Interview with a Lady
Happy Monday!Today we have a treat. An interview with fashion forward London blogger, one of my faves, Ronke Adeyemi aka Ondo Lady!
Hi Ronke. Thanks so much for hanging with us here at Kwanawrites today. I’ve been a big fan of your blog The Musings Of Ondo Lady for a long time and am honored to have you here.Thanks for featuring me Kwana.Please tell us a little bit about your background?I did a degree in marketing and communications and went on to do a post grad diploma in journalism with hopes of going into that field. I did some adhoc freelancing for various mags such as Pride, Suave as well as The Voice and then got a job working on an entertainment publication called Ticketmania. I did a lot of general reporting and writing and got a real sense of what it was like to to work on a magazine. Then I launched an online magazine called kudosmgazine which covered the arts and entertainment scene in the UK. I loved working on this magazine but it did not exactly pay the bills so I began to take on freelance press and pr work which led to marketing positions.. I then saw a position as a marketing and PR officer for a film festival up in Manchester and I thought ‘oooh that looks interesting’ I applied for it and got it and moved up there. The job was certainly interesting as it gave me a great insight into using the marketing mix and brokering sponsorship deals so when I moved back down to London I was able to get roles freelancing in marketing. I freelanced for two years for a variety of companies and last year I saw a role advertised as a marketing officer for a creative arts university so I went for it and got it.What was the inspiration for starting your stylish blog?
I have always loved writing, I actually used to have a print magazine and an online mag back in the day but due to cost and time I had to fold it. I came across blogs back in 2006 and saw them as a diary and I fancied the idea of having one but was not sure if I could sustain it. The last thing I wanted was to set one up and then leave it abandoned but on 1st January 2007 I decided to take the plunge. I started off on Yahoo 360 which was a really basic blogging platform but the community was great. I set myself a target of writing at least once a week and it went from there. The blog on Yahoo 360 was a lot different from the one on Blogger as it was more personal but I wanted to move from that and create more of a magazine like blog, also there were technical issues on Yahoo which frustrated me. So I began looking around and decided to go with Blogger and their format allowed to create a blog that is more visually appealing and also where I can write about things that inspire me like films, books, magazines, music, TV and art. It has been great.You are always on the cutting edge of style and pop culture, how do you stay so in the know?I get my sources everywhere and anywhere. I read Gawker, Jezebel, Catwalk Queen, mediaguardian and countless blogs to keep me in the know.Where do you see your blog leading you to down the road?Eventually I would like to see the blog turn into a magazine whether it is online or print. I guess online considering the economic climate.What projects are you currently working on?At the moment I am working on an event called, You’re Beautiful, Woman which celebrates Black beauty in all forms. There will be fantastic talks on styling, fashion, natural hair & beauty, health, relationships, fitness and inner beauty and there will also be workshops and stalls. The event takes place on Saturday 15th August at Highgate Newton Community Centre, 25 Bertram Street, Highgate London N19 5DQ. It is produced by a team of seven other wonderful and talented women; Angie Brice, Sophia Jackson, Aderonke Lawal, Angel Smith, Lillian Ogbogoh, Margaret Udofia. Between us we amass a wide variety of skills in marketing, PR, hair care, event management, graphic design and journalism.Tickets are £5 and you can buy them online at http://www.yourebeautifulwoman.com/Great! So all you in London should not miss this event. Wish I were there.Once again, Ronke, thanks for taking the time to visit with us. You can check Ronke out at her fab blog The Musings Of Ondo Lady here.Best,KwanaThank You Mr. McCourt
I end this day with a heavy heart with the sad news that Pulitzer Prize winning author Frank McCourt had passed away at the age of 78. You can read about it here.
He is best known for his Bestselling hit Angela’s Ashes and then the blockbuster movie that followed. But for me it is hard to think of him as Frank McCourt. You see he’ll always be Mr. McCourt to me. The Irish Lit and creative writing teacher from when I was in Stuyvesant High School. The 50 minutes of excitement and brightness to an otherwise dull day.
His class was the class where my imagination would soar and my creativity would thrive. It was where I started to really love the written word and started to crave the writer’s life. Only Mr. McCourt could make suffering desirable. Hell, you were going to suffer in this life anyway you might as well do it doing something you love.I remember clearly the day I was coming down the steps in the old building, looking down and mopey, as I was often doing during that time, and he was coming up and asked what my problem was. I said I was broke (who wasn’t?). He told me to follow him to the schools job board. I did. He looked over the board pick pointed to a job and told me to call. He said, “You’re a smart girl you can do that job.”
Well I did. And I kept that job clear through college. And also met my DH on that job. All thanks to Mr. McCourt.
Years later my DH and I were taking the twins to the Museum of Natural History. The twins must have been about 4 or 5 years old. It just so happens Mr. McCourt was doing a reading and had a huge crowd, but I wanted to go and say hello. I had just left fashion design and had written my first hot mess of a book.
The crowd finally parted and I went up to him. I asked if he remembered me. He did. I told him the story of the job board and the kids. I joked and said that he was responsible for my Dear Twins. To that he responded, “No Way!” with his infectious laugh.
Then I told him that I was now writing and his eyes lit up. He asked what I had written and I told him quickly about my hot mess of a first romance. And this sweet man always looking out for his students gave me the name of his super high powered agent (no he didn’t frown at romance. Ha!). And told me to query her and say that he sent me.
Also to keep writing.
