Me on Pinterest

Here's a link to my Pinterest page... soooo many pins, so little time..

http://pinterest.com/margot8myself/

How writing on your blog makes you a better writer as a PR

              by Margot van Wyk

 – To some this might come as an obvious conclusion.

When thinking about writing for your own or a company’s blog one obviously assumes that the more you write and practice your writing the better writer you would become, inevitably. As in most cases practice makes perfect. With blog writing it is no different. The best thing about writing on blogs is that you have instantaneous access to feedback because as soon as you post it it’s out there in cyber space and open to criticism and interpretation.

Most blogs also allow for comments after each post, which allows you to see if your blog’s post was well received and gives you the opportunity to monitor all the statistics surrounding how many people see it, how much and where it is shared to by followers and visitors to your blog site. The best part about instantaneous access to feedback is the exposure you might gain to new ideas and inputs from readers on any recommended amendments to existing or topics for future blog posts.

Thanks to the versatility and flexibility of blogs you can allow your creative side to run wild when blogging on your own blog. Unfortunately, and depending on the company environment, you may have to keep to the constraints of the company when blogging for a client or an employer. Still even with constraints in place, companies mainly do or ought to allow for creative initiative from those who are writing and designing content for their blogs. One thing to always keep in mind is that consumers and readers are normally overwhelmed by the amount of content from online sources each day. This has the unfortunate effect of the reader/audience switching off to most of the information that are sent their way. Becoming more creative in writing for blogs may just succeed in breaking through the everyday overload of information and media sent to consumers and help your blog or the company’s blog to reach your target audience and provoke interest when they see something different and innovative. Continuous evaluation of your previous articles, designs and blog work should give you a pretty good idea of what works, what doesn’t and will in effect show you the road forward to improving and exploring more creative paths. This in other words will further your abilities as a compelling writer of articles that have the power to engage your audience and keep them coming back for more.

Not all writers, and especially PR pros who write, are naturally gifted editors and publishers. It takes some writers years of experience to become effective editors and publishers. This simply means the ability to come up with interesting, engaging topics, to research and sift through information and deliver articles that will inform your audience sufficiently, without boring them to death, will and should take you a considerable time to master. Linking back to a point made in the beginning of this article, it’s worth repeating that practice makes perfect, or close to perfect anyway.

For blog writing to be successful in improving your skills as a writer you shouldn’t simply stick to routine. Even winning recipes have room for improvement and it’s your responsibility to continuously evaluate your ideas, your writing, feedback and criticism, and experiments or new creative ways of writing if you want to become an excellent PR writer with a reputation to match.

Industrial Relations Group Assignment

Choose to be part of the Change

- Introduction“It is strange that people train themselves so carefully to go to waste so prematurely” 

When Robert Aickman stated to go to waste so prematurely he was not referring to the youth of the 21st century. But perhaps it is that the youth of every generation in this world faces a set of challenges unique to them and sometimes other challenges that have been inherited from a previous generation.

What many people don’t realise is that underage drinking actually starts at home, it has been proven that 1 out of every 2 teenagers in the average SA home, is a user of alcohol. Teenagers do not see drinking as socially risky behaviour and most adults don’t see it as being irresponsible. In fact, it is usually adults who buy alcohol for underage teenagers. Nomusa Mbatha (not real name),16, from Soweto started drinking when she was 14 and says she can easily pay someone outside the bottle store to buy alcohol for her and her friends. Not only has it become easier to persuade adults to buy underage teenagers alcohol, but bottle stores and clubs have also become far too lenient on asking people for ID, because all they care about is getting money across their counters.

Young girls start drinking at a young age because they want to be accepted by the “male” population, and of course by their friends, but what they don’t realise is that once they have been drinking, they are not fully aware of what is going on around them and they let their guard down. Young girls are not mature enough to understand the consequences of underage drinking and they seem to live by the saying, “it will never happen to me.” All of us think that this will not happen to us or someone close to us. However, it shouldn’t have to take a traumatising situation to make us realise the mistakes me are making . The physical and psychological effects drinking has on young people are devastating. Teenagers are seeking help at crisis centres, clinics and police with symptoms of sexual violence, physical abuse, STD's and pregnancy, and these all occurred in situations where they have been drinking. Not only can underage drinking result in those incidents, but it has also been stated that you are more likely to develop an alcohol addiction in adulthood, if you start drinking before the age of 15.

