July Newsletter

Email us for a copy info@streetwires.co.za

All about Streetwires

Please take a moment to watch our detailed 6 minute video on Streetwires. click on the link below

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iyYZ7Ey_vFY

Youth Day

Tomorrow is Youth Day, the day we recall the tragic events of the 16^th of June 1976, the day an estimated 20 000 students rose up in protest of the enforced implementation of Afrikaans as the medium of instruction in government schools. The image of the lifeless body of Hector Pieterson being carried by Mbuyisa Makhubo is one that remains as poignant now as it did 35 years ago. It’s not a holiday to celebrate, but perhaps a day that we can contemplate what it means to be young in contemporary South Africa and how important it is to nurture the youngest generations. We asked some of our artists to look into the future and tell us about their wishes and dreams for their children. This is what they said;

Brighton Swabu “ I wish a good successful life for my daughters Latifah and Hadija. I want them to be responsible and reach the highest level of learning. I wish that they can become aeroplane pilots.”

Artwell Munenura “I want Brandon and Hope to go to university, maybe one can be a doctor and the other one a businessman like Raymond Ackerman.”

Malanga Kula “I wish for Prince and Kaden a good education and a happy life. Maybe they will be engineers. I look forward to being a grandfather. But not too soon.”

Nolobabalo Komsana “I want my daughter Unalo to have a good education, maybe become a doctor and marry a good man.”

Reginald Mangwiro “I want my son to become a neurosurgeon!” ( no pressure there!)

Asanda Yekiso “I want a bright future for my daughter Asemahle. Maybe she will become a doctor.”

Eddie Jange “I want my daughter and unborn son to have all the opportunities that I didn’t have. I think Tanya should be the first female president of Zimbabwe and my son to be a lawyer.”

Hilary Matawa “I want my daughter Angel, to be her own boss. I want her to get a good education and go to university and get good grades. I wish that she will take her time to marry and not let any man take advantage of her. I want her to stand up for herself. I want her to take after me.”

Dudu Gazela “I want Abigail ( nickname Popeye ) to be a doctor. A happy married Doctor. I look forward to being a Grandmother.”

Joel Chimbwanda “Of course I want a good education for Marvin, and for him to become a Professor so that he can teach other people.”

Beauty Moyo “I want my daughters Tandiwe and Silethu to have big dreams and to be well educated so that they can achieve those dreams.”

Patson Marange “I would like my son Bliss to be educated as an engineer.”

Abraham Aubrey Titus “I would like to see my son Gerswin become a chemical engineer.”

Thobela Mnguma “I would like to see my son Luthu become a lawyer. And just one wife is fine, I don’t want him to have stress.”

Luckson Tinago “I wish for my son, Tafadzwa Riaan Tinago, to know God, and to be an honest, faithful, hardworking and intelligent man. Even more than his father”

So here’s to youth and the future. And may we, all the grown up South Africans, find one common goal, to endeavour to do all that we can to make these dreams come true.

The Very Best Of Wire Art

One of the great things about wire art is the many, many ways that you can use it. Last year we were approached by a young bride to be, Tracey Fairweather, and her mum Tess, to make up some special favours for her wedding guests. Tracey chose Frangipani (her favourite flower from childhood) keyrings for the female guests and Chilli (perhaps because the groom is hot?) keyrings for the men. A little while before the wedding, Tracey, rather mysteriously, ordered 49 Nguni Cow keyrings and asked that the artists should leave off the keyring ring holder. It seemed an odd request, but of course, we at Streetwires are used to unusual requests and always endeavour to make our clients happy no matter how strange the commission, so we produced and delivered the mysterious cows.  As it turned out, the mini Ngunis were gorgeously mounted in a beautiful box frame, and as a tongue in cheek nod to the very African tradition of Lobola, were presented to Tracy’s Father. Thanks Tess, and the new Mrs Tracey Mc Gahey and husband Garth, for letting us share  a little of your special day. May you have many years of happiness ahead of you. Oh, and if you need gifts for Christenings, Birthday parties, Anniversaries etc, you know where to come;-)

A final word on our last post.

Its been a while since we posted anything on our blog and we’ll really try to update it more regularly. Cathy Ronaasen, who many of you will fondly remember as our Sales and Export manager sent a response to our last post which I wanted to share. 

Great blog, and very relevant article. The day customers / consumers / distributers stop exploiting the independent artists (who literally get stripped of all dignity in this process), and start supporting organisations such as yourselves, the more capacity you would have to employ the independents. Ironic, isn't it?
The true worth of beautiful, handmade, high-quality items is in sustainability, not in making a quick buck. I would love to know if these same buyers could make it themselves for the price they pay?