Well I will keep writing Mr. McCourt. Until…
Thank you.
KwanaP.S. you can read my past post where I wrote about Mr. McCourt here
Boy Band
Here’s a little Weekend music for you. I heard them the other day and they look me back to a smile.
Best,
KwanaHappy Friday
What’s Jack up to? It’s been a semi quiet week for Jack. Not too much trouble (I had better not speak too fast) just up to his usual antics. I think the Dear Twins are driving him nutty (but he’s not alone in that). And he’s barking a lot more than usual (not alone in that either) But besides that all is cool with Dear Jack.This pic is for Ina in Alaska who is always capturing the best licence plates. I snapped it when the truck of our local doggie day care was in front of me for a few blocks and I noticed the licence plate. Don’t worry we were stopped at the time I snapped the pic.
Have a Happy Friday and a great weekend!Best,KwanaOne Word At A Time
Going on right now is the annual Romance Writers of America conference in Washington DC. No, I’m not there this year I’m here in NY, but keeping up vicariously though twitter. Sigh. Of course this would be the year that they give out the most awesome conference bag ev-ah.
Thanks to Sarah from Smart Bitches for the twitpic of the bags from Harlequin. How cool are these? Like I need another tote, but… Sigh again.
Oh well, that is not what this post is about. This post is all about my love of Nora Roberts/ J.D. Robb. See Nora is a member of RWA too and is always in attendance being most gracious in her fab shoes and giving out very meaningful advice. Here she is at a Washington Post event. Click here to read the full article. Oh, and check out the beginning. Is that my friend Laura there? Hi Laura!!Best,
KwanaP.S.
Shout out to Nana. I promise to make up for the lack of signed a Nora book next year. Love ya!P.P.S.
That muse can kiss my, well, ya know.P.P.P.S
Thanks Twitter and YouTube for the clip.Wordless Wednesday- Found in the Wash
Items found in the DD’s wash.
Lucky the machine didn’t break.Best,
KwanaP.S.
Button says: “think like an artist-concentrate on something challenging for a long period of time.”Write Right
What’s Jack up to? Mr. Pushy has been just that lately. Pushing his luck with the early wake up calls and coming over to my side of the bed giving it a bit of a hard shove. He may look small but that dog is strong. Oh Jack, you know I’m not a morning person. Lord knows you get quite the attitude when folks come around messing with your afternoon naps.Twitter can be the devil, but it can also be a wonderful thing if used correctly. Last week I posted a Friday tweet question.What are your favorite writing books? Please RT.
I’m happy to say I got lots of good responses and some of the books were new to me. Here is the list in pretty pics. Some that got multiple nods: Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird, Steven King’s On Writing and Forest For The Trees by Betsy Lerner.
And you thought you could just sit and write. Well, I know I at least hoped.Please share some of your faves that were not on the list or tell me if you’re a writer that just wings it. I have to say, though I have a few of these and reference back to them often I have the hardest time getting through a writing book. Maybe that’s my problem. Hmph!Now if you’re not a writer what sort of tools do you use to hone your craft?Best,KwanaA New POV
So I have a new lover. And shock of all shock, this one isn’t a handbag, but it will fit very nicely inside just about any that I have thankyouverymuch.
It’s the Sony 505. Squeal!!!
I can’t tell you have excited I am over this. I just get all tingly thinking about it. Book upon book upon book all in one slim sexy little device. Just holding it feels positively decadent.Cut to me with the DH sleeping on one side and my 505 on the other. Bliss.So far I have 15 books on my reader. I mean just imagine if I were lugging those 15 books around with me. Not very cute. And the lovely thing about the Sony is I am able to put my own documents on it too so I can read my current work on the go and look it it from a new POV (Point of View).
Could it be that this library lover is a digital girl? I think so.Anything worth you looking at this week from a new POV?Best,KwanaGrateful
What’s Jack up to? Jack is being his usual self. He was out back doing fine hanging with the family until a couple of guys walked down the block that he didn’t know then he was off like a shot sending the DH after him with promises of the moon if he’d just come back. How do you solve a problem like Jack? Well… how?I stole the title of this post from Deidre over at Jumping Tandem after seeing her eerily similar post. This morning the DD came running down. “Mom did you see the tree in the backyard. I was so scared it was going to crash through my window!”What?! How did I sleep through that one?I jumped up and yep, there was a huge tree limb that fell just missing the house. It was from about 50 feet up so I’m sure it would have caused significant damage. It was also about 16 feet long.I’m feeling very grateful today and thanking God for keeping us safe while I was snoring the night away. Oh, scratch that last part. There’s no way I was snoring (Ignore any rogue comments from the DH). LOL.
Best,KwanaThe Magic Box
Inspiration. Who knows where it comes from. For me it comes from everywhere and at the worst and most important times nowhere at all. Sigh.
I was checking out TED which I love. Trolling for inspiration and a little motivation when I came across this wonderful talk from Lost creator J.J. Abrams.
It’s so good especially for this quote: “That blank page is a magic box.” What a fresh way to look at it. With magic. It’s a way to open your work up to endless possibilities. Taking away the restrictions of the critic sitting on your shoulder or the evil little troll in your head saying, “oh no you can’t do it that way or go in that direction.”
Then he gets into the magic of the mystery box. The lure of anticipation, the unknown and the excitement of it. Watch and enjoy.
What’s your mystery box? Mine is a Dell and my Nikon and of course my crazy Gemini mind.
Best,
Kwana
