is something I always saw in my mum. She taught it to me and I’m teaching it to my daughter,” says artist Tonderai. “I believe that whatever you put out comes back to you. In my adult life, it’s helped me gain friends and I’ve been helped by people I haven’t known very well who have also motivated me.”
QUEEN OF ASPIRATION
Samantha Aki
Banke Kuku is a luxury brand textile designer who has worked for Burberry, Designers Guild, Jewel by Lisa, Jasmine di Milo and Duro Olowu. Banke, a graduate of Chelsea College of Art & Design and Central St Martins, is the author of ‘The Unwoven Threads of Nigeria’. In the summer of 2011, she decided to market her brand and in February, the Banke Kuku cushion range appeared in Selfridges. Her dreams are on track. LaDiva interviews her. LaDiva: Why textiles as a career? Banke Kuku: I’ve had an obsession with textiles since I was young. Textiles are the way I convey my joy and it always comes with l o v e . Fabrics
Picture credit: Nat Disu
N
AT DISU asked a number of inspirational people from business to design, how they would define words that represent confidence and power. Here are their responses.
FAMILY MATTERS
THINGS TO AT THE WEEKEND MAKE CHOCOLATE LOLLIPOPS Break four bars milk chocolate into pieces. Heat in microwave in bursts of 15 seconds, stirring each time until fully melted. Alternately, melt chocolate in a bowl over hot water. Place tablespoons of chocolate on greaseproof paper or create shapes by drizzling chocolate (see photo). Place a lollipop stick in the middle, adding a bit of chocolate to secure it. Decorate with hundreds and thousands, cocoa pops or chocolate sprinkles. Allow to cool.
DANCE! The Big Dance is the ultimate dance festival, which takes place across the UK between 7-15th July in the run up to the Olympics. There will be performances in all genres, workshops, free film screenings, competitions and a Big Dance bus that will travel throughout London. Michael Jackson was voted greatest dancer in the Big Dance website poll (www.bigdance2012.com). Check the full dance list that includes Diversity, Flawless and JLS and take a look at some of the Big Dance interviews. (http://www.bigdance2012.com/interviews.php).
intrigue me from the construction to the surface design and I’m always trying to find a way to push the boundaries. LD: Where did your love of textiles come from? BK: My mother. We used to knit scarves together when I was five. She would knit most of it until
it was long and I would knit to the last few rows. LD: What did you do on leaving college? BK: I started working with the fashion designer Duro Olowu, which really brought out my zest and interpretation for the African print. He brought out much of my identity, which I’m very thankful for. LD: What influences you? BK: Whatever is around me: colour; emotion; art; and life. LD: Do you work in upholstery or fashion? BK: At the moment I do both. I love fashion. I’m young and fashion is fast, crazy and exciting so for now, it suits. My love though, lies within fabrics for interiors. My interior brand is called Kuku interiors LD: What’s your style? BK: It’s very simple and elegant with a little bit of a twist. It’s nothing complicated or terribly special, it just works. I’m about quality.
WEBSITE OF THE MONTH
Banke Kuku
Babes about town We’re raving about this website aimed at families with babies, toddlers and children up to the age of 6 that provides info on family friendly events around the UK. It’s a great source for adults who still have a touch of the child within them. www.babesabouttown.com
JUNE 28 - JULY 4, 2012 THE VOICE 33
FAMILY MATTERS EBONY READS – BOOK REVIEWS
BOOK OF THE MONTH
HOW STRONG WOMEN LEAD
Y
JOYFUL LESSONS In ‘Live your joy’ a collection of real life stories, published by Faithwords (GBP12.78) Bonnie St John explores how you can embrace joy. Recognising that it takes work, she includes useful pointers such as: Add “to feel” items to your “to do” list. Make it a priority
to feel gratitude, feel wonder, feel in love with nature, and feel love for family. The resulting joy is surprising and empowering. Build a “portfolio of dreams.” Don’t just hope for one thing, or dream of one thing. Draft an entire portfolio of goals — and a few of them will actually come true. Beat the “joy stealers.” Notice your tendency to focus on the negative—including the people and situations that trigger negativity—and nip it in the bud. Be intentional about your pursuit of joy. She adds, “When you learn how to create joy in your life, you stop being a slave to what is happening in the world, and you become the master of your own destiny and emotions. You can always raise the level of your joy reservoir because it’s coming from inside you. And that is an amazing feeling!”
