Brioche Restaurant: A Delightful Taste Of Rwanda and Belgium in Nairobi…

So I have this friend called David who is currently out of town. One of the things I promised him was that I would write about new restaurants in Nairobi that might tickle his fancy, and when he gets back we can go check them out..

As I was weighing the options, Nikos calls me up and makes me promise to join him at Brioche Restaurant in Karen on Saturday. How can anyone ever say no to Nikos!

Saturday comes along and we hop into his car for the road trip to Karen.. 🙂 We drive into The Watermark Business Park which I had driven past on several occasions but had never stepped in before. We park the car, step out and in no time we are standing in front of Brioche..

We walk in through the door and encounter a warm and welcoming space..

The restaurant also has an outdoor section..

Eunice our host makes us feel at home at Brioche. We do not hesitate and order our lunch as soon as we sit down. In no time, we have our food in front of us which included the following…

Tomato Splendid!

Smoked Chicken & Mushroom Quiche

Waterzooi of Kuku

I had the pleasure of enjoying this as my main course. It is a fusion of Belgian and Kenyan chicken. Loved it!

Brioche bake their own bread and have a great dessert selection. Therefore it would have been a crime for us not to have some..

I cannot wait to have my lemon pie again!

Brioche is the brainchild of Jean-Philippe Kayobotsi who happens to be half Rwandan and half Belgian. The first branch opened at the Kigali Business Center (KBC) in Kacyiru in 2013. The Karen restaurant is the fourth Brioche in East Africa. The company has grown its workforce to over 100 employees in Rwanda and Kenya.

Jean-Philippe Kayobotsi (Picture from CNN)

Do stop by the next time you are in Karen and let me know what you think! 🙂

Brioche Karen Facebook Page

The Fascinating Birth of Those Delicious Sandstorm Bags…

It is no secret that I am utterly in lust with Sandstorm Bags. If you have never laid your eyes on, or had the pleasure of touching these beautiful things, then you, my friend, are in need of guidance. 🙂

Picture Courtesy of ThreadMuse Culture

I made my way to Karen to meet up with Mark, the man behind Sandstorm Bags. He wanted to give us a special tour of the factory. I am hoping that he was not traumatized by my obvious excitement from the moment I leaped out of the car. 🙂

I will do my best to retell this journey to you, my esteemed reader, as best as I can.

Let us start with a small background story.. Sandstorm initially was a luxury tent manufacturer for various safari camps in Kenya. At some point, they decided to venture into other luxury products, of which I think the bags stood out the most. This was a brilliant move because now Sandstorm bags are one of the most sought after Kenyan brands.

So Mark had a bit of a tough time shepherding us around the workshop. We kept on getting ahead of ourselves, running off to different work stations, touching things we should not touch (sometimes smelling them behind his back 🙂 )

In the end, thanks to Mark’s patience, I present to you the steps that lead up to these beautiful bags.

Step 1: Sourcing Parts.

All the leather is sourced locally from Bata, Athi River or Sagana. The simple brass parts are cast by artisans locally while the technical brass parts are sourced elsewhere. The canvas material is also mostly locally sourced, with the nature of the materials allowing for different color options.

Step 2: Cutting

In order to minimise material wastage, every piece of leather/canvas is planned out way in advance. Sometimes to increase efficiency more volume of materials are cut in one go.

The cutting is usually done by hand. Some cutting is also done using a clipper press.

Step 3: Preparation

There are certain parts that need to be glued together ahead of stitching. This is done during the preparation stage…

Step 4: Stitching

This is the stage where the bag comes together. I managed to get a small clip of the process…

Step 5: Burning

Well, not the whole bag… 🙂

This is the stage that gets rid of all the loose hanging threads from the stitching.

Step 6: Quality Confirmation

Charles, the head of the quality department, makes sure that each and every bag is up to standard and is ready for you.

Step 7: Distribution

Once the bags are ready for the market, they head to a specific room out of which distribution to various locations takes place.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how Sandstorm bags are born! 🙂

Seat covers are another popular product Sandstorm are known for.

Here are other interesting places you will spot Sandstorm bags..

With Diana Opoti of #‎100DaysofAfricanFashion‬

Kate Middleton has a sandstorm bag as an engagement present…

The Independent names Sandstorm’s bag as one of the ten best weekend bags here..

The Race4Change Team Rocking Sandstorm Bags…

London Fashion Week 2011

Sandstorm sells both locally and internationally, with a presence in 40 independent shops in the UK. Stop by their Website for further details on the brand and their store locations.

Five Minutes with South Africa’s Emmah Mthembu of Crystal Customz

The girl in me who loves shiny things could not resist chasing down Emmah, the force behind Crystal Customz. They specialise in hand crafted designs made using rhinestone. Crystal Customz work their magic on t-shirts, shoes and any other apparel.

The Chronicles of An African Girl: What made you start working with crystals?

Emmah: The idea of using crystals started with me liking them on platform heels by Christian Louboutin that were $6000 and I couldn’t afford them. So I thought, what if made them for myself? I did and I loved them so I thought of other things the crystal would look beautiful on and I thought of African maps and flags on t-shirts.

Christian Louboutin Heels

Heels Crystallised by Crystal Customz

The Chronicles of An African Girl: As a South African living in the US what are the day to day challenges you face in your business?

Emmah: The challenges are that the flags and maps mostly appeal to Africans and I would like target everyone and that is what I am currently working on and I think I just found a solution which I am keeping under wraps for now.