As a post script on the subject of informal artists versus Streetwires Artists, I thought it may be worth describing a day in the life of a Streetwires Artist. The artists arrive at work between 8.30 and 9.00, at which point they are issued with new jobs or continue with the completion of existing jobs. We take a tea break at 10.45 and then work until 1pm when we take a one hour lunch break. We have 2 kitchens, one upstairs and one downstairs, both equipped with microwave ovens so that the artists can heat up their lunch, a kettle upstairs and an urn for hot water in the downstairs kitchen. There are 4 restrooms on the premises. We have heaters in winter and fans in summer, so the studio is by and large, a comfortable work space ( notwithstanding the odd giant cockroach or pigeon that occasionally disturbs the peace).
The artists are paid per piece, which is why there are 3 dedicated sales people ( not including Sibu, who runs the shop) who focus entirely on getting orders into the studio. Although the artists are paid per piece, the relationship between SW and the artists is still contractual and all new artists are entered onto our system, issued with a C-number and have a bank account opened for them. We are also subject to the Basic Rules and Conditions of Employment as described by the department of labour.

I like to think that Streetwires is a happy place to work. Of course we’ve had miserable times when work has been scarce, but mostly we’re a great team. Many of the artists have been here for six years at least and we have silly nicknames for each other and have built up a lexicon of words which probably only make sense to Streetwires employees ( one example is a flopile – a hybrid of English and isiXhosa which basically means a bad quality product).

If you’ve read this far, thankyou! And we’ll post some new product information soon!

A sad day...

Last week, we were frustrated and saddened to find that our brand new chickens have been knocked off. It is not the first time that this has happened, but it has the first time that this has happened so quickly after releasing a new product. Perhaps its a compliment but its also deflating and de-motivating – why should we invest in product development if some of our customers think nothing of swiping our designs. How is this different from knock off labels, or pirated DVD’s or other counterfeit merchandise that focused campaigns in the media remind us are illegal?

 I mention customers, because while we know a certain amount of responsibility rests on the wire art community, these dodgy transactions would not be possible if it weren’t for distributers looking for a cheaper deal. True we are more expensive than the average road side artist, but our overheads are obviously much higher. These overheads include electronic communication, marketing, salaries, VAT, PAYE ( yes we pay taxes), and a crew of dedicated team leaders, dispatch personnel and quality controllers – these to make sure that we deliver quality product on time, everytime!

Streetwires also employs a team of extremely talented sample artists and beaders, specifically to design and create new products. The primary reason for this is to meet customers needs and  increase our sales in order for our studio artists to earn a decent wage. Anyone familiar with Streetwires will know that we have, and have always had, a duel mission. To create beautiful wire art while creating sustainable employment for our artists, some of whom have been with us from the start.

Sadder still, is that those who encourage artists to copy us by supporting them negate the legitimacy that we and other formalised wire crafters have fought so hard to attain for the medium. No longer consigned to the dusty pavements of Southern Africa, wire art now graces the halls of government, corporate head quarters and high end hotels. We are very proud of that, and proud of the esteem that this acceptance affords both our artists and other wire artists.

There are those who feel that buying directly from informal artists is a more direct form of enrichment, and its a valid argument but only if buying an original design.  On the other hand, the life of an informal artist is a hard one. Its not that cool to have to stand at the side of the road hoping for a sale, especially if the weather is extreme, and very often those artists, due to hard economic reality, are forced to sell pieces way below what they are worth in order to feed their families. Enrichment? Or exploitation.

busy! busy! busy!

2011, so far has been a funny year. It started very, very quietly, even though it seemed at one point that the sales people were competing in the quoting Olympics. A switch must have gone on some time last month because all of a sudden we are wonderfully busy. Everywhere there is industry – the sales people are quoting and booking orders, the sample artists are shaping new magic,  music is pumping in the studio where the  artists are shaping and binding keyrings, animals and other fantastic creations while a scratchy orchestra of spindle machines are furiously threading beads to be plastered onto those creations. Eddie, our production manager is carefully planning his schedule, the admin ladies are generating orders, reports, job cards, Mr Titus our driver is racing around Cape Town delivering orders and collecting stock and even Ella our housekeeper has been kept on her toes. Sparks are flying out of the welding department as Mike and his team try to keep up with the demand for the welded wire animals, while Lucky, Welly and Riaan complete 2 top secret installations for an organisation that gives hope to millions ( more about that when the project goes live). If you’re in the Cape Town CBD and you would like visit us to view this blissful chaos please feel welcome.

A final word? None of this would be possible without the ongoing support of our wonderful clients!