This Campaign hopes to encourage the next generation of adults to not go to waste so prematurely, to guard their youth and innocence and to change their ways so that their children may one day be protected from the devastating reality of underage drinking.

“CHOOSE TO BE PART OF THE CHANGE” - Aim of the Campaign

The Aim of our campaign is to educate young girls in the community about the real dangers of underage drinking. Dangers include date rape, muggings and other violent crimes and girls are more likely to encounter these dangers at nightclubs and at places at the early hours of the morning when they should be home with their family in a safe environment.

Furthermore, young girls are even more at risk when they are intoxicated and perhaps passed out and not able to be alert of a potentially dangerous encounter. Another important aim is to persuade our young audience by illustrating realistic scenarios of underage drinking. The video illustrates this by showing out-of-control teenage girls. It needs to be stressed that the world out there is dangerous enough as it is already.

Teenage girls should not voluntarily put themselves at risk of being raped or taken advantage of when they act irresponsibly under the influence of large quantities of alcohol.

Another aim is to promote the video to create awareness among teenage girls and their parents. We need to put the time we spent researching and designing this campaign into a movement. Options of going to schools and church groups as well as promoting and circulating the video on social media on the Internet are available. Getting the message and the campaign to go viral is the key to its success.

Once the word has been spread it is easier to change the attitudes and behaviour of young girls, simply because the peer pressure which was once negative will now transform to peers becoming aware of the dangers associated with underage drinking and positive encouragement will follow to hopefully lower the statistics of teens binge drinking.

Teenage girls love posting their late night club hopping expeditions on social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter disillusioned by the idea that they will establish a cooler image for themselves among their peer groups.

This, however, has exactly the opposite effect when they reach early adulthood and enter into the work industry. What these young girls forget is that whatever is posted onto the Internet can never truly be erased. It stays there forever. And the past can be devastating for their careers once it starts haunting them. The list of social implications is endless. Reputations that have taken years to build are crushed in a few hours of drunken behaviour. By informing teenage girls of these social implications and the dangers of underage drinking we hope to produce informed and responsible young ladies for the future.

The campaign aims to supply audience with statistics of the effects of underage drinking. These statistics are freely available on the Internet. But very few people and especially parents are aware of how serious this problem is because they are not brought into contact with these statistics.

The aim is to also inform parents of young girls because they are in a better position, to some extent, to control where their children go. By informing them of the reality of underage drinking we are allowing them the opportunity to be more vigilant and careful about where and with whom they let their daughters associate with.

Finally our overall aim is to decrease underage drinking statistics and violent crimes against young girls.

“CHOOSE TO BE PART OF THE CHANGE”- Statistics

Substantiating our campaign are some horrifying figures.

Before reaching high school 49% of teenagers have consumed alcohol, with 50 % of Gr. 12 students and 20% of Gr. 8 students having consumed alcohol in the past month.

37 % Of Gr. 8 females who drank heavily reported attempting suicide, compared with 11 % who did not drink.

55% of all date rape victims had been drinking or were drunk when raped. 80% of rapists had been drinking before they raped.

The probability of sexual intercourse is increased by drinking amounts of alcohol sufficient to impair judgement, but decreased by drinking heavier amounts that result in feelings of nausea, passing out, or mental confusion

People who begin drinking before age 15 are four times more likely to develop alcohol dependence at some time in their lives compared with those who have their first drink at age 20 or older.

3.1 percent of the past months heavy drinkers ages 18 to 25 had an STD in the previous year, compared with 1.4 percent of young adults who did not drink in the past month.

The rate of reported STDs among female heavy drinkers reached 7.3 percent, compared with 1.3 percent of male heavy drinkers.

