issue 2 june 2013

Taste | Create | Discover

June2013

Issue 2

Who’s this cool guy? See inside for details!

www.flatwhiteconcepts.com | Issue 2

ED’S NOTE

Firstly a huge thank you to everyone for their over-whelming support. The feedback and response from issue 1 was incredible and so uplifting. Af-ter the huge success of our first issue we are re-launching our magazine with a greater focus on the niche markets that inspires us.

Taste | Create | Discover

Taste: Coffee, Food, Wine (ah.. my favourite three words)

Create:Design, Photography and all things pretty

Discover:Exploration and travel

This magazine is how we live our life and we’d love for you to join us on this wonderful journey as we discover the creative, culinary and beautiful world around us.

Please feel free to contact me if you’d like to con-tribute articles or whether you’d like to advertise in an upcoming magazine.

Flat White Magazine - Made with love and a strong cup of coffee.

Yours in Coffee,

ChristineWebsite: www.flatwhiteconcepts.comEmail: [email protected]

Follow us on Facebook

www.facebook.com/FlatWhiteConcepts

Follow us on Twitter

@FW_Concepts

https://twitter.com/FW_Concepts


CONTENTS

TASTECommon Ground

Durban’s top 10 coffee shopsCaptain Cappuccino

Espresso Concepts Pty LtdRecipe: Choc Chip Banana Bread

Box wine for a week

CREATECreating your business card

The Fringe ArtsHow many photos do you take a week?

Shift your perspectiveOf Robyn, iPhones and Instagram

What I wish someone had told me about being a Freelancer

DISCOVERRoad Tripping

Some places doing it differently in Cape TownBook reviews

DIRECTORYCool companies

COMPETITIONSWin Win Win!


COFFEE

Common Ground

TASTEWhen I first moved to Rondebosch I was excited to discover a big patch of land called ‘The Com-mon’, the perfect place for me to go running. Each day I’d run around it and marvel at the area and the beautiful mountain leaping out at me, and each time I’d come home inspired by this scenic start to my morning. Then one day I looked to my left and noticed the Com-mon Ground church and above that I saw chairs and tables set out and people sitting down with their morning coffee. This, I soon discovered, was the aptly called ‘Common Ground Café’, and I knew in an instant that it would be put on my ‘coffee-shop-to-do-list’ the moment I got home.

On a cold but gorgeous day Warren and I took a drive to the café to find out more. They’ve truly found the perfect venue because sitting and drinking your coffee you are welcomed by the most incredible view of Table Mountain. It pro-vokes a certain feeling of awe and it was a great place for us to sit and brainstorm, inspired by the beauty in front of us. The waiters were friendly, the atmosphere relaxed and friendly, the menu diverse and affordable and the flat white made just right. Made with a blend from Origin Coffee and topped with a thick foam and some great coffee art, I found myself in coffee shop heaven.

My advice to you is as follows: Go visit this great venue, grab a coffee, indulge in some breakfast or lunch, end off with cake and more coffee (and make it a Flat White to see the coffee art), and then then go for a walk around the Com-mon. That way you burn off your food, end the guilt of the cake, and you leave for home feel-ing satisfied.

And don’t forget your camera! You’ll want to show this one off!

23 on Milner Road, Opposite the Rondebosch Common, 021 – 686 0154

By Christine BernardPhotos by Warren Bernard


TASTEDurban’s coffee culture is raising the bar rapidly, as a number of uniquely Durban coffee hangouts have opened up over the past 2 years, serving gen-uinely superb tasting coffee. Represented by some of SA’s top baristas, here are Coffey and Cake’s Top 10 Coffee Shops in Durban.

Factory caFé369 Gale Street (Magwaza Maphalala), UmbiloThe grunge ambiance and fresh smell of coffee is what makes this café a must visit. Set in an old fac-tory, with working machinery, and home to Colom-bo Coffee, this coffee shop exudes passion and a true love of good coffee.www.factorycafe.co.za or www.colombo.co.za

Bean Green147 Helen Joseph Road, Glenwood Father-daughter run coffee shop Bean Green, is best known for its Bluff Bru blend of coffee beans. Roasted on the property, Bluff Bru is available in a number of blends, and with its African origins the coffee is superbly rich and flavorsome. www.beangreen.co.za

JuMeLi175 Clark Road, GlenwoodOpen since September 2012, this café is named af-ter the owners 3 children, Justin, Melissa and Lilly. Serving Tribeca Coffee, and a seriously impres-sive range of sandwiches, cakes and breakies, this café is reasonably priced and the coffee is superb. Smooth and rich in flavor you will definitely have more than one cuppa at JuMeLi.

corner caFé197 Brand Road, GlenwoodThe perfect spot to spend a Saturday morning in Glenwood. This eco-restaurant stocks Colombo Coffee and produces a well-bodied blend of Ma-lawian, Burundian and Ethiopian beans. www.thecornercafe.co.za

iwantMycoFFeeMayfair on the Lake, Corner Park Lane and Park Drive, UmhlangaThe new kid on the block, iwantmycoffee is Ard and Deborah Matthews’ New venture. Baristas Sipho and Sam serve up a delicious Bluff Bru cof-fee experience and this coffee shop has become a convenient spot to spend a lunch break in the hub of Umhlanga’s business world.