WIN Come to win – how sports can help you ace your goals and top your profession’, by Venus Williams, published by Amistad, 2012, An inspirational collection of life stories from successful people in business, the arts and , which highlights the impact active sports participation can have on an individual’s mindset later in life and how it can drive them to success.
HISTORY MAKER Claudia Jones: Beyond containment, edited by Carole Boyce Davies, published by Ayebia Clarke Publishing Ltd, GBP16.99, 2011 The essential read on the woman remembered as the editor of ‘The West Indian Gazette’, England’s first black newspaper, and the ‘Mother of the Notting Hill Carnival.
Claudia Jones: Beyond Containment transcends the silencing and erasure historically accorded women of achievement: it makes accessible and brings to wider attention the words of an often overlooked twentieth-century political and cultural activist, who tirelessly campaigned, wrote, spoke out, organized, edited and published. Autobiographical writings, poetry, essays on subjects close to her political heart – human rights, peace, struggles related to gender, race and class – this is a collection that unites the many facets of a woman whose identities as a radical thinker and as a black woman are not in conflict. Carole Boyce Davies, author of the acclaimed Left of Karl Marx: The Political Life of Black Communist Claudia Jones (2008), continues the task of ensuring that Claudia Jones takes her rightful place in the exalted list of twentieth-century Caribbean intellectuals in the Diaspora, including her compatriots George Padmore and C.L.R. James, who engaged with the world to make it a more enlightened place and whose legacy still deserves to resonate. Margaret Busby, OBE, Writer, Broadcaster and Journalist. LITERATURE / CRITICISM / BLACK INTEREST ISBN 978-0-9562401-6-3
U.K. £16.99
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FIGHTER Riot within – my journey from rebellion to redemption, by Rodney King with Lawrence J Spagnola, published by HarperOne, GBP16.99, 2012 A harsh but compelling memoir from Rodney King detailing his childhood, alcohol addiction and the events of 1991 when he became known, worldwide, as a victim of police brutality in Los Angeles. Rodney King died in June, aged 47.
THE SURVIVIOR You have no idea: How they survived pageants, Hollywood, love, loss (and each other), by Vanessa Williams and Helen Williams, published by Gotham Books, 2012 Award winning entertainer Vanessa Williams, known in the UK for her roles in ‘Soul Food’, ‘Ugly Betty’ and ‘Desperate Housewives’, had a plan – attend Syracuse University, dance, go to Yale, spend a year abroad, preferably London and work on Broadway. It didn’t quite happen that way. She starts with the events that led to relinquishing the Miss America crown (the first black woman to be crowned) and continues with her quest to succeed. She got to
Is there an interesting, funny or unusual story behind your name? I want to speak to people to find out the reasons why their parents gave them the name they have. Parents, why did you give your child that name?
Look forward to hearing from you. Jacqueline Tel: 0754 738 8407 Email: ejakakpo@gmail.com (Sorry there will be no payment made for contributing.)
BEYOND CONTAINMENT
780956 240163
www.ayebia.co.uk
COVER DESIGN: AMANDA CARROLL, WWW.MILLIPEDIA.CO.UK. IMAGES: MUSEUM OF LONDON, LONDON TRANSPORT MUSEUM & CAROLE BOYCE DAVIES COLLECTION
If you are interested in contributing to my book, please contact me. I will be happy to phone you back.
joining the ER club, you could be one of five lucky readers to win a copy. Email: info@cherishcommunications.com by 10 July, telling us why you’d like to join. Find Ebony Reads @ebonyreads at Twitter.
