FjFW 2016 (Day 1)

Fiji Fashion Week 2016
Resort Wear Show
8 Sept 2016
Vodafone Arena
Suva
Fiji

Now I am no fashion blogger but I love to watch the Fashion Show. As a consumer of the Fashion industry and a lover of creativity and art I too have my 2 cent when I watch the show. 

This post is not about individual designer breakdown, rather, it gives my 2cent on how youth are involved in the Fiji Fashion Week. I have been working with the photography team during this annual event and this year I thought to take a different approach. I must say I was impressed with the amount of Youth involved in putting the show together. 

The theme of the evening event was Resort Wear so naturally the colours showcased tonight were bright and fabrics seemed cool. Overall - I loved the show!

1. 8 year old designer
The show feature Mariah Alone, 8 year who designed a swimwear line with the help from her mother and family. This, I must say is truly inspiring and a great example of Innovation, Support, Creativity and Opportunity. 
It is extremely important for parents to support their children so they can live out their dreams. 

2. Models
Majority of the models are youth and while some have full time jobs and walk the runway for hobby others are considering this a future career and some using this platform to boost their confidence, network and have a feel of the fashion industry. 

3. Volunteers
The volunteers have been doing a lot of the behind the scene work and it can't be easy pulling together a Fashion show without the help of the volunteers. I spoke to some volunteers who have been at FjFW for a number of years now while it was a first time experience for some. Youth volunteerism is huge across the world and I am glad that our local youth get to learn a thing or two about fashion from Local as well International personals at this annual event. 

At this point I think I would like to highlight that The Fiji Fashion Week event engages numerous youth in this annual event. When we look at the Sustainable Development Goals and key points such as; Economic growth, Innovation, Employment, Education, International/Global partnership and Equal opportunities I think the fashion industry does tie into a lot of these. 
>The Fashion industry is thriving across the globe and it is contributing towards our Economic growth. 
>The various styles displayed showcased the innovation by various designers. 
>The fashion industry is a form of employment of many present at the event and others who contribute externally, example seamstress, graphic designers, printers and pattern makers. 
>The workshops conducted by FjFW and courses offered by FNU & APTC are contributing towards the fashion education needed by the designers and others in the industry. 
>International Designers and companies showcasing their produce at FjFW or coming here looking to partner with locals it shows a good link towards Global partnerships. 
>This annual opportunities is being utilized by local and International designers to showcase their work, generate interest and create discussion about what fashion means to us. 

And there is my brief take on tonight's show. It was a pleasure watching and chatting with the various people involved in the industry. 

Until next blog... 

To do or not to do? What to do?

So much has been happening in the recent past and I feel that I haven't been able to keep up with everything. I try to. But I haven't been able to do so. Well, to be honest I m trying to keep up with everything, trying to give my best but there is just one of me and only 24 hours in a day. I feel that I have been taking on too many things on my plate. 
So how do I fix it?

Slowly, very slowly, I am dropping a few things from my plate. 

Step 1: List it.
Make a list of things I have to do and things I am engaged in. 
Step 2: Classification of list.
List down (i) How the group benefits from me present and (ii) How I benefit from the group. While for pending tasks (like writing and sorting through kind): (a)List down deadlines; (b)What is most urgent; (c)What can be done later and the World will not end if I don't do it right now?
Step 3: CRUNCH TIME. 
Making the cuts. Now The tough decision(s) of what to give my time and energy to and what to withdraw from. 
I have been telling myself that my withdrawing from a project or group/organization I am not QUITTING; I am simply making the leadership decision that I can't do everything and others things require more time and effort from me. So, rather then letting the group down entirely I am saying "Sorry guys, I need to step back because right now I can't commit to this". This has been difficult because I feel like I am letting the group/project down. But to be honest sometimes we need to realize that we can't do everything. And things we pop up that will mess up our plans/schedules. 
Step 4: Emotions. 
Don't feel guilty about things you have had to let go from your list. If it was a group you had to withdraw from, write to them nicely and tell them why you are withdrawing and that you would appreciate their understanding. If it is something from your to-do list that you feel you can't do now; strike it out and say bye to it. Think about the other things on your list that you can give more time and effort to now and enjoy that. Somethings on our lists become out-dated because we didn't do at the given time. Don't worry about it. We are not superHuman.  (although I like to think I am). 
Step 5: Time Management
Now that we have redone our list it is time to manage our time wisely and get things moving on this 'new' list. Give yourself time frames for each point and if your pass the time you can't go back to it. This may motivate you to actually do the task at hand and not procrastinate. For example; You have to write a blog article about '16 days of activism' and this needs to go out by 24th Nov because 16 days begins on 25th Nov. If by the evening of the 24th you haven't done this task there is no point doing it two days late when 16 days has actually started. Give yourself a few days before actual events as deadlines and work towards these with passion. If you are lacking the passion then it may be safe to say that it shouldn't be on your list of things to do. 
Step 6: Picking up the slack. 
Once we start to manage our time better we will be getting back on track with things. I for one feel refreshed and happier when I meet deadlines and strike things off the list as DONE! I reward myself with some 'social media' time; with chocolates or cookies and sometimes with a movie treat :-) we are becoming too caught up with gadgets. Being glued to the screens of our televisions; cellphones; tablets or even laptops/desktops are eating away precious time we can spend doing something more constructive. So let's pick up the slack. 
NO MORE!!! I SHOULD do this/that. It has to become I WILL do this/that. 