FreedoM caFé40 St Mary’s Avenue, MorningsideAnother supporter of Colombo Coffee, Freedom Café is an eclectic blend of colour, flavor and great service. Their Sweet and Clean blend of coffee makes for a great mid-morning treat, while their quirky vibe will keep you going back for more. www.tastefreedom.co.za

@Coffee204 Florida Road, MorningsideAnother fairly new and unique café in Durban’s party hub, Florida Road. @Coffee is uniquely locat-ed in the Apple accessories store and these guys are all about serving good coffee on the go.

Part one: Durban’s Top 10 Coffee Shops

From left to right: @Coffee, Corner Cafe, Iwantmycoffee


TASTE

BeLLevue caFéCorner Bellevue Road and St Mary’s Road, KloofDurban’s upper highway area boasts a few great ca-fes, however the one that makes it into this top 10 is Bellevue Café. A cosy café, nestled up in the kloof village, Bellevue make a warm cup of coffee to keep you going through the day. www.bellevuecafe.co.za

Love coFFee484 Windermere Road (Lilian Ngoyi), MorningsideThe “love child” of Corner Café, Love Coffee is a great place to stop in and grab a Colombo Coffee blended hot or cold press. Friendly staff, homemade food and peanut butter choc chip cookies to die for, and they’re only R5.

LarneySShop F223, Gateway, UmhlangaUnlike most of these café’s Larneys is in a shopping mall. Located next to Cinema New and The Barnyard Theatre, Larney’s fits right in with its bohemian dé-cor and ambiance. Also serving Colombo’s Sweet and Clean blend of coffee, Larneys is a great place to stop and refresh during a trip to the mall.

See Issue 3 for Cape Town’s Top 10 Coffee Shops

By Coffey and CakeCoffey and Cake is a blog delving into the delicious world of coffee, cafes, sweet treats and the good things in life. LIKE the Facebook page to find your next coffee fix (www.facebook.com/coffeyandcake) or follow the blog www.coffeyandcake.blogspot.com

From left to right: Factory Cafe, JuMeLi

CONGRATULATIONS TO SKYE STEEN who created our

new mascot: CAPTAIN CAPPUCCINO

Skye is currently studying in her third year of Graphic Design at the Durban In-stitute of Technology. Inspired by numer-

ous artists internationally, she favours illustration, mainly drawing by hand

before working on the image digitally.In the next few years she sees herself following her passion - illustrating in a company or even working freelance.

Captain Cappuccino is a bold, fun charac-ter, a result from a few playful sketches.

She aimed to not only visually portray the warm cappuccino beverage, but to ad-

ditionally portray the feel, smell and taste in a fun manner with shape and colour.

Find more of her work here:Behance: http://be.net/Skye_T_SteenBlog: www.skyetsteen.blogspot.com


TASTE

I love it when we meet like-minded individuals. Not only did we find a kindred spirit with a fellow coffee lover, but his company name is similar to ours!

Introducing Espresso Concepts PTY LTD.Espresso Concepts has been making coffee for 20 years, and Roast Master Terry Wentzel has been roasting coffee beans for 27 years, a true connois-seur and professional whose obsession with coffee is the one reason it is so highly regarded in South Africa. They have always believed that only the fin-est coffees should be roasted. With this in mind they have endeavoured to buy top grades and look for the best estates to purchase their green beans from. They are certified for their organic coffee by the Rain Forest Alliance and take great pride (as they should) in their product).

Along with this they also started Coffee.co.za, an ecommerce site that is now flourishing. Here you can order your beans online with just a click of a button. They strongly believe in customer service and pro-viding the everyday coffee lover with a platform to buy the best beans!

Their beans come from Ethiopia, Indonesia, Kenya, Columbia, Tanzania, Rwanda, Cuba, Guatemala, Bra-zil, Malawi, Mexico, India and Peru; and the whole roasting process takes between 11 to 14 minutes. Currently their biggest seller is the Mocha Crème, selling over 5 tonnes a month!

I asked, ‘how much coffee do you drink a day?’ The answer: Four cups in the morning before work and then espresso throughout the day.

Now you KNOW this must be good!

Visit www.espressoconcepts.co.za or www.coffee.co.za and get your caffeine fix from the guys that do it best.


TASTE

Makes one loaf

• 5 tbsp butter, softened • 2 eggs • 2 or 3 very ripe bananas • 2/3 cup sugar • 1 1/3 cup all-purpose unbleached flour • 3/4 teaspoon salt • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda • 1/4 teaspoon baking powder • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (optional) • 1/2 cup chocolate chips / Smarties / nuts etc

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. In one bowl, combine the butter, eggs, bananas and sugar - use a potato masher or fork to soften and break up the banana and mix the ingredients together. I prefer for there to be hardly any banana chunks left, but you can keep 1cm pieces whole if you prefer.

In another bowl, combine the flour, salt, baking soda and powder and cinnamon. Add the dry ingredients to the wet, and stir until evenly combined.

Add half a cup of chocolate chips and stir until combined (or Smarties!) - but you can also add nuts or dried fruit if you prefer.