Edited by Carole Boyce Davies
inka Sunmonu speaks to Bonnie St John about courage. At the age of five, she had her right leg amputated. It did not deter her from anything that she aspired to and in 1984, she became the first Black African woman to win Paralympic Silver and Bronze medals at skiing at the Games in Austria. Educationally minded, she went on to graduate from Harvard and Oxford Universities. She has worked in the White House under Bill Clinton and she is now a motivational speaker and trainer. Together with teenage daughter Darcey Deane, she has written ‘How Great Women Lead’, published by Center Street (GBP16.99), a current bestseller. Based on interviews with 20 women around the world, it focuses on the meaning of leadership and finding out about courage was a part of that. Bonnie says, “The woman who was a real example of courage for us was Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. My daughter was amazed when she found out that Ellen Johnson Sirleaf got married straight out of high school, had four boys straight in a row, had an abusive husband and had to overcome all that. She went back to college, got her degree and then went through so much strife for the leadership of Liberia. She almost faced a firing squad.” “We spoke about courage with her and for my daughter that was a big deal in terms of having the courage to say no to your peers when they are doing stupid things or being a woman in a leadership position and standing your ground. “ Bonnie and Darcey are asking women and girls to write stories about the female leaders they admire and email them to contest@howgreatwomenlead.com . They would also like women to be part of a Great Women Leadership Group whereby women join together to “embrace their own leadership potential and inspire others”. Email: GWLG@bonniestjohn.com
The ‘hidden history’ of women’s contribution to progressive politics has been concealed for too long. This important book is part of the process of putting that right. Claudia Jones was an iconic figure who inspired a generation of black activists and deserves to be much more widely known. This book is a fitting memorial. Diane Abbott, MP, Westminster, London.
CLAUDIA JONES BEYOND CONTAINMENT
Claudia Jones is one of my personal heroines. I spent my formative political years in Claudia Jones’s London stamping ground of Notting Hill – it was the classic centre of post war black activism in Britain. Most West Indian immigrants in the 1950s came by boat to Southampton and the train from there took them into Paddington. Hence the large black community in that part of West London. So I know people who had worked with Claudia Jones and spoke of her with awe. She founded two of Black Britain’s most important institutions; the first black newspaper, the West Indian Gazette and she was also one of the founding organizers of the Notting Hill Carnival.
Edited by Carole Boyce Davies
Broadway and Hollywood. Helen Williams’s role in the book is that of sage. She offers advice and gives her own tips on child raising without dictating.
EBONY READS BOOK CLUB LAUNCHES Sign up for the ER book club, which launches in July. Our first pick is ‘The Spider King’s Daughter’, by Chibundu Onuzo, published by Faber & Faber. The novel centres on a
romance between seventeen year old Abike Johnson, from a wealthy family in Lagos, and an eighteen year old hawker who sells icecream in the street to support his family. Can it run smoothly? At 19, Chibundu is said to be the youngest ever female author to receive a two book deal from the publishing house. If you interested in
Ebony Reads
BOOKS GALORE: WIN ONE The master of romance novels Eric Jerome Dickey returns with another sizzling blockbuster ‘An Accidental Affair’. Infidelity, murder, deceit…this novel has it all and it won’t leave EJD fans disappointed. We have four copies for you. To win, email: marketing@gvmedia.co.uk or send a postcard marked EJD/Bookclub to: Marketing, The Voice, G V Media Moorfoot House, 1st Floor East, 221 Marsh Wall, London E14 9FH. Entries must be in by 14th July.
POTLUCK ROMANCE We have 10 romance novels for you to win. Thing is, you’ll have to take potluck on the titles. For a chance to win, email: marketing@gvmedia.co.uk or send a postcard marked EJD/Bookclub to: Marketing, The Voice, G V Media, Moorfoot House, 1st Floor East, 221 Marsh Wall, London E14 9FH. Entries must be in by 14th July.
34 THE VOICE JUNE 28 - JULY 4, 2012
FAMILY MATTERS
ALWAYS TIME FOR BEAUTY Becoming a mum doesn’t mean you can’t look or feel your best despite juggling home, childcare and work. With these picks and tips from international make-up artists, who are busy mums themselves, you’ll be made up.
PAMPER YOURSELF Renowned make up artist Cheryl Huggins (MIFHT/MIFHB) of the Cheryl Huggins Beauty Spa and Make up Studio, Kent, works on the senses with her choices.
SPRITZ IT A natural rose or orange
blossom spritz is just the trick in the morning to revive dull skin and keep it moist.
OIL Treat yourself to luxurious body oil - one that stops the skin from dehydration after a bath or shower such as Neutrogena (a good all rounder) or Eve Taylor, which is natural aromatherapy oil. It will leave your body feeling silky.
A TOUCH OF FRAGRANCE Spray perfume. Use sparingly and always test on the inside of your wrist. Allow it to get warm. Soft and powerful fragrances are a great way to express your personality!
