Why you should use Udumo: empowering women who do the job

Women’s Day is about celebrating more than appreciation and love for the treasured women in our lives – it is a celebration of far-reaching, social transformation. It is an event to remind us about the empowerment of previously marginalised and restricted women. It is a declaration about the courage, the compassion, the determination and the talents of resolute, dynamic, undaunted human beings, previously ignored and discriminated against, who have the right and potential to play a pivotal role in every sphere of society.

Udumo Designs have a favourite, anonymous quote that says it with succinct power: We rise by lifting others.

But actions speak louder than words, and the Udumo Designs message rings out loud and clear, in the form of an enterprise created entirely from allowing formerly disadvantaged women the training to bring their fresh, original, imaginative and creative design skills to the fore.

In these words, Malala Yousafzai echoes the “unashamedly ethical” sentiments of Udumo Designs:

“I raise up my voice – not so I can shout, but so that those without a voice can be heard … we cannot succeed when half of us are held back.”

Women’s Day event ideas

So, in acknowledgement of this victory, and of having snapped the restrictive chains of the apartheid pass laws, here are some ideas for turning your Women’s Day celebration into a fittingly beautiful, meaningful design display.

• No celebration is without “eat, drink and be merry”, so your table needs to look worthy of the occasion. As a fitting backdrop, why not create your own poster, containing relevant images or words to mark the occasion? To add brilliance to your table arrangement, use simple, easy, effective methods, like arranging confetti or glitter into colourful borders around your centerpiece and other festive treats, or even to spell out a name and special message. Create hanging floral arrangements with glittering messages beneath them. Design a centerpiece with paper flowers and chocolates.
  
• Have a special photo collection framed that commemorates all the noteworthy highlights in the life of the uniquely treasured Woman in your life, and allow it a prominent place on the table. Never forget the festive element introduced by balloons and ribbons – these, too, can convey the Women’s Day message of your choice. Tea candles always look festive and can be arranged in the shape of a name, and pop a pretty posy here and there – every woman’s heart is gladdened by flowers.
  
• Ask all the invitees to bring a handmade card, and gift, to add to the bright, celebratory message of recognition and appreciation. Those who prefer it, can bring a homemade food delicacy that has been packaged to carry a message. Another idea that any hard-working Woman will appreciate: a decorative envelope, containing a menu choice of a few mouth-watering meals from which to choose, to be made in her honour whenever she desires to claim it.
  

As declaration of acknowledgement of her gift to those around her, which no amount of money of money can buy – the selfless, constant, unwavering support and often unrecognized effort to enhance the lives of others – persuade the guests that gifts of equal worth must be presented as thanks to the Woman of the moment; here are ideas that should add “empowerment” to the event:

• A handmade bookmark
• Expressive jewelry, like a broach or bracelet carrying a personalized symbol or message, earrings made of beads
• Any useful home item, like a mug, or place mats, or coasters, with words of your choice
• Homemade body scent or bath oil using flowers and herbs
• A handmade photo frame
• Tablecloths, facecloths, dish towels, or even cushion covers, imprinted with cherished photographs or relevant words
• A natural ingredient face scrub or mask or conditioner
• Knitted gloves or leg warmers, or hot water bottle covers
• A carrier bag with a love/thank you message
• A special flower, like an orchid, in an inscribed or decorated pot
• Any handmade craft that can be used around the house, even if only for decorative purposes.
  
  

Better still, consider this to be your contribution to the uplifting of women:allow the talents of the women of Udumo Designs to create the décor for your event, and let your message of love, appreciation and thanks ring loud and clear.

As Rihanna put it in an edition of Harper’s BAZAAR last year:

“There’s something so special about a woman who dominates in a man’s world. It takes a certain grace, strength, intelligence, fearlessness, and the nerve never to take no for an answer.”

It is Udumo Design’s mission to give women wings.

Udumo Group delivers interior décor and design services by empowering unemployed people with skills development initiatives. We believe in investing in the individual, nurturing inherent skills, and uplifting communities. We hold as our mission making the future sustainable by mentoring meaningful change in the wider environment. Our interior design philosophy is to design beautiful spaces that are both functional and timelessly pleasing. We have proved that promoting the values of creative excellence, discipline and commitment can bring forth the beauty within each person and reflect it in both private and public living spaces around them.

For information on Udumo Group, visit: www.udumogroup.co.za

Few would argue that, for each of us, our bedroom is equivalent to a castle: it is the most important space you possess, because it is the only one that is uniquely yours. Every other room in the house is of necessity a compromise in that it must fulfill needs involving others, whereas your bedroom has an unequivocal right to express YOU, and only you. All family members and friends will grant your bedroom that right, even if your taste differs widely from theirs. The good news is that it need not be a COSTLY castle in order to reflect the diverse aspects of your personality.