“CHOOSE TO BE PART OF THE CHANGE” - Group Dynamics

The group involved in producing the campaign at hand consists of four women in their early twenties. Owing to their age, gender and personal experiences, the message being shared in the campaign is of high importance to the members. This played a large role in group dynamics, as conflict was avoided owing to the involvement, excitement and dedication of the members. Certain rules, regulations, structures and open communication channels also contributed to the group dynamics functioning so efficiently.

Upon receiving the outline for the assignment, it was decided that weekly meetings would be held for the duration of the academic calendar. Every Wednesday a 30 minute long meeting occurred in which the agenda was addressed and minutes were drawn up in order to make constant progression and keep permanent records. E-mails formed another communication channel amongst group members.

A verbal contract was established upon the group forming to promote positive evolution. It was decided that members were permitted to miss fifteen percent of meetings, as long as a valid excuse was delivered before the meeting was held, in order to maintain their status as a group member. Strict deadlines were set, which if unmet resulted in first a warning, followed by expulsion from the group.

Following the origin of the contract, roles were delegated to the members. Brainstorming and the gathering of information was a collective role, belonging to the entire group. Margot Van Wyk is the elected team leader, Wilma Maritz the secretary, with Kelly Rose Minne and Kirsty Kriek co-creative directors and quality controllers. The content of the campaign was also dissected with and assigned to the members. The introduction, explanation and reasons for doing the campaign were allotted to Kirsty Kriek, Kelly Minné held responsibility for the target audience as well as relevant statistics, and Margot Van Wyk investigated the aim of the campaign and discussed the prepared video, with Wilma Maritz ending the campaign with a conclusion.

Other unallocated roles became present over the course of the campaign’s development. Advisers who gathered and reported information, innovators who created ideas, promoters who explored opportunities and organisers who established and implemented routine developed rapidly. The large variety of skills and personalities decreased the possibility of conflict, as each member’s needs where met, mutual respect was shared and constant progress was made to motivate members.

The production of the underage drinking awareness campaign led to a journey between members as individuals used group dynamics to become an efficient, forward thinking, united team. Members used their differences to form a highly skilled, constructive force despite the challenges at hand.

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.” - Margaret Mead

“CHOOSE TO BE PART OF THE CHANGE”- ConclusionHaving the time of your life SHOULDN'T cost you your life

As you can see, underage drinking has a great influence on teenagers and goes hand-in-hand with various other harsh scenarios. Illegal substances, teen pregnancies, abortions, STD’s, rape, car accidents, death.... These are only a few things that usually go along with alcohol. It is thus important to educate minors of the negative effect it can have on them. This education should be the responsibility of their guardians and since media has such a big influence on how teenagers behave, they can definitely help make a change.

What we hope campaign results/effects will be

We are doing this campaign to inform teenagers of the risks of underage drinking, how it will affect them now and later on. We want teenagers to forget the phrase “it will never happen to me”, as this could happen to anyone, anywhere, anytime. Teenagers should realise that the statistics are reality and that each of them can be part of the change.

How we want statistics to change

We want this campaign to change current statistics. We want an significant decrease in these statistics that it is up to 50% less. Unsupervised parties which may lead to underage drinking is at a whopping 70%, thus we want to encourage parents to be more involved in their children’s lives. The percentage of Grade 8 females who drank and reported attempting suicide is at 37%. This is where the question comes in “why do they drink?” - Peer pressure, bad role models, abusing households... with the right attitude minors can be role models for each other and with the help of adults they wouldn’t have to drink away their problems but simply speak their hearts out and ask for help.

The number of rape victims is increasing every day. Alcohol is usually involved by the victim as well as the rapist. By decreasing the alcohol usage in minors, we can actually decrease the number of rape cases. This is only a few statistics and consequences of underage drinking we want to change and prevent. So don’t be part of the problem, be part of the solution - choose to be part of the change!

NMMU Year end PR Function

The best group of classmates anyone could ask for! <3

Sad that my fiance couldn't make it to the event...