CHERYL’S TIPS FOR BUSY MUMS
Cheryl Huggins
MASCARA “Mascara is great for adding volume and definition to your eyes. My choice is Hypnose Drama by Lancôme.”
“Organise a beauty pamper evening with other mums and give yourselves manicures and facials. It’s fun and you’ll feel fabulous.“ “Think about using natural items. Your kitchen is full of natural products to assist your beauty programme and a mix of bananas, avocado and egg
GETTING LIPPY
Grace Ibukunoluwa
whites can ensure that you never go without your treatments when the budget is tight”. Cheryl offers skincare and make-up lessons at her beauty studio and she is preparing to launch a series of tutorials on the web. Details: www.cherylhuggins.co.uk
READY IN FIVE Grace Ibukunoluwa, CEO of the FaceQuizite Makeup Academy & Services lists three items that can work wonders. If you add a pair of sunglasses with this look before you leave home, you’ll look simply chic...
“Lipstick is always a winner and opting for a favourite will always make you feel good. I recommend Plumful by MAC as it gives a hint of colour without being too overbearing.”
BLOTTING PAPER “Blotting paper is the mate secret weapon if want your lipstick to Apply colour and blot lips with the paper.”
ultiyou last. your
GRACE’S TIP FOR BUSY MUMS: “Two coats of Hypnose drama mascara and a light application of Plumful lipstick and you’re good to go.”
Photo: Ken Passley
BEAUTY
Grace runs workshops and seminars and has a series of beauty videos on her site. Details: www.Facequizite.com
KING’S KIT Kemi Imevbore Uwaga of Kemi Kings chooses three items that make the perfect kit for mums on the move. Keep them in your handbag as a standby.
FOUNDATION POWDER “Foundation powder is the 2 in 1 miracle in a compact that ensures your face is flawless, spots and pigmentation concealed and oiliness and shine reduced. “
MASCARA “This little tube of wonder will wake up those eyes and glam up those lashes.” Super moisturising and long staying lipgloss “Use for shine, gloss and less colour than traditional lipsticks. If painting your lips or lip colour has never been your thing, then gloss is great for you.“ Kemi runs make-up master classes and offers a personal make up shopping service. Details: www.kemikings.com
BEAUTY ON A BUDGET
Model: Sibohan Ridguard
Handsome remedy Try this homemade hand wash lotion using Redbush tea. Redbush Hand Wash Lotion Ingredients 3 Redbush tea bags
4 Tablespoons of honey 1 Standard cup of hot milk 8 teaspoons of wheatgerm
Method Steep Redbush in milk for two hours. Strain and keep the milky tea. Add honey and wheatgerm to the liquid. Blend well and store in a clean sterilized bottle. Use as needed as a hand lotion to help soften and rough and dry skin. It will last for about a week if kept stored in a sealed bottle in the fridge. (Reprinted with permission from The Redbush Tea Company – www.redbushtea.com)
GÈLÈLITES UNITE Gèlè Tea, the couture fashion show that raises awareness of Alzheimer’s returns on 15 September at a London venue to be announced. Building on the success of last year, GT organisers are launching the International Gèlè Stylist of the Year (IGSTY) awards. They are asking Gèlèlites (people who appreciate the Gèlè (head tie) and know how to make a statement) to nominate innovative gèlè stylists. Couture Designer Adebayo Jones said, “GT showed us how Gèlè is oh so couture. Art and creativity is on display, the designs are one of a kind and the stylists are highly skilled. When you add couture fashion to that, you have a new look and that is what trendsetting is about. IGTSTY will raise the profile of gèlè stylists around the world and we are excited about it.” Look out for the Gèlèctionary – a dictionary of Gèlè terms and phrases and Gèlè Tea’s list of the top 10 gèlè stylists worldwide. For information on Gèlè Tea and the International Gèlè Style Awards, email geletea@cherishcommunciations.com or @gele_tea on Twitter.
Adebayo Jones
NEXT MONTH IN FAMILY MATTERS The A-Z of raising confident children School’s out – 60 ways to entertain children during the summer The Ebony Reads book club launches with ‘The Spider King’s Daughter’ by Chibundu Onuzo What’s stopping you from living the life you were meant to lead?