Pour the mixture into a greased loaf tin and bake until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Bake for around 50 minutes - but check it at 40 minutes - you don't want it dry. Allow to cool in the loaf tin for around 10 minutes - slice, and enjoy warm - while the chocolate is still warm and melted.

By The Gorgeous [email protected] Twitter: @GorgeousBlogwww.thegorgeousgourmet.co.za

Choc Chip Banana Bread


TASTE

Box Wine For A Week: A Tragedy


TASTE

I took a trip to the Drakensberg recently. You know the stuff: brisk morning walks in the taught, brac-ing air, games of tennis, croquet, gin and tonics, bowls; with evenings of snooker, darts, bingo and good bottles of wine. Except that one of those things didn’t happen. Being rather astute readers, and realizing that this is a wine column, I am bet-ting you are guessing that it wasn’t tennis or the bracing air that I missed out upon.

No, indeed it was not. The only wine that I imbibed for a week came straight out of a little plastic tap, jutting out of a silver bag that was encased in a cardboard box. Never have I drunk so much wine without hearing that singular thudding pop of a cork, a sound as comforting as a mother’s voice, or the gentle breathing of a lover as s/he sleeps against your chest.

Chateaux Car’ton, Domaine D’Cardboard, die silw-er vis – everybody has had a bit of box wine at some point. Some of us have even been lucky enough to know that quite specific pleasure of squeezing the crinkling silver bag, as if trying to restart it’s absent heart, to get a final glass of battery acid down your gullet before blowing it back up again, and using it for a pillow to sleep off the hangover that seems to rudely arrive before you have even finished getting drunk.

It has been a long while since I have taken in so much of the stuff. I was hoping this column could have focused on praising the great developments in box wine; I wanted to be surprised, and encour-age you all to go out and buy a few boxes of Carni-val Red and Carnival White. Alas, I cannot. Dreadful stuff. Indistinguishable blends, with phony heart-burning acidity, and a finish that was only long be-cause I wished it would be shorter.Why did I drink the stuff you may be thinking? Or, why am I being such a pretentious git? I drank it be-cause, I hate to admit it, drinking wine has become a habit in and of itself for me. I also wanted to see if I could do it. Prove to myself that I am not so far down the river of wine pretension that I could not, for one short week, drink only that which flows from the cardboard cask. And I did.

I did and it made me sad. It made me sad to think that these products are surely only a vehicle for the journey to the bright lights of inebriation. Nobody really enjoys these drinks, do they? Nobody really lifts a glass of these wines to their lips saying, “Why I do declare, this vintage is surely outstanding, what a tipple, what a drink, never before did I dream of such pleasures being enacted upon my tongue, never could I have imagined such sweet ambrosia could be sourced from within a cardboard box. ”Well, perhaps, but it would most definitely be fol-lowed by: “SHUT UP CHARLES! You’re shitfaced. That’s your second box today.”This astounds me, as there seems to be no good reason why we do not have some decent vino in boxes. The packaging is nothing short of genius. I wish all my vices came with a handle and drip free tap.

I’d be most impressed if Reyneke’s Cab Shiraz that I enjoy so much for so little could be encased in a 5l box that I could drink over a few days without a worry for oxidation or cork taint. How much bet-ter would WineX be if we could simply move from table to table taking our own samples by twisting little taps, rather than having to exchange them for awkward looks, and a polite few seconds listening to someone babble on about New oak, optimum ripeness, and a singular terroir driven philosophy.Surely the environment would benefit from hav-ing less cheap wines bottled in glass too? Although I imagine some chappie with a socialist bent will start complaining that now the delicious popping of a cork will be only in the ears of the rich and the poor waiters doing the opening. It is a risk I am will-ing to take.

Decent producers out there, if you are listening, I think the public is ready for good wine out of cardboard. The Scandiwegians have been drinking good stuff out of a box for ages, and I think it is about time we caught up.

By Harry Haddonwww.wineandi.wordpress.com www.2oceansvibe.com/author/harry-haddon/


CREATEYou never know when you might bump into a po-tential client. Having a business card on hand is in-credibly important for moments like this. Think of your business card as your own little advert float-ing around for people to see. Despite their small size, they can be a handy little tool if used correctly. There are many things to consider when designing a business card, but the most important thing to consider is that your business card must always re-flect your business. A bright pink card for a sophis-ticated corporate company is not going to work and won’t get you any New clients. Make sure your card is true to your business and yourself. Here are some things to consider:

Content:What is the message you want to portray? Don’t clutter your business card with too much informa-tion. Leave that for your website or your blog. This is simply a way for people to find you should they need you, so make sure all your contact details are on the card. People aren’t always going to remem-ber who gave them a card months down the line, so when they look at your card they need to know immediately who you are and what the company is. A company name is not enough either. What does your company do and how can it help them? That’s what they want to know. Keep it short, sim-ple and informative.

Size:Although every country is different, the standard size is generally 90mm x 50mm. There is no right

or wrong size but always keep in mind the size of a standard card holder in a wallet. No matter how beautiful your business card may be, if it doesn’t fit in someone’s wallet they will probably just throw it away.

Design:Here’s the fun part. Once again remember to be true to yourself and keep the look of the business card in line with the business you want to portray. It’s really up to you when it comes to how creative you want to go and of course how much money you want to spend, but there is certainly a way of making a business card look good without emp-tying your pockets. In fact, sometimes the simple business cards are the ones that people remember the most, so it is all about finding what works best for you. If you do want to get creative then think about what you are all about and create something around what you stand for.