"Working it" - thats what's up! Kirsty, Me, Kelly and Wilma (front)

Ms Kelly Rose and I

AAH so much prettiness in one booth... ;)

Sheep in the BIG City

This article I wrote, is not about a funny cartoon though…

An old observation made by French philosopher, Bertrand de Jouvenel was that a society of sheep must in time beget a government of wolves. What de Jouvenel was getting at by making this statement can be seen in any society of any country around the world. That being said, let’s clarify that it needs to be a society of sheep -- a society that follows and obeys, a society that never questions and just follows the crowd. This article is not about anarchy or rebellion; it is simply meant to enlighten you of how being informed makes you less sheepish. It is to inform you of the importance of being clued-up, eating information for breakfast, and not just any information but educated, well searched out nutritious information. 

Consuming information every day is as important as starting off your day with a good breakfast. Information fuels our perspective of reality; it provides insight and most importantly allows us to make informed decisions. Without it we are like sheep awaiting a pack of wolves to come along and devour us. It has to be said, though, that as beneficial as it is to possess good, unbiased information, so too can it be equally detrimental to possess misleading biased information. As much as it sounds like a conspiracy theory, the truth is that there will always be parties out there planting information that is meant to cover up the truth -- wolves that provide genetically modified grass to fatten us up so that they may feast on fat little sheep who do not question why the grass tastes different to the unmodified grass. Wolves may be defined as the government, big corporations, powerful individuals, biased media and just about anyone who wants to distribute seemingly true information to the masses for the purpose of personal gain. 

Let’s face it, information is power. However, the question remains: does the power automatically go to those who consume the information or does it actually remain with the source of the information? Quite simply put, the power lies with those who empower themselves with the right information and if misleading information reaches uninformed ears then the result is that the source gains more power. If misleading information falls into informed hands, the outcome is quite different though. Informed people can make informed choices and may choose to accept or reject information given to them. They may even choose to set the record straight by searching for the right information and openly discrediting misleading sources. 

That raises this next point: why is it important that people are aware of issues and things outside of their own lives or even fields of study? Why should a micro-biology student be bothered by politics? The answer is quite simple: you live here too don’t you? Are you or aren’t you a citizen of the Republic of South Africa? Do you live on planet earth or don’t you? Does the war in Iraq not influence what you pay for transportation, for food and your total cost of living? Being informed does give you power but it’s what you do with that power that counts. As Spiderman’s uncle said: “With great power comes great responsibility” and it shouldn’t be taken lightly. For democracy to work, a country needs not only an informed citizenry but an engaged one as well. 

The creators of the Massachusetts Constitution wrote: “Wisdom and knowledge, as well as virtue, diffused generally among the body of people, are necessary for the preservation of their rights and liberties.” Most of those who go to university go to learn and further themselves to become part of an educated society. However, what’s the use of knowing how to write a press release, how to extract a chromosome, or how to draw up a legal contract if at the end of the day that is all you know. It’s all very good and well to further one’s education but to be truly educated and informed, a person would have to actively pursue knowledge and be open to it. Being at a tertiary institution does not exempt you from having to look for information; on the contrary, it means that you need to utilise the infrastructure that’s available to you. 

Simply feeding off of the mainstream media will also not supply you with the bigger picture as the media has long begun to show a worrisome tendency to downplay its role as even-handed, in-depth public educator and rather focuses on entertainment or once-over reporting. Readers and listeners need to view information critically and decide for themselves on the credibility of all the news they are exposed to. With social media and literally millions of online sources there’s no excuse in today’s world for a person to be uninformed.  As a community at university we need to come together and discuss information to verify its credibility and to form solid opinions and gain well-rounded perspectives. Democracy depends on it. Let us not forget that we are in fact human beings and not just sheep in the big city.□

A Personal Letter

In philosophy we were taught that reality is a reflection of our world view and that our frame of reference ultimately dictates how we perceive reality. If this is true then a reasonable amount of influence on society’s frame of reference is conclusively at the mercy of mass media and the people controlling it. In the very beginning of my first year I was introduced to ethics and values of public relations. This to me now, appears to have been the suitable mandatory foundation on which I was to base further studies of public relations management. I will one day be in a position where I will contribute to the media and finally society’s frame of reference, and it is crucial that that contribution will be based on sound and just ethics, core values as well as an accurate understanding of inter-cultural communication and the sensitivity of society. Therefore, I strongly believe that if I am to make a significant difference in this world I need to comprehend what the world is all about and how the gears of society all fit together neatly.

