James de Villiers

Blogger & Vlogger that is trying to spread some hope, joy and - life - onto the internet.

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A few months ago started the #EverydayCoverGuy-campaign - hoping to influence those around me to accept who they are. Today I am very grateful to share an #EverydayCoverGirl story.  Grace, thank you for being bold enough to share your story. 

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#FocusOn South African & MaXhosa designer, Laduma Ngxolo

I like colourful things; I like things that oozes individuality – making a mark of someone’s identity.  MaXhosa by Laduma’s clothes is one of those colourful things that shamelessly evangelizes its heritage whilst embracing true modern sophistication. This week I had the absolute privileged to sit down with this trendsetter and chat the good, the tough and the future.

Laduma Ngxokolo, for those of us who doesn’t know (Mom), is a South African designer that has reached internationally acclaim. From being endorsed by Beyoncé, to international awards and scholarships, Laduma has been setting a new standard for African design. His brand MaXhosa has received several standing ovations as it’s iconic patterns and knitwear is rapidly sold out in African, American and European markets.

Laduma, you are on top of your game with several international awards and a flourishing enterprise – how do you manage it all? Uhm, I think persistence, hard work and not just talent. I try not be reliant on luck, but truly work my way to the top. Further education has also played a huge part: Without awareness of the world I would never have known about the opportunities and would probably never have been able to study in London.

Speaking about London, how did finishing your studies at Central St. Martins influence your design? It just induced my drive to innovate, South Africa lacks that true innovatory spirit that will take our products to the pinnacle it needs to be. It was also an extreme honour to be amongst the best students in the world, the best of Asia, America and Europe, and to represent Africa amongst them.

Follow MaXhosa on Instagram  What brought you to clothing design? My late mother designed knitwear back in the 1980’s before she got married and took a break from it until 2001 when she bought a sowing machine. When she started knitting again I was interested, watched her and helping her which resulted in me taking textile and visual arts in school. That whole experience gave rise to the dream of having my own brand one day.

Why knitwear? When I chose textile design as a career, I thought that knitwear is the most interesting medium. It is one of the most lucrative forms of clothing because it allows for a great deal of surface design. As a textile designer I have the space to play around with colours and different knitting techniques while the clothing is still versatile and extremely durable.

Who is your ideal client? Wow that a difficult question since I have a lot of them. I’d say my ideal client is a random Xhosa dude that’s willing to embrace what I do on a daily basis and not just special occasions. My ideal client is someone that appreciated my work and carries it with great honour, not just famous celebrities.

Does this mean you design clothing for African men only? I look at my Global cliental when I design anything. I do not only look at Xhosa initiation wear, like I used to when I started out, but today I think how an Asia female will look in it, how a black American will look in it and how an English guy in Sandton will look in it. I design clothes for a broader taste and a style that is truly global.

What makes the isiXhosa designs for you so captivating? I think it is very very chic and effortlessly cool. Xhosa patterns have elements of a certain person’s character and certain clans have a certain type of look. I believe the Xhosa patterns are the most beautiful in Africa.

Why do you think it is important to celebrate traditional design? It is very important, because it is fading away in our current day and age. People have forgotten where they come from. This is not the sake for knowing, but to preserve the values of these communities such as Ubuntu which has really become universal through Nelson Mandela’s journey.

What inspires you when you create your new patterns? I still look back at the traditional Xhosa beadwork: not only at the surface, but the colours and textures while I also recycle some of my signature patterns and play around with my favourite colours.

Speaking of colours, what is your favourite colour? Sjoh, that changes every time, but at the moment I quite like pale pink.

How did you settle on the name MaXhosa I initially targeted Xhosa initiates that is a small part of the bigger picture that needs to be acknowledged and preserved. Today however, MaXhosa has grown to be my perspective on how Xhosa people looks in the modern age.