Printer:The most important thing to do before and during every design is to speak to your printer. These are the people that are going to help you with sizes and prices. Remember every printer is different so when you find one you like, stick with it. Communi-cation is key in making sure you get the design that you are after.

Lastly, have fun and make it work for you.

By Christine Bernard

Here are some examples of people having fun with their business card design!

Creating Your Business Card


DESIGN

www.skrif.co.za

www.skrif.co.zawww.skrif.co.za


www.skrif.co.za

www.skrif.co.za


WWW.SKrIf.Co.Za

CREATEThe fringe arts


CREATE

It was with great pleasure that I went to visit The Fringe Arts in Kloof Street on Saturday. The intention was simple: say hello, get some information and take some photos. Didn’t quite end up like that. I was too enthralled with the place that I ended up doing some shop-ping myself and spent most of the time saying ‘I want that’, ‘and that’, ‘I want that too’… all while batting my eyes at my husband and flashing what I hoped was an innocent smile. It worked. I walked away with a beautiful necklace, a brooch, and the promise that I would return.

You just can’t help yourself when you are surrounded by such creativity, and it was fantastic to find this little hidden gem in the bustling city of Cape Town.

The Fringe Arts is owned and run by Chantal Louw and Thessa Bos and what impressed me the most was their eye for the unique and the ability to show-case the work of the hugely talented people of South Africa. They support local industries and make a point not to include the many copy cats out there. Here you’ll only find originals, and it is quite honestly the perfect place to find a gift for someone, or quite frankly for yourself.

Visit their stores:99B Kloof Street, GardensShop 11B Alfred Mall, V&A Waterfront

www.thefringearts.co.za

By Christine BernardPhotos by Warren Bernard


Warren Bernard

www.flatwhitephotos.com

[email protected]


CREATE

We asked you:How many photos do you take a week?

32 people said: 21 - 50


12 people said: Over 100



10 people said:None


CREATE

As promised in this installment Adrian and I will give you a little peek into the skills we use in our every day editing and sometimes in his Photogra-phy. Today we focus on the effect that can be cre-ated using a particular lens or if you do not have the lens there is a way of achieving a similar look of an image by means of Photoshop magic. In the last issue we used a picture of Simon's Town yacht har-

bour to show the editing style. Today I will discuss more closely the technique, the lenses you can use and then a quick lesson in Photoshop.

This effect is know as Tilt Shifting and is also known as Miniature Faking. This effect creates the illusion that a normal sized object that are blurred in a par-ticular way give the perspective that the object is

Shift your Perspective -


CREATEa lot smaller. Another attraction to this skill in photography is very much about changing the optical perspective of the image.The ef-fect makes it impossible not to trail your eye to the centre of the image to the focused areas. If your image contains smaller details, you can trail focus to these details which otherwise may have been overlooked. It is really such a clever tool. This twist on your stand-ard photography can bring about all kinds of artistic fun.

Tilt Shifting changes the perspective of the image as mentioned earlier. The lenses that facilitate this kind of effect on an image are built in such a way that the frontal section of the lens swivels at veering angles from the camera body. I am not going to go into the ins and outs of how the lens works too much, but basically lens bends from just off the camera body and all the perspective changing settings are in the form of controls at the base of the lens. Nikon offers three such lenses with different focal lengths: the 24mm f/3.5, a 45mm f/2.8 and an 85mm f/2.8. I managed to price the NIKKOR 24mm f/3.5D ED PC-E Nikon at R29,000.00 (sjoe/eish/ouch) and on a quick Canon search I found lenses ranging from R17,000.00 up to R52,000.00 for tilt-shift lenses. Most profession-als would not be getting the same use out of this type of lens then say the 50mm but for some it is crucial to have in their kit, for my husband, its more of a hobby lens so we have made some exciting discoveries about how to achieve similar results without the price-guilt.

So how about walking through a little bit more of an accessible range of lenses that give you the same kick without the trauma on your equipment budget. Last year whilst in Cape Town we vis-ited a photographic store at the Old Biscuit Mill Market in Wood-stock. The range of lenses we discovered is called Lensbaby and the achievable effects of this lens are amazing! The lens that Adrian bought and has been playing with is the Lensbaby Composer, this lens has a Double Glass Optic installed to achieve the blurred ef-fect that it does and is compatible with all optics in the Lensbaby Optic Swap System. The lens basically moves on a ball and socket mechanism. You bend the lens (yes it bends) to find your "sweet spot" (focused area), once you have decided on such an area you you manually focus your subject and then recompose for your final shot. This lens takes some serious practice because you really need to know the lighting settings on your camera body. The great thing though is that once you have it down its super fun and the images you get feel like they are out of some kind of animation. It would do you good to have a look at the lensbaby.com website for some more fun info!

Okay now before I get sidetracked, let me take you through my adapted version of a quick tilt-shift effect in Photoshop. Photog-raphers and online tutorials always explain these long drawn out ways to tilt shift an image, my one is my own style of "Photoshop for dummies" and is as easy as 1,2,3 and 4,5 & 6.