One of my core values is to raise awareness and aid in social issues and humanitarian activities. These include the upliftment of women in South Africa and Africa as a whole, better quality in the development of skills and education as these form the foundation of upliftment and our country’s growth, the protection of women and children and also the conservation of the environment. Being raised by a single mother, I learnt very quickly by observing, that women are strong and independent, and that this strength and independence is governed by compassion and a nurturing nature. It is because of this characteristic that I gained the confidence to go after my own dreams and aspirations. Along the way I realised that many are not as fortunate as I am, and they also need to be shown how powerful and dynamic they can be if they are given guidance and opportunities to reach their full potential. For this reason, I started volunteering my time and skills to worthy causes since 2008. I found that giving back to the community and to those less fortunate fulfils the basic human need of being a compassionate, strong and nurturing individual. 

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a little inspirational message always cheers up my day, especially on the rainy ones. ;-)

 The Hoiden Article on the New Romantics of 2012 range launch in the Herald, the regional newspaper in the Eastern Cape.

 The Jbay Recycling Project Article in the Kouga Express, a local newspaper in Jeffreys Bay, SA.
A remarkable project that teaches kids the value of recycling and conserving the environment for their own futures.

A photo of me...

The View of Franshoek in the Western Cape, Not many things more beautiful than this... and the best wine masters are also from this region...

a Feature Article I wrote on Myself... Enjoy!

Through the youthful 
looking glass
Feature... 


It is a beautiful sunny afternoon and I.m
having coffee on the veranda of Zest
Restrobar in Port Elizabeth. I glance down to
my notes and see the piece of paper given
to me by the young mother on campus I
approached for the interview on teenage
pregnancy a week before. There is a name
and telephone number on the paper. As I
flip the page over, I note for the first time
since it.s been in my possession that on the
back is a Nelson Mandela Metropolitan
University.s Public Relations timetable for the
term.s classes. Little arrows and lines
indicate changes and cancellations of
modules and times. For a moment, I stop
and start to analyse the scribbles almost as if
to find the link between them and the
person who made them at the same time
imagining what emotion or thought went
through the owner of these scribbles as she
was jotting them down.

My train of thought is interrupted by the
sliding door opening to the restaurant and
out comes the person I have been waiting
for. She smiles politely and thanks the waiter
for showing her to my table. I get up to
shake the fair-skinned, redhead.s hand and
we sit down to start the interview for the
feature you are about to read.

“I know what you think,” she says as I signal
to the waiter for two more coffees. “And
what am I thinking?” I ask, focusing on the
face in front of me as she lights up a long
slim cigarette. She starts by telling me that
she was sixteen in 2008 when she had her
son, Jordan who turned four in January this
year. I notice a sparkle in her eyes while she
tells me his name and age. I have to
wonder though, how does a sixteen year
old even begin to conceptualize preparing
for motherhood when she has things like
final exams, peers and searching for her
own identity to worry about. “I never even
wanted children,” she says and continues,
“All my friends in high school used to go on
about how many kids they imagine they.d
have and with which rugby jock they.d get
married to someday, but the only thing on
my mind was to which countries I.d most like
to travel to and of the endless list of great
things I set out to achieve in the world; none
of which involved settling down and having
kids.”

“Imagine not only being „the new
girl. at school but adding the label
of „the one with a child. to that.” 

She tells me of how she.s always noticed
being different from her peers in the ways
she thought and perceived things and even
of how she was treated by others as a child.
She pauses and then says “There.s a rhyme
written for each day of the week describing
a person born on that day. Mine, however,
couldn.t have been more wrong. I was born
on a Monday and according to this rhyme
Monday.s child is fair of face. I remember
being teased and taunted during my entire
time in primary school about my red hair,
pale skin and freckles. It is something I will
obviously never forget, not because of a
grudge or painful memories, but rather the
qualities and elements it instilled into my
character and the stronger person I am
today because of that.”