What were some of the most challenging things about the journey? Production has definitely been one of the most challenging. It was difficult at the start to decide whether to keep production in South Africa or move it to a different country with better infrastructure and assistance.  It is depressing the moment you realise that South Africa does not have the means to support your production and you have to build it from the ground up.

Where do you think South Africa’s Fashion industry is moving towards? I think the fashion industry is heading towards a hybrid future which will create a more African feel and look that will ultimately become mainstream when the time is right.

What advice would you give an up and coming designer? Uhm, I’d say hard work beats talent and when talent doesn’t work hard it fails. Education also promises a better future that enables you to change things for the better.

Who are the most important people in your life? My family and my siblings. I value their unwavering support for what I do.

Where to from here? There is a lot I want to achieve. I see establishing a brand label of some sorts that encapsulates hotels, lifestyle products and furniture. I believe MaXhosa is currently heading towards the direction of a brand and I want to take that as far as possible. Sing up for my newsletter here

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The new Daily Grace is such a blessing - I can't believe it took the internet one year to find a replacement.

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This week's video gave me so much joy to make and I am genuinely excited to share it with you. It's really an oddity to find someone that's practically your twin.

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#FocusOn: South African producer Dave from The Kiffness

As someone who never quite fitted the box, it was a breath of fresh air when I discovered Dave from the Kiffness, a South African electronic/dance duo, boldly speaking about his 'challenging the status quo' experiences. This week I finally had the chance to sit down with Dave and chat about his controversial social media posts, the important things in life and when he’s expecting his first child to arrive.

For those of us who don’t know (Mom that’s you), The Kiffness consists of producer Dave and saxophone/piano playing Clem and together they have been taking the local music scene by storm with their unique perspective and original beats. The 28-year-old Dave has also been a source of controversy and laughs as he takes on large clothing chains about their undersized manikins and highlights the everyday irony in our society through his social media posts.

Also, Dave, if you are reading this, thank you for chatting to me.

Whose responsible for the “kiff” social media posts? Dave is that you? All social media posts are my own views, The Kiffness is kind-off my brain-child and we agreed from the start that I’ll run the social media. And a lot of the things I post are things that my bandmate actually disagrees with, but that’s not such a big issue because when we are on stage it’s all about the music. I make a calculated risk when posting anything online

What does it mean to take ‘a calculated risk’?   Basically, before I post anything I think about who’s going to support it whilst thinking who might dislike it. It is like playing poker where you have some strong cards that you get and where you have to take a risk and wait for whatever comes your way. Sometimes it does really well and sometimes it fails.

See the Kiffness' Instagram 

Social commentary has been a key feature of your posts – why? Basically with my posts a lot of people ask if it’s a way that I am trying to stay relevant and it’s not. A lot of people say I should stay in the musician box. I believe that in this day and age you can have up to 5 different jobs and that you shouldn’t limit yourself and I just happen to be a musician. I really want to challenge the status quo, challenging people’s preconceived ideas of the world.

Would you say that your music tries to challenge people as well? Listening to our music is about having fun and is not really that serious. Where the music and social media cross is where it’s saying don’t take life too serious and focus on what’s important.

What is important? It is important to realise that whatever problems you are facing in life, it’s pretty small compared to the greater scheme of things. I believe it is important to view anything that you think might be the biggest issue from outside yourself and brings things into perspective. You’ll live a much more peaceful life if you view things in that ‘outer-space’ kind way.

You’ve been in the Cape Town music scene for 6 – what stood out from the experience? There hasn’t been a moment where we made a success. When we look back, you see that you have come a long way, but we try to take it day by day. We have had an extremely interesting career where one day we’d preform in front of thousands of people and the next in front of corporates in suits. I try not to place too much importance on one show like rocking the daisies: that experience is as important as the day when I don’t want to get out of bed.