Let me know how you manage your to-do or DONE list. 
How do you handle the multiple group associations.?
What motivates you to get things done? 

Until next blog...

Make It Happen. Inspirational Women

International Women's Day 2015; #MakeItHappen is aimed at recognizing women who inspire us.
I started to doodle the other day and started off with this image;

The female symbol. 

The final image turned out to be an A3 page full and gave me an idea (which a story for another time). I edited the image above to something like this (below) and decided to use this as my facebook profile picture because there are too many women in my life who inspire me. 

My inspirational journey begins with none than my giver-of-life my mother.I have seen my mother work with dedication and commitment. She has always given us good advice and brought us up with good values. She always used the reward and punishment system to correct our behavior and motivated us to do the best in life. She encouraged us to try to new things and to never be afraid. She taught us "If see something you like. Buy it. It might finish if you wait for later." than she taught us "Spend your money wisely" Oh dear mother!! You shopaholic you!! But we have used that phrase in life. Don't wait for someone else to do things for you. If you want something go and get it. Tomorrow it might be gone. Love you heaps!!  

Number 2 on my list is my one and only sister. She is simply beauty with brains and amazing skills is what she has. She is a graphic designer by profession and one of the best ones I know of too. Over the years I have seen her grow from one 'tomboy' to this young woman who now matches her clothes with ear rings bags and shoes. :-) She has super awesome skills. Driving like a maniac (sometimes) and drawing the most gorgeous of things, capturing the soul of what ever she photographs and she owns the kitchen too, mixing spices of all sorts. She loves her food, games and iGadgets. She inspires me to be creative and stand out in the crowd. She inspires many others too!! #SisterSister :-)

What would we be without aunts! Aunts who spoil us with goodies, who threaten us to do our home works and than take us out for ice creams :-) Aunts! I love my aunt more so because she is more like a mother and a best friend to us and less like an aunt. Always supporting us in our life decisions and guiding us through difficulties. Encouraging us to take that difficult step and lending an ear when we need to vent. My aunt has always been my support network and always looked out for us. She has contributed immensely to my upbringing and contributed towards the drive of becoming an independent young woman!! Watching her go to University with big books and late night studies I was determined to become a graduate too. She motivated us to explore our options on job/career and so we did. No one could ever tell us we couldnt do it because she was the louder voice of reason saying "You can do it and you will."  thanks to this powerful woman we have done it :-) #AuntsAreForSpoilingUs :-) 

There are so many other women who have been my inspiration and motivation. Most of them are close to home. I know these women on a personal level and am able to contact them when I need the support. I think it is equally important that we recognize the women in our (personal) lives who have motivation to us just as much as we recognize women who have made history. 

Another young women I would like to acknowledge here is a dear friend I made in Bali during the UNAOC 6th Global Forum where the youth put together 8 Recommendations 

Meet Ms. Kavindya Thennakoon (first from left in Blue). Young woman from Sri Lanka who is doing so much for her community. She is also one of the recipients of the Queens Young Leaders Award (2015) and we will be crossing paths again in London. Kavi; set up the organization Without Boarders and for someone so young she is representing her youth voices of her country at International Platforms and doing it so well. She is a great friend and has a very strong personality. AND she loves TEA too <3

A very happy International Woman's Day to one and all!!!

And a happy wedding anniversary to my parents who tied the knot on such an important day!! :-) :-) Little did they know what it meant, it meant giving birth to two very strong, opinionated, independent and creative daughters :-) 

My beautiful family :-)

Until Next blog;

:-) :-)