CREATEStep One - Begin with a colour edited image of your choice. You will be using your square selection tool and the shift button. Select top area of the image by dragging your mouse from left to right of the im-age, select a bit more than the blur area you would like, press shift and select your bottom area and again select just a bit more than you want to finally blur.

Step Two: Create another layer from layer one of the selected are. My way is to right click the image and select Layer Via Copy. Now that you have your blur area selected we move on.

Step Three: Under your Filter select Gaussian Blur (other options can take longer to render).

Step Four: Play with the Gaussian Blur until you have achieve the degree to which you want to blur the areas top and bottom. This is trial and error process and totally depends on the original per-

spective of the image and the subject.

Step Five: Select the eraser tool (Settings here are brush 569 opacity set to 53%), erase the edge of your blur area to ease the blur in order to make it look more gradual and authentic.

Step Six: Click your Layer tab and find Flatten Im-age. After this you can tweak your colours, enhance some saturation or else just hit Save As.

I hope you have enjoyed this little segment. When it comes to artistic lens styles and editing, do not be scared of the web. Google and Youtube any top-ic and this will help you leaps and bounds in your technical skills.

Happy Tilt Shifting!

By Jaimi Shields with the extensive help of her tal-ented man, Adrian Shields


www.facebook.com/LongJeanSilverDesigns www.longjeansilverdesigns.co.za

New coffee

inspired hand-crafted jewellery


CREATE

I caught up with Robyn Hobson a freelance Social Media strategist. She studied Business Science at the University of Cape Town with the hopes of be-coming an actress where she dabbled in casting, photos shoots and the like. This developed a curi-osity for being behind the lense. I spoke to Robyn about her passion for photography. What follows is her story of an almost ethereal passion for Insta-gram and photography.

With a curiosity planted through her life events the real story began approximately one year ago with the acquisition of an iPhone. It opened Pandora’s Box and changed her life forever. She discovered Instagram.

Instagram is a photo-sharing social networking ser-vice in which users are able to take pictures in the Polaroid tradition of square images, apply digital filters and share them via social networks, includ-ing Twitter and Facebook. Instagram is available for iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch and Android.

Robyn fell in love with Instagram because, accord-ing to her, it is unlike any other Social Network such as Facebook and Twitter. The latter tend to be neg-ative Social Networks whereas Instagram “is just about being happy.”

Robyn has always enjoyed taking photos such as snaps of the family and her travels around the world. She used to irritate her family because she never took photos of them. They were always ran-dom and abstract shots of things like buildings, pot-plants and rocks. She got demoted from her position as family photographer as a result.

The key defining moment in re-igniting her passion for photography came with her iPhone and Insta-

gram. What she loves about using an iPhone for her photography is that she says, “it is so subtle and it’s not in your face. You can hold it up and catch these really candid moments of people that are so real and that really appeals to me.” Accord-ing to Robyn, “if you’ve ever shoved a camera in someone’s face they get very nervous and you miss who they actually are. You have to sit and talk with them and get them to really open up to show who they really are.” She believes that with the iPhone you tend to get a far more real shot of the person when you can just steal a moment. She finds this hilarious because the iPhone is not technically a real camera.

In 2012 Robyn entered a photo she had taken of a colleague into iPhoneography. The photo got through to the iPhoneography exhibition and she came 3rd. Unlike many of the other works on exhi-bition, hers was of a person and not a landscape or object. For her this was important because it was a moment of insight - she liked connecting with peo-ple through photography.

Since then she has been honing her photography skills and recently started at project with a friend in order to bring inspiration to each other’s lives through the realness and authenticity of photog-raphy. Through the daily sharing of photographs through Instagram with each other the inspiration philosophy caught fire, spread and captured the in-terest of others. This gave birth to a project called Inspire Me Cape Town, a hashtag #InspiremeCT on Instagram where every week there is a theme (such as portraits or view from my street) and people contribute to the theme, tag it and share it. Robyn says this little project of inspiration has grown “naturally and organically and it’s so cool to see how people interpret the themes and the work

Of Robyn, iPhones and Instagram


CREATEthat they produce.” This little community is grow-ing and it’s really exciting for her because it is a positive space that is nurturing and growing itself.

It is evident that a foundation of this passion is in people as her preferred subject. Robyn says that when she is working with an actual camera it blocks her face and tends to get caught up in the mechanics of taking the photograph and she feels that to some extent she is not focusing on her sub-ject. Robyn says, “I truly believe that because this [the iPhone] is so tiny and convenient and it’s so accessible you can really focus on your actual sub-ject more than the camera.” “I feel that that I get a much stronger deeper connection with people with an iPhone than I do with a camera,” says Ro-byn.People like Robyn, through Instagram, are forming an inspirational “Community of Practice.” Accord-ing to Educational Theorist Etienne Wenger com-munities of practice are a phenomenon that pro-vide a useful perspective on knowing and learning and are thus more than just a community, like a neighborhood. According to Wenger they “share a concern or a passion for something and they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regu-larly. Robyn believes that the next greatest photog-rapher could be found using Instagram. She says it might sound silly “but they found Justin Bieber us-ing Youtube right?” “Instagram has made photog-raphy accessible to the masses and it’s made it cool

again,” says Robyn. It may be doing more in that it creates the freedom to explore and allows people to enter into a paradoxical cycle of learning from what they already know without the constraints of having to go through professional photography training. The key is that it is accessible.

