YEVU CLOTHING: Ethical Ghanaian/Australian Brand

This week, I went to support and check out an ethical brand inspired purely by Ghanaian prints, founded by Sydneysider Anna Robertson. To be honest, I wasn't completely knowledgeable of the brand prior to attending their pop-up store apart from seeing them on Instagram. However, the trip to the store left me nothing but inspired, informed and impressed. Anna began to know Ghana as she was there for volunteer work, and soon fell in love with the simple yet highly fashionable pieces of many Ghanaian designers. As time passed, Anna found the means to start her reputable line, Yevu clothing (which actually means 'white person' in Ewe-traditional dialect of Ghanaians in the Volta Region/Togo). She sources all the material from West Africa, predominately Ghana, and has them made by local tailors and seamstresses. This chain effect allows for a beneficial economic status to the hired team, as they hold shares in the growing business, giving them constant work. This simple, yet effective means of exchange is one I see and aspire for Coconsa Bags. On a larger scale, Coconsa hope to hire underprivileged Ghanaian women to use their skills knowing they will get fair working conditions, regular pay, education opportunities for themselves and their children. Lots of vision that will come to light by Gods will. Anything is possible! We are all here to make a difference in this world one way or another.

For my Sydney folks, you can check the Yevu collection for yourself:

YEVU 2.0 Pop-Up Store

302 Cleveland Street, Surry Hills

Hours: 
Daily 10am - 7pm

From December 18 - 24 or until stock sells out

-Posted by Vanessa

The dangers of texting

I feel compelled to write a quick post about the car accident I got into this morning.

I live in Atlanta, GA and as all know who live here, the traffic can be terrible on the freeways to and from work.

On my commute this morning, I saw the car in front of me braking, so I put my foot on the brake. I looked in my rear view mirror at the car behind me and the woman driving was clearly texting and not paying attention to the road in front of her- with her small daughter in the back.

She hit me extremely hard which pushed my car into the large truck in front of me. My car is totaled but luckily and most importantly, my body is fine (although very sore).

Those of us with a long commute know how hard it is to sustain the focus needed to drive really well for that long of a period. We get restless sitting in bumper-to-bumper traffic and find it tempting to text, surf the web on our phones, etc.

Today I realized that if one cannot sustain focus on their commute, they just shouldn't drive. If we were driving any faster, my life, the woman's life and her daughter's life would have been taken.

If anyone reads this, PLEASE resist the temptation of texting and driving. Listen to an audio book or some great music but DON'T take your eyes off the road! If your focus cannot be sustained then look into shorter commute options- carpooling or public transport. Hopefully it doesn't take something like what happened to me this morning to realize the importance of this.

- Posted by Olympia

Current Style Favorites

I've been caught up on Tumblr and fashion blogs on my lunch breaks recently and have compiled some of my favorite street-style images. It's pretty apparent that I am attracted to a simple, comfortable look that can be dressed up or down. And yes, I'm after some white wide-leg pants. Please share any great fashion blogs to look at!

Feeling under the weather : Spiritual Healing

As of the past week, or so, I have been feeling completely under the weather. Every so often, I feel as if I have run in to a brick wall and in result experience a great sense of dullness in my life. I'm sure this is completely natural and I am not the only one that experiences this, but whenever this void enters my life it bothers me immensely. I know for a fact it is God talking to me, letting me know I need to make some changes in order for the empty space in my soul to feel nourished and whole again. The past few months has proven to be nothing but an unfortunate series of events, which has definitely caused a dampen in my high spirits. From losing a close school friend, being ill/hospitalised, having my cousin in a serious car accident, my mum also being ill, watching my dad grieve over losing a sister and other emotional battles have all contributed to my questioning of life. Am I fulfilling my purpose on this earth that God has set out for me? Personally, to my complete efforts, no.

Anyone that knows me really well, will know I have a new found obsession for Iyanla Vanzant. There is nobody that can fix what I'm feeling but myself and my trust in God. However, I found some really moving short videos (not necessarily new) that were in every way insightful, and in some way, therapeutic. For those possibly going through the same thing, or just need a reminder of some lifelong lessons, take the time to watch these videos! I wrote some personal notes underneath for my own reference later. ENJOY!

• How you treat yourself is how you treat God
• We represent God in all we do
• You need to completely take care of yourself first before even thinking of taking care of others 

• PAIN= Pay Attention Inward Now 
• Don't mask your pain with physical items 
• Feel, deal, heal 

• Doubt = poison
• Take a stand for yourself
• Don't let go of your vision (even if you stand alone) 

-Posted by Vanessa