Whether you’re male or female, young or mature, enjoy colorful clutter or minimalist tidiness, calm colors or dynamic ones, there is a wide range of elements you can introduce, every few years or every season, to ensure that the most valued domain in your life keeps up with your changing tastes and moods. Experimentation is the very simplest way to discover what you find pleasing and to develop a personal style, so play around with the following ideas to inject new energy into your valued, private domain.

Your Bed

Let’s begin with the most important item in the room, your bed. Simply change its position.

• Test it alongside different walls. Move it away from all walls and try it positioned in different, loose-standing spots.
• Now imagine all the other changes you can make: superficially, you can opt for an entirely new style/look by introducing fresh colours, patterns and textures into your bed linen, by adding or dispensing with cushions, throws, the duvet.
• If you’re prepared for a bigger leap, consider changing its shape, even its height. Kick out the old and opt for a futon, or for a round bed, even.
• Consider any other desired shape in the form of a mattress on the floor. Explore new options as bedside tables. Decide whether or not a headboard is to your liking. If it is, design your own.

Headboard

An existing work of art can replace your conventional headboard, or you can create one of your own, as depicted above. If you’re prepared to express the creative side of your personality, there are many options.

• Why not paint a headboard of your choosing directly onto the wall, or get it done for you? Or you can mount any board on the wall and paint your own design onto it.
• Create a novel one with simple pieces of wood or bamboo, and then incorporate as many other elements as your imagination can muster: craft wire onto which you can string beads, hang photographs, drape dried flowers or arty pieces of jewellery, or any other element that possesses a pleasing shape or texture.
• For ideas as unique as you are, open all your drawers and unearth those quirky or odd personal belongings which hold valuable memories for you, and add them to your headboard. Turn them into a statement of art, a statement about you.
  
  
  

Your Walls

Changes here can be remarkably quick and inexpensive and yet yield dramatic results. Simply commit to a new wall paint colour.

• Be adventurous and introduce wallpaper instead, even if only onto one wall or sections of wall. In sections, areas of wallpaper can be treated as works of art in their own right, especially if you are inventive with combining strips of different colours and patterns, and incorporate other decorative elements, as suggested on your headboard.
• Scarves or shawls can be used as backdrop for important mementoes, keepsakes and trinkets; photographs, art prints and posters are an effortless way of expressing you; and a stroll through any craft shop will summon up ideas with which to enliven your walls.
• Suggestions for aesthetically pleasing and original photo galleries also abound. Even a blackboard on which you can draw or any board onto which you can pin changing visuals, will provide the window for change when you desire it.
• Wall hangings come in so many sizes, fabrics and designs and are easy to mount. Equally a simple or elaborate wall mural can enhance the creativity or mood of your bedroom.
• And, lastly, resorting to nature seldom fails: hanging plants or collages made from driftwood, pieces of shell, feathers, dried flowers or any object of interest found on a walk, will bring the outside in and enrich your space.
  
  

Your Lounging Area

Even if your bedroom is small, it should be possible to create a corner where you can relax without being on your bed, whether you’re on your laptop or simply reading a book.

• A hammock chair or pouf is perfect for just such a space, or foam on the floor can be cut into any desired shape, covered in durable fabric and softened with draped mosquito netting or other gauzy drapes, and colourful throw cushions.
• Your choice of lighting options matters especially here. Diverse and beautiful design in lamps has become an art in itself, and the use of dimmers gives you the freedom to opt for strong, functional light or moody, softer hues at any given moment.
• Incorporating a rug into that area will help give it an individual mood and delineate it as a separate space.
• Any small coffee table of your choice can finish it off this relaxing lounging corner. Providing you have the space for them, acquire interesting old stools or benches as alternative seating.
  
  

Above all, remember: what your bedroom says about you is not dependent on any of the latest, must-have designer trends – nothing should dictate do’s or don’ts, other than what makes you feel king or queen of your lovingly self-styled castle, and in which your preferences reign …

Jack Antonoff puts the importance of your unique, private space this way:

“When you go all over the world for work, your dream vacation is your bedroom.”

Udumo Group delivers interior décor and design services by empowering unemployed people with skills development initiatives. We believe in investing in the individual, nurturing inherent skills, and uplifting communities. We hold as our mission making the future sustainable by mentoring meaningful change in the wider environment. Our interior design philosophy is to design beautiful spaces that are both functional and timelessly pleasing. We have proved that promoting the values of creative excellence, discipline and commitment can bring forth the beauty within each person and reflect it in both private and public living spaces around them.

For information on Udumo Group, visit: www.udumogroup.co.za