The Chronicles of An African Girl: Do you have any outlets in Africa? How can potential clients reach you?

Emmah: No I do not have outlets in Africa. This project is still a new born. It is less than 3 months old. I am still creating a buzz about it. Potential clients can send me a message on my facebook page.

Kenyan Flag by Crystal Customs

The Chronicles of An African Girl: What do you miss the most about Johannesburg?

Emmah: Oh man. Don’t get me started. I miss the culture, I miss what we call Ubuntu( humanity). I miss the music and dance. I miss the food. Most of all, I miss my family.

The Chronicles of An African Girl: What advice would you give those looking to explore their creative side?

Emmah: If you can conceive the idea, you can achieve it. Do it or you will always have that question, what if? You have nothing to lose.

Shoes with an African Influence…..

Julian Louie’s Spring 2011 Aldo Wedges are a mishmash of textiles on the shoes was inspired by Pieter Hugo’s photography book The Hyena & Other Men. The designer explains: “The photographs [are] of a group of men in Nigeria who were street entertainers, and they trained hyenas. They had these crazy outfits that were half American sportswear that they found and half really traditional tribal pieces with a lot of interesting textiles and tassels. So the whole collection was about the mix of those two ideas.”

Here are images off the book The Hyena & Other Men by Pieter Hugo (South Africa) followed by pictures of the shoes inspired by the images…..

Here are other Africa themed shoes…..

African Products 5: Mifuko Oy

Mifuko Oy (Mifuko is the swahili word for Bags) is a Finnish design company, which co-operates with several small artisan workshops in Kenya. Mifuko gives the designs a Scandinavian twist, while trying not to interfere with the creativity and techniques of chosen African artisans. Each product combines traditional African handcraft techniques with Scandinavian design. Here are some of their prodcuts:

For more information check out their website http://www.mifuko.fi

African Products 4: Just Art Magazine

The reason I am officially a fan of Just @rt is simple. I share their sentiments on Africa:

“More frequent than not, the African voice is the most silent one when it comes to positive and inspirational stories. This continent is many a times depicted as a minefield of morbid, horrid, negative stories despite its richness in resilience, beauty and dynamic cultural heritage.

Just@rt is an online magazine out to tell the African story through the continent’s vibrant and dynamic arts and culture. This e-magazine is fresh, creative, dynamic and seeks to showcase untold stories and inspire a true experience and journey into the world of Africa’s arts and Culture.”

Follow then on twitter, facebook and their website 🙂

 

African Products 3: Kenya Arts Diary 2012 (Kenya)

One of my new year’s resolution was to organize my year better. Yes, It is the most recurring resolution I have ever had 🙂 For this reason I always purchase a diary/organizer.

I have always bought diaries based on the cover and the paper quality. I first spotted the Kenya Arts Diary in 2011 with my French friend, Bridie. I thought it was fascinating. It was vibrant, well put together and the quality was splendid. The Diary was assembled by an all-volunteer team of Kenyan art lovers who believe that Kenyan art only needs more visibility for it to be recognized as one of the most exciting and thriving art worlds on the planet right now. When I saw the 2012 edition, I had to have it!

Here is an excerpt of the concept behind the Kenya Arts Diary from the African Colours website. The piece was written by Andrew Njoroge.

“The Kenya Arts Diary 2012 features the works of over 60 contemporary artists living and working in Kenya. The Diary has 152 full-colour pages with:

• One week per double-page spread, giving plenty of space to write and make notes

• One artist per double-page spread, with contacts for every artist featured

• An extra section of blank pages to collect thoughts and ideas

• Contacts for galleries, institutions and sponsors of the arts in Kenya

To make your order, email info@africancolours.com or africancolours@gmail.com. You can also call +254721951278 or +254720585796

African Products 2: Mille Collines (Rwanda)

I first heard about Mille Collines in June 2010 when my friend Luca mentioned that his friend Marc Oliver was moving to Nairobi to set up a store. I eventually had the pleasure of meeting Marc, a pleasant, down to earth man with a passion for good music 🙂

Fast forward to today and Mille Collines has successfully opened a store at the Village Market and is in the process of  setting up their second store in Nyali, Mombasa at the City Mall.

Mille Collines was founded in 2008 when Marc Oliver and Inés Cuatrecasas collaborated and launched their brand in Kigali, Rwanda. Since then they have managed to introduce their beautiful outfits  to Nairobi and hopefully the rest of the world

Here are some of their designs:

I stopped by the Village Market Branch today for a few minutes….Here’s what it looks like:

Website: Milles Collines

African Products 1: Sandstorm Bags (Kenya)

Granted that there are a lot of major brands worldwide (Gucci, Calvin Klein, Boss, Givenchy, Prada, Jimmy Choo etc), nothing beats African brands. What is amazing about them is that they are hand made and affordable (depending on how big the brand is).

One of my favourites is Sandstom. They make handbags from Tanzanian all-cotton canvas, hand-selected leather hides, and solid brass fittings. I have my eye on the Brown Nappa Leather Laptop Bag for my monster 17″ laptop.

Their products are popular overseas too. I once had a friend from Sweden fly to Kenya just to harass me over these divine bags.

Their Product line includes Outdoor and Sporting bags

Travel bags

They also have Wash bags, Handbags and Totes and small accessories. Do stop by their website for more on their products: www.sandstormkenya.com