Kenyan adventures #2

So far my time here at Amani has been exciting, and nurturing as a designer. I've been in full design/pattern making mode for the last few weeks and have been (mostly) successful. I'm receiving a lot of positive feedback from the people here, which is so encouraging! 

These are some of the samples that have been done, I've decided that if I could make little girls dresses forever that would be okay :) They're so much fun to draft! I've also gotten good reviews from my Target Market, having done very extensive research... 

Look how happy she is, wearing a dress over her dress! Overwhelming success! 

Reluctantly, however, this week I have moved from little girls to the more dangerous waters of little boys clothes, I'm finding it challenging to bring anything new to the design table for little boys, but I'm doing my best with some feedback from moms and trying to keep the same design elements as the girls stuff. So far it's going okay.

Something more exciting is that my patterns are now bilingual! 

I found out this week that some of the women who will be sewing my stuff did not have school in English, and that is was difficult for them to read the patterns, so I decided to learn some designers Swahili! Such useful and practical words as "cut" (kukata) and "fabric" (kitambaa), soon I'll be able to carry on a whole conversation! (ermmm...) 

Until then though, this is helpful. 

When I haven't been working tirelessly with Amani, I've been seeing a little bit of the amazing things Kenya has to offer. My first weekend here I was able to attend the Naivasha fashion weekend as an "assistant designer" for Amani, I took lots of pictures, and they were all blurry, except this one. 

Why yes, that man is wearing roses, thanks for asking. The girls dress is also made of some kind of flowers. I was thinking of seeing how much the rose coat cost, but I was worried about getting it through customs. 

I've also become acquainted with some of the locals.

This is Daisy, it was nice to get to know her and her friends at the giraffe sanctuary just outside of Nairobi. I think if there was one animal I really wanted to see, it was giraffes, so this was a very exciting outing, as I didn't only see, but fed and petted some giraffes. You are also able to kiss them, but they got my hands slobbery enough that I decided against it. 

Aww... 

Giraffes like getting there pictures taken, this one was totally posing for me. 

Well, that's life so far here in Nairobi, I'm just trying to soak in every hug and smile, learning a lot about drafting, and about how to work with language barriers. And appreciating every sunny day a little more when I hear about how cold it's getting at home. 

First week at Amani Ya Juu, in Nairobi, Kenya

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a woman traveling must want to share her traveling experiences...

That being said I have almost been a week in Nairobi, Kenya and feel that update #1 is in order :). So far I've been pretty tired, which is a normal reaction to a 9 hour time change, and though it is taking some adjusting to get used to the food, the environment and the accents of the people around me I am feeling very welcomed here. There is a warmth and peace at Amani Ya Juu, where I am interning, that is already making it a great place to work. I have been given an incredible amount of freedom here and am still trying to dive into my work with the children's clothes. Thankfully, children's clothes are very fun to work with, and no matter what I do they'll be cute based on their little-ness, which is incredibly helpful :P. The colours and rich patterns of the fabrics are making my designing job easier and harder. It's impossible not to be inspired by the wonderful material, but it's a challenge knowing how to use it in a way that it will be well featured, but I'm learning :). 

When I'm not at work I have been spending most of my time with my host family, Joyce, who is the director of Amani Ya Juu has gracefully opened her home to me, it has been a pleasure getting to know her and her daughter Dorothy, who I'm sharing a room with. Though the grogginess of jet lag it has still been nice getting to know them and I'm excited to share this experience with them. 

Anyway I could try and write all of the things that are happening and what I'm up to but a picture's worth a thousand words and is a better way to share with you all where I am and what I've been up to :) 

These are just some photo's of Amani, not many, just so you can get an impression of what it's like.

These are some of the fabrics I'll be able to use, so many colours and patterns, it should be pretty fun :) 

This is the main reception area. 

Amani has a shop right on the campus, this is the entrance. 

This is what greets you when you go into the shop, I love that old sewing machine. 

This is the garden cafe, which is also part of the Amani campus, such a lovely little area. 

This is the cafe, as leaving the shop. 

Some of the tools I brought from home, all being put to good use. 

This is Dorcas, who is making my samples. 

This is my first sample done, it still needs some tweaking but it's still so cool to see a design come to life! 

A little gift I got for Amani currently waving in reception. 

There are just a few pictures of what life here is like, I'll send more as I am able. 

Thank you for your prayers and support, God bless! 

Katie <><