She used to be a ballerina and from a
young age she dreamt of becoming a
famous dancer like Margot Fonteyn. She
had to give up that dream when she fell


pregnant in 2007. Jordan was born in the
beginning of her matric year before she, her
single mother and two younger siblings
moved down to the Eastern Cape. “I kept
him a secret from everyone. I lied about
who he was to friends that came over to my
house and only told my best friend that he
was my son after about 2 months into the
year at my new high school.” She further
recalls that only after her final exams she
made it known to everyone what the real
situation was. “People were quite shocked,
but I was even more surprised that no one
rejected me as a friend because of that. I
remember how they all said to me that I
should.ve told them earlier because they
would all have supported me. However, I
know that realistically this might not have
been the case. People and especially
teenagers can be extremely prejudiced. I
wanted them get to know me for who I was.
Imagine not only being „the new girl. at
school but adding the label of „the one with
a child. to that. I didn.t want things to be
more difficult than what they already were
for us.”

Her mother and father were separated just
a year prior to when they moved in 2008.
She tells me how difficult it was telling her
parents of her pregnancy but that they
accepted it and immediately supported her
decision to keep her child. It became clear
that with the strong support system she had,
and still has, the situation of her and her
child could.ve been much more difficult
than what it was mainly thanks to the
commitment and love from her mother, her
father.s financial aid and the unconditional
love from her boyfriend, Alexander. “It was
because of all the help I received from
loved ones that I could carry on chasing my
dreams. I love being on stage.” Her life on
stage started at age 5 when she recited her
first poem at a regional eisteddfod. She
began singing and dancing around the
same age and took part in the local
Showtime production in 2009. She also
recently started performing at the
Boardwalk casino in her free time. Realizing
that her career as a performer would
possibly delay her financial independence,
she applied to study Public Relations and
was accepted to do so this year. She still
continues to do live performances with her
sister, Megan with every opportunity she
gets to do so. “I have finally found my
dream career apart from performing. It is
something I am passionate about. I was
elected onto the sub executive committee
for the PR society at varsity and it has been
somewhat of a personal achievement for
me since it means I am in fact able to juggle
time with my son, studies, a part time job
and a responsibility such as being on the
sub-executives. committee.”

It seems as though she is driven and even
more motivated to succeed by the
realisation that she needs to provide the
best life possible for her son. As nature would
have it, her own aspirations have been
replaced and have become centred on her
son. “He has been a blessing and a real
miracle to my existence. I am not like any
other twenty-one year old; my priority and
responsibility is towards him. Everything I set
out to do in my life has become focused to
benefit both of us. I feel as if I might even be
ahead of my peers on a maturity level and
with life experience.” Things like going out
with friends and the normal behaviour of a
student her age has no relevance in her life
and she prefers it that way. The gift she has
been given in the form of her son has given
purpose and meaning to her life.

Without any regrets she is adamant in raising
him with high morals and values and she
believes that he will someday realise that
and be just as passionate and driven in life
as she is.

Whatever idea I had prior to this interview
about teenage parenthood and the
disillusion that it is an absolute disaster to all
those involved, has now disintegrated. In
front of me is a young woman, strong if not
stronger because of this challenge, wise if
not wiser because of motherhood and
pretty much just as fine or even better off
than others her age. It is apparent that the
stigma attached to young, single mothers in
South Africa has finally come to an end.
After speaking to this young mother for
merely half an hour, I realize that perhaps
we might be ready to witness a paradigm
shift in how young mothers are becoming
more fit and able to adapt in society.

The era of thinking that these young ladies
aren.t morally fit to raise children is over. The
acceptance of this reality can be left to
each person to debate for themselves. I am
convinced that the only difference
between the girl I am interviewing today
and a lady of thirty who both have children
is a university degree and eight years work
experience.

