The other day, I was asked for my title at an event where I was to deliver a presentation. I thought hard but could not pin it down to one or two words such as being a Project Manager, Project Engineer or Process Engineer. Unlike in the past, I have come to embrace the fact that I am much more than a title or job function. My work is a complete body of activities and engagements, through which I add value by providing genuine and unique contributions.
These days, besides being a full time wife and mother -- who, by the way, has a career in developing and directing engineering projects -- I see myself as a social innovator, passionate about promoting sustainability through the use of sustainably-sourced, brightly coloured and bold-patterned African Fabrics. These include the traditional handwoven Aso-Oke, Geles, natural-dyed Batik, Tye & dye, and Adire from West Africa.
My passion for colour, nature and people, led to my first ever fair fashion event, in Utrecht, The Netherlands, where I gave a lecture on the role of engineers, scientists and designers collaborating to create innovative, high-performance outfits.
I got the opportunity to share how technologies such as bio-fabrication and blockchain offer possibilities to revolutionize the fashion industry and redefine how clothes are created for long term use.
UnikBlends got to showcase the Upcycle Denim & Aso-Oke Bucketbag as well as our UnikBlazers, products designed by talented designers who had never been exposed to a sustainability-conscious or international audience. This was such an achievement and the enthusiasm felt that day, is one that has convinced me that I might just be on the right path with my sustainability journey, 2 years on from the creation of UnikBlends!
Intentional Steps
In the past 3 years, I have spent considerable amounts of time learning and discovering the numerous possibilities of being sustainable. Not only in fashion, but also as a way of life. This was heightened during an illness over 2 year ago. While convalescing, I decided to research the subject of sustainability and came to realize some hard facts about my industry of work (oil & gas), as being quite polluting.