The Instagram community is creating a community of practice where people like Robyn are learning about the world and people while learning some-thing introspective about themselves as they con-nect with each other through the visual medium of photography. They are providing Social capital for each other by learning about themselves, pro-viding value to themselves and to the community as a whole. The sharing of expertise, learning from each other and participating in the community ac-quire a social capital and one could argue that the inspiration that fuels this community adds value to the world.

By Carl Anthony Badenhorstwww.blueberrynotes.co.zaTwitter: @carlbadenhorst

You can view some of Robyn’s work at:www.photogram.co.za and follower her on Twitter: @robynhobsonor Instagram: robynhobsonPlease note all photos on this article are by Robyn.

My name is Carl Anthony Badenhorst and I am a freelance writer specialising in topics pertaining to coffee, culture, creative industries, education, learning,

and anything I find interesting.

You can read some of my work at www.blueberrynotes.co.zaEmail me at [email protected] to discuss your writing needs.


CREATE

It’s the ultimate dream for most, to be your own boss. So you take the plunge and you decide to be-come a freelancer and go around calling yourself ‘boss’, ‘owner’, ‘director’. You feel free and with melodramatic flair you tell people that you answer to nobody!

The first week is exciting as you sit down to sort out your work space, your website, your social media sites, all in the comfort of your own home. And then… doubt sets in. Suddenly you realise that you’re not just going to be given work, you have to find the work yourself. It dawns on you that you are not your own boss but instead you work for every-one and you need them in order to survive. It’s not as easy as you initially thought it would be, and it’s that moment that can make or break you.

You set your own hours:

It is incredibly important to define your working hours and to act as if it’s a real job. In other words don’t climb groggily out of bed at 10am, grab some coffee and sit in front of your computer in your py-jamas. As tempting as this may be it will lower your productivity because you’ll be putting yourself in a non-work environment. You need to set the mood. Get up on time, shower, have breakfast and get dressed for work.

Set aside some ‘me time’:

You became a freelancer so that you had a bit more freedom and although it’s important to set rules and boundaries just like any other job it is also equally important to take some time for yourself. If that means just an hours lunch break where you

switch off from what you are doing and take a walk to the park or to watch your favourite TV show, then do it. Don’t feel guilty about it.

Create a to-do list:

Your day can look quite overwhelming when you don’t have someone just handing you the work to do. Set yourself goals to do every day and make sure that you commit to it.

Allocate times:

Instead of constantly checking your emails and your social media sites, rather allocate certain time slots for this. Perhaps three times a day for half an hour at a time. This way you have only used an hour and a half and you have the rest of the day to get your work done.

Social Media:

We all live in a digital world. Don’t get left behind, because this is an incredibly important tool for business. Get yourself on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn and re-member that the more your name is out there the better. This is a free way of advertising your busi-ness and should not be ignored. Just don’t get lost for hours on end. All you need is your three half an hour allocations. If you have no idea what to do, then go on courses, look at video tutorials or just fiddle until it starts making sense. Just don’t ignore this powerful tool.

Your workspace:

What I wish someone had told me about being a freelancer


CREATEYour office is where you spend most of your time so create a space that works for you. As freelancers we don’t always have the luxury of a big office, but even if all you have is a small desk and a computer in the corner of the room then make it work for you. Make sure you are comfortable, open a win-dow, switch on the lights, enjoy some nice back-ground music and keep your space uncluttered and clean.

Personal interaction:

Ah, freelancing can be a lonely affair. Huddled up in your office (which is generally your home) with only your computer to talk to. Your partner comes home and you start rambling incoherently about anything that comes to mind, because suddenly your social skills have deserted you. What helped me a great deal was to join business networking groups. Here a group of like-minded individuals get together to talk about their business and help each other find contacts and work. Not only does this

help you to find more connections that might be of help with your business but it also gives you a chance to get out there and talk to a real human being face to face. Social interaction is important and often overlooked by freelancers who get stuck in a rut at home. Try joining at least two or three groups and getting involved in the incredible world of freelancers. You’ll realise that they know exactly what you are going through and the ability to grow your business through them is huge. Plus there’s generally a breakfast involved which is never a bad thing!

At the end of the day there are no hard and fast rules to being a freelancer and the important thing is to try and find a way that works well for you. Don’t give up, keep moving forward and remem-ber to enjoy it, after all that’s why you became your own boss in the first place.

By Christine Bernard


DISCOVER

“This is a final call for all passengers aboard British Airways Flight MN798 to Cape Town. Will the last two remaining passengers please make their way to Gate E12, immediately. This is the final boarding call”.

Eeeek! This was the start of our week long road trip through the Western & Eastern Cape of South Africa, and we were about to miss it all. Puffing and panting, we boarded the plane, to stern stares and not-so-approving looks from our fellow pas-sengers, as Dale apologized profusely under his breath, and began to blame our tardiness on my poor life choice in straightening my hair at 4am.With a bump and a thud we touched down in Cape Town and headed to Europcar to get our trusty steed for the 2000 odd kilometres of road ahead of us. For all intent and purpose, this was a work trip, and so we had deadlines for the sites we had to visit. But that never stopped anyone from the odd dash of fun.