After having met Margot van Wyk, I am able
to connect a young mothering soul to the
scribbles I was analysing earlier. She
possesses a soul moulded and chiselled by
the challenges of young motherhood, but
definitely not broken.

Its a HOIDEN love story Feature - by Margot van Wyk

The idea that edgy style could be combined with soft, flowing, feminine fabrics was completely strange to me until I fell in love with Hoiden. Proof that anything is possible in the world of fashion.

During the month of December 2010, two young designers sat down to start creating a range of controversially unique, but surprisingly complementing designing styles and conceptualised the idea that is Hoiden Clothing. The minds behind this pioneering clothing label are respectively known as fun, feminine Este van der Merwe and daring rebel Marjorie Erasmus. I had been granted the privilege of recently meeting up with these two aspiring young ladies to determine how Hoiden was born and how they made it possible to combine such two contrasting unique styles.

Based in the windy city of Port Elizabeth, Marjorie and Este blew onto the fashion scene not long after graduating from NMMU, which was also where the two met each other and became friends. It wasn’t long after their graduation that the fashion industry of South

Africa took notice of Hoiden. It was in April last year that Marjorie and Este were invited to share their brilliance on the runway of the Jo’burg Fashion Week in the Emerging Designers category.

Of the experience, Este gushes: “It was like a new-born taking its first breath of life.” “And we were the proud parents backstage waiting in anticipation to hear and see the audience’s reaction to our creation”, Marjorie adds. They weren’t disappointed either. Well-established fashion critics gave two thumbs up to the designers and encouraged their forward thinking.

After the launch on the catwalk in April, everyone wanted a piece of Hoiden. ‘Hoiden’ had become the new 'it' word on everyone’s lips. In May last year, they answered their Port Elizabeth fans and officially launched the range in Sliced Bread in the art hub of Richmond Hill.

“We actually didn’t expect that so many people would show up”, says Este as she reflects on how the venue nearly burst at the seams when supporters and friends showed up to see the Charlie Chaplin-inspired couture range that made them local celebrities.

Midway through the year, Hoiden was offered rail space in Plush, a high-end boutique that offers clients exclusive clothing by local designers.

Finally it was time for Hoiden to go casual. The beginning of August gave rise to the creation of a range unlike any other seen before. Marjorie and Este worked day and night to put together garments that reflected both of their distinctive styles. The end result was a range that gave new meaning to soft layers of pastels, flowing lace and asymmetric trimming with a sensual twist of French chic.

To celebrate their new spring/ summer range and their launch at Plush Boutique, Hoiden together with a group of first year Public Relations students under the company name, Masquerade Productions put together a plush event titled ‘The New Romantics of 2012’. The launch drew a lot of media attention and ensured even more exposure for Hoiden. Their new romantic range captured the hearts of all who attended the event in October this year. The occasion confirmed that Hoiden is here to stay. “We couldn’t have asked for a better way to follow up our initial launch of Hoiden.

The New Romantics of 2012 summer range launch was the perfect way to show everyone that Hoiden is a versatile label. We proved that not only could we create Haute Couture, but also casual every day wear and we still stayed true to the standards of designing which were incorporated into both ranges”, Marjorie remarks proudly.

The creative duo hopes to capture the hearts of all South African fashion lovers when they launch their range nationally at the end of next year. It would be a dream come true for Hoiden to set the trends in the international fashion industry someday. We can have faith in these two young aspiring designers that they will accomplish international recognition and so much more. Hoiden is the result of a chance taken to fuse together styles that were previously unheard-of.

Hoiden has also proven that they are a design duo to be reckoned with. 

That is, of course, if their designs don’t leave you weak in the knees.□

Feature Article: "No Nukes, No Problem" - by Margot van Wyk

When ESKOM announced its plans to construct a nuclear power
station in Thyspunt, Oysterbay just outside of Jeffreys Bay, the
majority of the community, environmentalist groups and even
pro-surfers protested and warned against it. But what is all the fuss
really about? Are there life- and health-threatening risks involved?And what can be done about similar electricity issues when they hit close to home?