Follow the Kiffness on Facebook 

Is producing music worth is? My parents were obviously worried about me because they wanted me to have a steady job and good career, but once they saw that things started working out for me they started to breathe a little. Not to say that it will work out for everybody. You have got to put in so many hours and late night to make sure your music sounds great. If you don’t have the passion for it, it is not worth it.

What makes music, to you, so addictive? For me music is like, it almost transports you into a different universe, you connect yourself to something. As a spiritual person and someone that tries to find peace, music is an amazing way to express myself. As a creative without these mediums to express myself, I’d probably go nuts.

What would you describe as your music style? It is probably something between dance music, electronica. We like to fuse different genres together like using horns and piano, dubstep and jazz and dance and jazz. We try not to get stuck in a genre but loose ourselves in different mixtures that is unexpected. A good experiment is like baking: You experiment with different ingredients, sometimes it flops and sometimes not.

What would you like to achieve with your music? I feel like there’s a different spirit to our music, people come to our shows and feel happy, the spirits are lifted. Sometimes you enter a club and the spirit is dark, people are grinding each and sexually “siff” (bad) and our music manage to change the atmosphere. You won’t find deep meaning in our music, but it makes people feel a certain way.

Who are the most important people in your life?   Definitely my wife, I have been married to her for 5 months and she’s pretty much my rock. My parents and my brother are also extremely important in my life. I guess it’s really cool to not worry when there’s rumours in the tabloids, because I know I have a support structure that doesn’t really care what the world says about me, but loves me regardless.

Any children soon? Probably not in the next 5 years, I am still relatively young and still want to travel around. I don’t want to be one of those absent fathers. I have seen to many successful musicians traveling and performing across the globe and as a result missing some of the most important times in their children’s lives.

What does the future hold? I’m really close to finalising an EP with 3 other songs that I worked on, we are looking to release it soon. It is called Soul Safari and I just received the masters back so it’s a matter of getting a marketing plan an uploading it onto iTunes.  

Listen some of the Kiffness' 'kiff-est' music here

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Being authentic does not mean to just share the good things in life, it means being honest when something bugs you. Thank you for continuing listening to my random rambles every week - may our actions not end here.

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In all honesty, after this video I'd also avoid going to a dance with someone. 

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Ever wondered what makes a bathroom great? I risked my life (and my health) to find out. Watch the new video here: http://bit.ly/2aE9qxN 

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A week ago I missed the deadline to enter to be a student speaker at a TEDx event. So today, instead of being depressed about it, I decided to rather share my idea worth sharing, with you, online.

Shot by an Iphone 6s plus in the woods, because no Youtuber is complete without having a video in the woods.

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As much as I did the ‪#‎EverydayCoverGuy‬ to stand up against the stigma, this is very much my own story of acceptance.

See the original #EverydayCoverGuy post here: http://bit.ly/2allplG

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Entering for Men’s Health cover guy is really a scary thing. It asks that you unveil yourself and embrace your deepest insecurities. This little video, that’s hopefully going to make you smile, shares my motivation behind it a bit more.

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My flatmates called it awkward, but I am not entering for them. I am entering to become Men's Health South Africa's next Cover Guy because when I was 16-years-old I used to be ashamed of my skinny body. I used to hide in the summer simply because my ribs were showing, comparing myself to the rugby guys that kept bulking up. Even though I’m hesitant sharing this picture, I continue to believe that breaking the stigma starts with me. And hopefully, by entering, I can tell another 16-year-old guy to stop comparing and that protein won't buy happiness.

I am James de Villiers, your ‪#‎EveryDayCoverGuy‬.

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This video is close to my heart since I have been donating blood since I was 16. Donate blood today - Be someone's pill today! 

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Embracing the gift of contentment

Yesterday I sat on the train and laughed with a middle aged mother of four. In that moment we celebrated life, laughed a bit too loudly and slightly irritated the young man chatting on his phone. Yesterday I was content in just being in that moment, no worries of future things to come or a need to make things happen.