We didn’t see much of Cape Town, as the first port of call was a site in Knysna. The five hour trip took us past an incredible antique/collectible/junk shop called Dassiesfontein (just outside Cape Town on the N2 between Botriver & Calendon). Good cof-fee is served, while you browse the multitude of rooms stacked with all kinds of Aladdin delights. Definitely worth a stop!Our first night was spent at the Rex Hotel (http://www.rexhotel.co.za/) in Knysna, just behind the

harbour. Plush rooms and an all-inclusive breakfast spread after a 5am wake up call to watch the sun rise over the Heads. Don’t forget to explore Thesen Island (a marina development situated in the Knys-na estuary) where you’ll find an array of interesting restaurants and rather pricey boutique stores. A glass of wine overlooking the marina, dreaming of owning one of the many multi-million rand yachts is always fun too.

The next site was in P.E., not much to add to the windy city. We didn’t find anywhere worth stop-ping and made our way straight to Somerset East for our second night. A trip between P.E. and Gra-hamstown is never complete without a stop at Nanaga Farm Stall for the BEST PIES EVER. Lamb and mint, chicken curry, spinach and feta, turkey and cranberry, and not to mention their roost-erkoek… just heavenly.

With full tummies we arrived in Somerset East to a warm welcome at the Angler & Antelope Guest House (http://www.anglerandantelope.co.za/), run by the cheerful Alan and Annabelle Hobson. Don’t forget your fly rods as the fly-fishing in Som-erset East is bountiful. According to Alan, it is one of the few places in South Africa that boasts 8 freshwater species that can be caught on fly, within 20 minutes of each other.144 kilometres later and we arrived in Graham-stown, the home of Rhodes University, and the place where Dale and I first met some 4 years ago.

Road Tr ipping’


DISCOVERThe small town is definitely worth a stop and a slice of red velvet at Harricots Café. This sleepy hollow really comes alive if you are around in July for the Grahamstown Arts Festival. We spent the night with friends and topped off the day with pizza and drinks at the Rat and Parrot.

Day 4 consisted of 500 kilometres of open road through Queenstown, Elliot and Barkley East end-ing up in Maclear. Temperatures dropped down to a chilly 5 degrees, and locals warned us that snow would soon be on the way. The billowing grey clouds made for breath-taking views of the hills and valleys of Barkley Pass. The untouched land is really quite something to take in, and the crea-tures we passed along the way left us with a deep love and appreciation for the natural beauty of this country.

We ended off our last night in Maclear at Tsitsa Falls Backpackers (http://www.tsitsafalls.com/). What an experience. Adriaan and Angela welcomed us into our rondaval, complete with wood fire stove

to keep us warm and snug. We had heard rumours of the latest addition to their animal family, and felt privileged to have spent some time with the two frisky and playful baby caracals. Having been separated from their mother at birth, these two delightful creatures are being cared for by Adriaan.

We finally reached home, Pietermaritzburg, af-ter the beautiful but long tour of the Eastern and Western Cape. And we saw just a snippet of the natural beauty this country has to offer. We hope our trip has inspired you to go on some local ad-ventures, snap away and make sure to pack plenty of biltong and coffee for the road. Plus, the biltong helps to coax certain animals into posing for your pictures.

Happy travels,

By Dale & Roxy Huttonwww.farmboyandcitygirl.comwww.citygirlsearching.blogspot.com


“Go at least once a year to

a place you have never been

before”


DISCOVER

Places in Cape Town you should have – but might not have - heard of.

Capetonians are often called fickle, they are also accused of being cliquey, and we are kind of, but fickle? We prefer discerning.

Because of our discerning nature it is difficult to sustain certain places in the Mother City. Namely restaurants, coffee shops, bars and any place that serves booze, coffee or food, often all three if they want to survive.

The goods news is that the challenge of sustain-ing these businesses does not stop people trying. Some succeed and manage to stay open, many do not.

The other good news is that the plethora of places open in Cape Town forces those opening new spots to create something different; where the experi-ence offers something more than just food & drink.

Some places doing it differently in Cape Town.

It’s a house http://itsahouse.co.zaNo, this is not some party club playing house mu-sic; then again maybe it is. This is a restaurant come bar / coffee shop, come creative hub (a Cape Town favourite) with some of the coolest clientele around. Sure, there are plenty

cool funky people in CT; but seriously, the young crowd on the evening I visited was – how you say – all dressed up but looking like they just threw their ensemble together. All funk, fashion and fun – kin-da of like me…not!

There was a mini pop-up mall, cool tunes being spun by the DJ and a very busy looking laptop bri-gade sprinkled around. The furniture is cool and my Scoops (the almost six year old offspring) also enjoyed the place, especially scribbling on the chalkboard bar counter.

We were hoping for the 2 for 1 burger special but it was not to be on that particular night so we suf-ficed with a couple of Zameleks. Fun spot, we will return.

Some places doing it differently in Cape Town.


DISCOVER

Peter’s house www.petershouse.co.za

An eclectic little restaurant with cool stuff and a quirky owner.

