Oriki: we can only try

I have been kinda bummed by all the things going on n NIG but as always I guess I am trying to see the hope at the end of a dead tunnel. I made a sort of promise to myself yesterday. I promised to do my best to bring some part of the naija culture into things I do. So the next couple of designs coming out of the TP tee line will be naija related maybe by name or concept. There is a new tee out now called Akanke Faceless Beauty and I'm sure you already know about Taba Soko Soja, the Yoruba Proverb Tee. Well I found Taba Soko Soja on this website and that did put a smile on my face.. you see that it says YORUBA STONE PROVERB, the key word being Yoruba on something they considered HOT!!!. That's how stuff starts people.. first Its a website, next is press, next is curiosity, next appreciation for the mening. I can bet you, people who don't understand or speak Yoruba that have bought the Yoruba proverb tee get questions regarding their tee, like what does it mean and I'm sure it will maybe lead them to dig deeper into the meaning.

Anyhoo on to my gist, so Akanke Faceless Beauty, is actually a very special tee. A while back a design was made for me that I had kinda been sitting on, I obviously knew what the basic design was but I decided to take the design and recreate it with a different twist... If you don't know what Akanke is, Akanke is what Yoruba's would call an Oriki, Ill try to explain it as best as I can, an Oriki is like a way of praising someone by name. Your oriki is meant to represent how the person prasing you sees you. Akanke is a semi-common oriki for women. Every time my darling or my granny calls me Akanke, I know it makes my head swell specially when they join it with other head swelling words. hehehe.. anyhoo this is the breakdown of Akanke from the Toni Payne Website.

"Akanke Faceless beauty is drawn from the idea of a special lady/girl. Akanke translates to a female that is to be adored, this person is someone that is to be cherished and treated like a rare gem. The design remaining faceless represents you, me, and everyone else that considers themselves special. It could be your mother, sister, friend, or girlfriend. If you consider a female in your life special, Akanke faceless beauty is a great way of telling them"

and here is a picture of Akanke Faceless Beauty.. looks like a superstar huh.? I cant wait for the blinged out version. I plan to blind a few people with it. lol not literally sha! Anyhoo, Akanke Faceless beauty tee will be pictured in the boutique section of OK WEEKLY, the issue hits stands AUGUST 23RD so do pick up a copy.. Lets see how many folks wonder what Akanke means huh.

I cannot stress it enough when I say these tees are not being created just to have another tee shirt line on the market, else Ill just stick with makeup. lol. they are created to exude a feeling, a sense of pride, a sense of self, to jerk your curiosity. The haute tee has casted a few people, hehehe.. Im sitting there thinking they are hip and come find out they do not know what Haute Couture is.. LMAO! Like look buddy, I could be HOT!! but I am a frigging Fashionistah so I am Haute.. lol....Anyhoo, back to my rambling, If the tees don't do that then hell, maybe I need to revisit my sense of reasoning. So far the response has just been wonderful with people interpreting their tees etc, I am soo proud of this project, I'm bursting with ideas, I mean taking it back, waaaaaay back, I see the bigger picture and that to me is very hot. What I want personally for the line is, when you rock it, you feel it and are proud to wear it.

Anyhoo its 11:40 pm and my fav show "married with children" is on so I gotta go. I have seen all the episodes of that show at least 6 times and never get tired of the Bundy's.. lol. Love, love, love em.

Ps: Those in NIG, get ready to get your hands on your own TP tees before the year runs out. Linda and I are going to be having talks about collaborating on a fashion project possibly with her Style night or something similar, she is very fab and reminds me of me plus she cracks me up so I'm definitely looking forward to that. oh BTW, the shirts can be customized so yeah when I am in town, I will be doing a bit of that like the one below..

Its going to be on a first come first serve basis. Once all material is gone, there is nothing I can do but make you wait till my next visit or have it shipped to you which is muchos expensiveros. lol.. BTW i updated my facebook with a I rock my TP Tees album so feel free to check it out.. celebs etc..