“No Nuke at Thyspunt” – the phrase on bumper stickers on nearly every car in the Kouga district in the Eastern Cape, South Africa.  The ‘No Nuke’ movement was founded by the Thyspunt Alliance after ESKOM announced its plans to build a nuclear power plant four times the size of the plant in Koeberg, near Cape Town. However, the size of the plant is not the issue that created the uproar in the South African surf capital’s community, but rather the irreversible impact the construction would cause to the environment. One of the biggest impacts will be on the marine environment.  During construction, 6.3 million cubic meters of sand will be pumped into the ocean.  The plan also allows for the construction of several tunnels for the inlet and outlet pipes respectively.  The digging of the trenches for these tunnels will cause irreparable damage to an area of up to 54 000m2.

The wetlands that will be affected by construction of such a nuclear plant are considered as a very unique and extremely rare wetland system.  It comprises of an exceptional interaction between the wind, sand dunes and water table.  It is the last active headland bypass dune system in the country. The site is also an historical landmark still being discovered and studied by archaeologists.  It is not only home to the first nation of South Africa, the Khoisan community, but is also a very rare area where a timeline of 1.5 million years can be followed.

Studies also revealed that the construction of various tunnels for the inlet and outlet structures of the plant will damage 54 000 square meters of ocean floor. Furthermore, 28% to 37% of squid caught in the squid sector occurs within ten nautical miles east and west of the proposed Nuclear-1 location. Pumping 6.3 million cubes of sand into the ocean will most likely suffocate marine life and kill the squid industry in the area, which could result in the local chokka industry’s relocation and the losses of hundreds of jobs in the fishery industry alone.

Besides the environmental and economic concerns, social safety issues have also surfaced concerning people living in and around the community. Local residents face countless health risks as Eskom has failed to give proper safety guarantees to citizens in the surrounding areas. Estimates revealed that accidental radioactive fallout at Thyspunt could be potentially five times that of Chernobyl, resulting in tens of thousands of deaths, long term cancers and birth deformities. It’s no wonder that international pro-surfers are backing the Thyspunt Alliance to protest against the construction of the nuclear plant.

The full spectrum of risks needs to be carefully analysed and understood before plans for nuclear power plants are proposed in any populated area of the world. Evidence shows that through nuclear power plants, no carbon dioxide is emitted into the atmosphere and the nuclear industry even claims that nuclear power could aid by reducing the causes of pollution causing global warming. However, the factors of nuclear waste and production raise questions about whether nuclear power can fulfil this claim and what the price of trying might be. As voices in our communities, we need to be asking these questions. Should we be satisfied with the biased information that electricity and energy corporations are soon feeding us, or should we be doing our own homework on matters concerning our health and safety and the impacts of nuclear operations on our environment?

In the event of the Chernobyl tragedy of 1986 in northern Ukraine, about 168 000 out of the 3.2 million victims died over the period of ten years following the nuclear disaster. The remainder of the total victims affected still suffer from disease and genetic disorders as a direct result of radiation toxicity caused by the Chernobyl nuclear plant disaster. A total area of 50 000 square kilometres covering 12 regions was contaminated in the tragedy. As a result, radio-active pollution spread through the air via clouds capturing radio-active particles, emitting toxic rain over exposed areas and inevitably also spread through water systems, leaving citizens in those areas completely vulnerable to toxicity caused by the radiation. Even today, the final effects of the Chernobyl disaster have still not been confirmed.

We need to weigh up the benefits of nuclear energy versus safer alternatives of generating electricity. Imagine for once, a world where we feel safe in our own homes, knowing that we won’t be blasted with rays of radio-active pollution when watching television powered by the solar panels on our roofs. Driving in our electric powered cars, past the wind plantations that power the metropolitans we work in. Picture our children playing safely on the playgrounds at school, knowing they are safe from genetic deformities and cancer caused by nuclear plant explosions and waste. How comforting would a green world be where the lives and safety of people prevail in the war of money and irresponsible electricity businesses practices by our governments and business tycoons? Imagine, a nuke-free, problem-free world philosophy. □