We actually went there after It’s a House as it was Monday night and anyone who’s anyone knows that Monday night at Peters House is Mac & Cheese Monday. They offer Mac & Cheese for R25 but for R5 or R10 per extra you can add additional top-pings from bacon to mushrooms. Tasty and good value.

Peter’s House opened in the last 8 months or so. Ziggy, the owner, worked overseas, saved up some pounds, and like many others returned to Cape Town and opened a restaurant. Named after Pe-ter Rabbit, this is a cute little place, with loads of character. It’s across the road from Rafikis and The Power & the Glory in Tamboerskloof.

Offering a variety of meals, playing loud but good music and with plenty of games and kid’s stuff, Pe-ter’s House will keep you entertained and well fed at the same time.

I love my laundry www.ilovemylaundry.co.zaCompared to the above two Ilovemylaundry seems to have been around for ages but the truth is they only opened a year and some months ago.

In that time they have established a Laundromat

that will clean your dirties, while serving you coffee and dim sum. They have also established an online wine shop, host art exhibitions and throw some mean parties.

Clayton & Miko, the owners, seem to have a win-ning formula and have achieved almost cult status in a very short time; they also have a branch in Dur-banville.

I have enjoyed many parties at the Laundry. These include an art exhibition opening by Arno Carstens, a whiskey deconstruction (look it up), a Peroni beer night and many more. They also host their famous Thursday night fondues and have created a Laun-dry brand that will stick to your tighty whities.

Just three places, amongst many, strutting their off-beat stuff in the Mother City

By Barry Washkanskywww.livecapetown.co.za


DISCOVER

The Elegance of

the Hedgehog

by Muriel Barbery

Carpe Librum Seize the Book!

Dear Bibliophiles

For this my first review, I’ve decided to write a short piece on a book that I am so pleased to recommend to you. This book is The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery. Translated from French, the book has vaguely unusual turns of phrase which, far from disrupting the reader, only add to the magic of this captivating story. I have a confession to make: I judge books by their titles. It’s true. When browsing in a bookshop (hardcopy or virtual), it’s the title that makes me pick up or click on a book by an author I’ve not yet come across.

The Elegance of the Hedgehog delivers on the promise made by its marvellous title. The story centres around Renée, a concierge in a luxury apartment building in Paris, and Paloma, a twelve-year-old girl living in one of the apartments. Both highly intelligent and each hiding their intellect and insight, Renée and Paloma share with us refreshingly unique, unsentimental and honest points of view about life and the people that they know.

When I was reading it, I was quite transported and felt that I was in Renée’s kitchen with the two of them drinking tea. Renée and Paloma introduce us to a number of fascinating, gorgeous characters some delightful (Kakuro and Manuela) and others ridiculous (Paloma’s mother and sister), and take us on a moving journey during which Renée is liberated and Paloma decides to live. Barbery, a professor of philosophy, has crafted a wonderfully intelligent story that is not to be missed. If you don’t have time to have an extravagant transformative life experience (such as spending six weeks in an ashram), pick this one up – it might just do the trick!

By Lisa Wiebesiek-Pienaar


The Elegance of

the Hedgehog

by Muriel Barbery

DISCOVER

It has been a long time since I have read anything as good as this. I have, for the past few months while writing my thesis, been reading trashy romance novels that I can start and finish in a day.I was invited by my ex-colleagues at Exclusive Books to attend a talk by Lauren Beukes about her New book. I went even though I knew nothing about the book, nor have I read any of her previous books. The talk was fascinating and I got immediate book envy because I wanted to read it IMMEDIATELY and it had not been available in store yet. I spent the next few days thinking about it, as you would think of a boy you had a crush on. I had a book crush.

Skip ahead to 19 April and I finally got to sit in my pyjamas reading one of the most amazing stories I have ever read. Harper Curtis is a time-travelling serial killer. Call it luck, call it fate, he finds a key that un-locks the door to a House that allows him to travel back and forth across time. Beukes’ portrayal of this man is both charming and vile (mostly vile) at the same time. Kirby Mazrachi is the girl who got away. She encounters Harper once when she is a little girl, and then again when he tries to kill her. She spends most of her adult life trying to find him and slowly starts uncovering the mystery.I was very impressed by the speed of the events and particularly the extensive research that went into the book. The historical accuracy and details are simply amazing and transports you through the dec-ades into Harper’s journey. I was never confused as to what time period I was in or the order of events. Lauren Beukes is a masterful storyteller.

The timing of this book could not have been more perfect. Recently in South Africa, there has been a very bright spotlight on violence against women in this country. Beukes’ work gives a face to the victims. By the author’s own account, the book is a commentary on the beautiful young women who are killed every day in this country. Women who have ambitions, goals, dreams. Women with the potential to be a driving force for change in our country.Not only is this work a beautiful, fast-paced thriller that straddles genres and engrosses you completely, I believe it raises important issues at such a crucial time in our country.

www.booksbootsnadbiology.wordpress.com@BooksBootsBio

The Shining Girls by

Lauren Beukes


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Go on.. all the cool kids are doing it.

issue 2 june 2013

Documents

morning coffee

origin coffee

great coffee art

coffee shop heaven

strong cup of coffee

flat white magazine

flatwhiteconc issue

travelthis magazine