Contentment is then the swear word of my generation. Unlike the other Time.com buzzwords like ambition, success or triumph, it is contentment that is the lesser known evil of the middle income group. It’s that thing that keeps normal people occupied and keeps them happy when doing things averagely. It is an excuse.

That is what I too believed was hidden behind this word. As I shared, countless times, I too was bought over by the caffeine addicted workaholic ideal and decided long ago that contentment was a horrible trap designed for the weak. I too decided that contentment was a sign of a lack of progress and decided to rather run, achieve and flourish.

Read Ultimate Guide to Success 

I then too crashed and burned while being rushed to the hospital. I too remember how it feels to have your heart beating in your throat and needing anti-depressants to go to sleep.

And then as I walked through the green gardens of the greatest city in my imagination, the city of Cape Town, I started to believe in a different ideal instead. Because, maybe, just maybe, is the crutch for the weak actually the greatest gift to receive? Maybe, just maybe, is contentment a sign of abundance and not emptiness?

For all that I believed, maybe having the ability to switch of your phone when you arrive home, waiting till tomorrow to reply to that last email and going to bed early a gift only destined to the true over-achievers? Maybe the decision to live life a bit more selfishly, a bit slower and a bit more balanced only taken by the true wisest amongst us all?

As I sat on the train and laughed with the middle aged mother of four, I was happy. In that moment I decided to celebrate life, live selfishly and laugh a bit louder. Yesterday I decided to embrace contentment, deciding to leave less out of worries and fear. Yesterday I tasted contentment and I liked what I saw.

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Individual steps towards a better tomorrow

I was barely 17 years old when I knocked on the big brown door of my school’s principal and shared with him the vision of a grand recycling scheme for the school. It was there, in that moment, that I was so compelled by a need to protect my environment that I took the first steps towards a better tomorrow.

Today, at the tender age of 21, I look back at these adrenaline-driven occasions where I was so excited to make a difference that I was unable to sleep that night. Today, I also look back as Lewis Pugh, the South African oceanic swimmer and environmental activists, lays in hospital recovering from a vertebra operation.  For it was he, that was so compelled to save our oceans, that he took the first steps to stop me and a passionate team of students from releasing 3000 balloons into the atmosphere.

He that took it upon himself to fight for the future, to phone and to explain to a young ignorant student leader about the damages of plastic to the oceans. It was he, that cared so much, that didn’t allow a silly mistake to be made for the sake of a University’s orientation-week.

Then again today a UN report would make its way onto my Twitter-feed to explain that bio-degradable plastic is an utter lie – especially when it ends up in our oceans. I was struck once more that here I am, 4 months later, only now coming to understand the consequences of biodegradable plastic - Only now truly being thankful for the steps Lewis took to for a better tomorrow.

Read the UN report here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/un-biodegradable-plastics_us_57435cb2e4b045cc9a71afa5

However, it was also today that I listened to the story of our domestic worker’s cousin that was killed just last week. Here I am, listening as to how God is her only help as her daughter continues to struggle with epileptic attacks and as she gets mugged on the train regularly. Here I am, wondering if anybody really cares?  

But then I also remember yesterday where I took my bicycle and bought coupons at Straatlig (meaning streetlight) in Stellenbosch for beggars on the street. Here they are, a group of young workers in a NGO taking steps toward our future. Here they are selling coupons to encourage responsible giving, ensuring food for the needy and a pathway away from homelessness.

Find out more about Straatlig here: http://straatlig.org/

It is those countless faces from NGO’s, environmental organisations, schools and communities that takes daily steps for a better future. We need these normal South African heroes, that are so compelled by caring, that they are just unable not to make a difference. Here I am, at the tender age of 21 saying that it’s every one of us taking thousands of individual steps daily that leads to a better tomorrow.

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New video out today! It's about continued battles and overcoming struggles. Enjoy. 

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This is me trying to make a difference, and figuring life out along the way.