A very 'nice' chat, with sprinkles of sugar and spice - popcorn for your thoughts.

We chat about:

- Humour/wit

- Becoming a writer

- Writing vs music as a form of expression

- Choices around becoming an accountant

- The personality of the accountant vs the dream for the writer within

- Daily writing habits

- What happens to the psyche when a dream comes true

- The first person Sven reads his novels out loud to

- Is being a full time writer financially viable?

Quotes we refer to in our conversation:

"So I hope that you will do the same for the rest of your lives. When things are going sweetly and peacefully, please pause a moment, and then say out loud, “If this isn’t nice, what is?”

- Kurt Vonnegut, If This Isn’t Nice, What is?

"Nobody will stop you from creating. Do it tonight. Do it tomorrow. That is the way to make your soul grow...The kick of creation is the act of creating, not anything that happens afterward. I would tell all of you watching this screen: Before you go to bed, write a four line poem. Make it as good as you can. Don't show it to anybody. Put it where nobody will find it. And you will discover that you have your reward."

- Kurt Vonnegut

Follow Sven @svenaxelrad

Che Dyer shares about creative wellbeing for moms, but this episode can also be enjoyed by each of us living with the human condition. 

Che is a 'voice' of social media, a yoga teacher with a background in graphic design and illustration.

We chat about:

- Goals and dreams before motherhood vs during

- Flow of energy for creating 

- Creativity as income vs creating purely for fun

- Entering motherhood from a yoga background

- Yoga before and during motherhood  

- Managing our emotions in relation to others (adults & children)

- The kind of support Che most appreciates from her partner

- Leaning into 'paw patrol'

Follow Che @che_dyer

A conversation with the creator of Humble Coffee, Durban, South Africa.

The young Scottish lass now calls South Africa her home; 2 cafes and winner of 2 national Cafe of The Year awards later.

We chat about:

Pets

Coffee roasting and hosting

The cafe space and community

Creative thinking in the hospitality/coffee space

Work team dynamic and team building activities

Future dreams

* Includes sound effects from happy hounds (barking, panting etc), hadedas (cawing)*

Follow @humblecoffeeza

A conversation with Dave Gardner, who as you'll hear, is one of those people one could enter into endless conversations with. We explore ways of moving and being that keep us engaged in the endless conversation with life.

As well as:

- The inspiration behind Dave's Original Condition offerings

- The yoga/mixed martial arts/alternative movement journeys and teachers along the way

- Intorducing the Budokon practice (mixed movement art practice) to SA  

- Creative process, music, listening & the suspended meditative state

- Living Zen and cultivating creativity

- Mini history on the origins of Zen

- Tapping into creative nature

Some gems (somewhat loosely quoted) from Dave during our conversation:

~ We seek comfort in traditions, forms and structures ... and then our journey can begin to embolden us to dissolve into the tradition of no tradition; the tradition of we all belong...there's just this great life 

~ The idea of original condition is not a fixed, finite thing, it's changing, it's moving, it's expansive, it's creativity, it's life - so that can never be pinned down, we can never be pinned down - original condition is far more of a question and spark for curiosity

Books we mention:

Creative Quest by Questlove

The Creative Act: A Way of Being by Rick Rubin

Links:

@davefrederickgardner
www.original-condition.com (online courses, retreat offerings and more)

An in-depth conversation with multi-disciplinary artist and designer, Nindya Bucktowar. 
Nindya creates using a multitude of mediums. Her ceramic creations were what first drew my attention in her direction. Nindya and her husband Nikhil have since opened a bespoke tile design and production company, Kalki Ceramics, which is constantly evolving in the scope of its design endeavours, now translating through Studio Kalki. 
We chat about:
- Creative/artist production burnout vs endless creative energy
- Advice for aspiring artists & designers
South African artists on the international playground
The artist's/designers schedule
The relationship between the body clock and the tasks best suited to its rhythms
Design and client challenges
Personal rituals and habits that feed the creative spirit and support a sustainable way of creating 

Joanne Rushby, Durban proprietor of the infamous Ike's Books reveals her extra mural indulgences. We chat about:

- The life of a writer and a reader

- What daily walks can offer 

- Being 'rooted in community'

- Lessons from knitting journeys

- 35 years of Ike's Bookshop - the charm of Durban

Are you interesting enough to be a guest on a podcast?

Is the word interesting a terrible or potential- full descriptor?

Where/what/when is the 'something interesting, and can we recognise interesting as a way to develop a creative process?

This conversation with Sizwe is a pocket of power, so please do let it play through your speaker to receive a few bites that might just spark some of that power inside of you! Sizwe is a holistic health facilitator, self mastery coach and a yoga teacher with a passionate voice in these spaces.

We chat about:

- How people who are whole, healthy and healing can create better societies
- Being active in our communities - 'self repair for social repair'

- Yoga: teaching and teacher training

- Breaking moulds in the yoga space

- Inspiration behind planning a yoga class

- Facilitation in general

- 'Adrenalised energy vs energy from a regulated system'

- Ceramic crafting & therapy; 'Sizwe & her terracotta'

- Being a black woman in the yoga space

- Candid conversation about being seen as a black woman versus 'we don't see colour' 

- How we be more inclusive in the yoga space

- A great conversation of I don't knows, because we are all still learning from each other, always.

Get in touch with Sizwe:

@siztheday

@thetoolboxlife

[email protected]

Podcast soundtrack: Nish Pillay

In conversation with South African band, Veranda Panda: Liam and Jane

Expect:

Free laugh energy

Panda birth story

Band relationships

Musicians & marriage

Music production

The two way conversation we must open ourselves up to if we want to create in response to our universal human stories

The power of on stage adrenaline

New Veranda Panda folklore loading...

Follow the band @verandapanda

Listen to their music on Spotify

Roxanne Robinson, Durban based Art Director and all round fashion 'cool kid', shares her journey into and within the fashion media and retail landscape. 

Find out where one my favourite lines from the podcast 'my grandmother's kitchen' fits into Roxanne's story.

We chat about:

Art directing for fashion 

The vocational journey of a fashion creative

Lived style and style influences

The Eat Nice pop up foodie concept 

Soupernice Souping it up around Durban and the surprising connections made on the soup delivery route

Being inspired by others 

The challenges of a freelance career

The origins of an instagram handle 

Doing things because they are fun

Learning from people within our communities

Rox's style influences (also her close friends)

@robynsilberbauer

@anmarihoniball

@melissajanemunro