This year is quite special for me, this year I turned 30 and my new venture turned 1. Reflecting back, one of the things I promised myself around this time last year was I didn’t want to be in the same position come this year. I’m fortunate and grateful to God that this this promise has been kept.
When I refer to position, I guess what I’m really trying to say or project is an idea of comfort. Who doesn’t like to be comfortable? In many ways and to many people comfort is a good state to be in. Comfy home, comfy office, comfy relationship, comfy job the list goes on – but for me, especially when it came to my professional and personal growth, comfort became an issue. For me when i’m comfortable I don’t grow, depending on that comfy situation, I can also feel undervalued and become complacent – which leads to complaining (no-one likes a complainer).
So without loosing the point, it was important for me to leave certain comfort zones and promise myself to maximise my potential and use my gifts to achieve my dreams and ambitions. I’m still on this journey.
Last summer, I had a strong conviction to start The Assembly because I wasn’t comfortable with the way certain things were being done and how we’re accustomed to being/doing in the fashion industry. I wasn’t comfortable with the fact that even though I’ve been making my little contributions to the industry, I wasn’t making the kind of impact I wanted. To be honest, I didn’t know how or where I was going to start from, all I knew was that I’ve always been passionate about raising the standard of Africa’s fashion industry and I wanted to create a community where like minds could regularly connect and develop their ideas, skills and businesses.
If you’ve been to any of our events or read any of our posts, it’s very important to us to make sure the people you connect with, hear and learn from are the real deal – no sugar coating – no fluffy stories – no sub standards, but sharing real and quality knowledge, education and experiences to inspire, empower and support your growth.
Once the vision became clear to me, I’ve had very supportive friends and family who keep encouraging me even when I have moments of anxiety and self doubt. We also know the importance of friends and family when you’re broke too. I’ve also been very blessed to share my visions with complete strangers (this took me way out of my comfort zone) who’ve been fantastic! Not to mention the great team i’ve had helping me along this journey.
The mission of The Assembly is to establish equity for fashion and creative talent in Africa, remove barriers and provide access to creative and professional development, resources and holistic mentoring. Our mission is to close the opportunity gap for young and emerging creative talent and foster entrepreneurs and companies that innovate the face of fashion in a hostile yet rapidly changing marketplace using collaborative methods as a key driver.
I’m really thankful that through The Assembly, i’m provided with an opportunity to bring my community directly together and foster meaningful relationships between amazing creative minds. I’m curious about how we can leverage technology to achieve our goals too. We still have a lot to do and i’m excited about the future.
So here’s a snapshot of what the past year has looked like for us, hope to see you stepping out of your comfort zones and joining us at The Assembly soon.
Pepper,
X
