I believe that interaction with different human beings and circumstances are all deliberate and part of our journey. The past weekend I took off a few days to relax and spend time with my mum. My mum lives in Phokeng, Rustenburg, which is situate in the North West province. On this particular visit, I took a walk to the near by shop to collect some supplies and groceries for our home. As per usual I was dressed casually with a touch of African. I have made it my effort to always wear something African, whether it being a head wrap, African accessories or designs. On this particular day, I word my comfortable long dress shirt, with my neck piece by Afrik-Jewellery accompanied by a lime-green head wrap. On returning from the shops, I was stopped by a friend, Ororoseng, we call him Rori. We began to catch up on life and he mentioned that he was designing African pieces and in fact when he had stopped me, he did not initially know that it was me but was attracted by the African inspired outfit. I was interested in seeing his range and agreed to meet with him and possibly blog on his designs, with the aim of getting him some exposure.
What followed was a beautiful conversation on passion and the importance of communication.
On his arrival at my home, we began to talk and he laid out the jewellery on my coffee table, I began to ask him questions, so to get an understanding of the meaning behind his creative work, that he has branded as Time and Rori. The name is a combination from his name and his mentors business. His mentor owns a shop called Timemate.
Rori Ditsele was born in Phokeng, Rustenburg and matriculated in 2010. After his matric, he had entered Mr South Africa as he had always been interested in the modelling and fashion world. Although he did not make the finals, he was exposed to a Mercedes Benz Fashion week which gave him the opportunity of walking down the ramp and to be part of the mayhem behind the glitz and glamour of the fashion world. As he relays the story of walking down the ramp, he remembered how nervous he was and how he could feel his cheeks trembling as he walked down the long cat walk ramp. It was after that that he decided that he wanted to pursue his career as a model. Equipped with his dreams, passions and a small amount of money that his mum gave him, he got onto the first bus to Cape Town and started his adventure. He chose Cape Town, as he knew that was the fashion capital of Southern Africa.
Rori reflected on this time with nostalgia, as he had just completed the book: The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari by Robin Sharma. He shared that it was that book that led him to start writing in a journal, a habit he continued for many years on. His memories, fears and passions were all recorded as he opened up onto a new life chapter. On the day that he left he made the decision in his mind that he was looking for growth in three areas of his life, being spiritual, financial and mental.
A paragraph from his journal:
On arrival in the Mother city, he soon discovered that the world of modelling was not what it seemed and in fact was a far cry from the glitz and glamor that is portrayed. He approached many different model agencies and was rejected by many, he was only signed approximately six months after his arrival and his first job was confirmed another six months after that. The first job that booked him was as a model for a stills commercial for the brand Oudemeester.
During this time, he managed to live with family friends, who were originally from Phokeng and had relocated there with their family of five and they welcomed him and he became the sixth member.
During his time, of searching for an agency that would sign him, he had to take on a number of jobs to pay for his day to day living expenses. Each of these jobs he worked well it but served their purpose after a certain amount of time. Without realising it, each of his jobs, equipped him for the next stages of life which led to him understanding the importance of communication and human interaction. Whilst being unemployed he used to walk through the streets of Cape Town, pondering on his thoughts and what he wanted to achieved, on one particular day, he was attracted to a shop window as it displayed beautifully crafted mens shoes. He went into the store and looked at the designs and was mesmerised by the quality and workmanship of each shoe. Then when he looked at the high prices that they were sold for, he realised that true style and quality definitely comes at a price. He also made a decision that he needed to feel and wear such quality. He introduced himself to the owner and signed up for a Lay bye agreement. Where he was able to put a 50% deposit down for the shoes and then made plans to pay off the rest over time. During this interaction with the owner, who became known to him as Mr. AJ John, this relationship would be one that would be cemented for years to come.
Mr John, soon became his mentor and educator.
Mr John originates from Nigeria and had been living in Cape Town for may years. The conversations which sparked the mentorship started with Mr John confessing to something about many South Africans. That is that many South Africans have this elitist idea about themselves and therefore rob themselves of so much knowledge surrounding tradition, culture and the beauty that is found on the rest of the continent, simply by not interacting and communication with panafrican people.
Mr John was intrigued by Ororrsengs’s non-judgemental approach and eager to learn more about life, design and business. In their many conversations Mr John always emphasised the importance of time, reading and feeding ones mind with positive and constructive thoughts and facts. Mr John introduced him to a new world of knowledge and literature which included books such as:
The Shock Doctrine by Naomi Klein; Uncle Toms Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe; 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene and David Ickes literature,
As he stated Mr. John had this fountain of knowledge and a good quality product. He would often sit with Mr John who would read and teach him on the importance of human interaction. Saying that Mr John would often read 6/7 different books a day, reading different paragraphs for the various texts. He shared how he was always searching for that knowledge. He learnt that he should always keep growing and learning. Mr John always taught him the importance of trust and would leave Rori with his shop. The lessons that he learnt from Mr John were that keeping hope alive is important. He stated: Hope can be the most traumatising thing to a human being but often its hope is what you need to get through each day.
Rori met additional people through him.
Whilst going through this life experience, Rori became immersed into classical fashions and styles which found him shopping at various thrift stores in the city. On one day, he was looking for an item and was directed by the shop assistant to a thrift shop that was situated on the neighbourhood called Observatory, which is quite a distance from where he was. As he had embarked on a journey of self discovery, he opted to walk the distance as he, like many hikers and seekers, know that many messages are sent along your journey before you reach your destination. Like in Paulo Coelho’s :’Alchemist’, he can seek and seek but as we reach a particular point, we realise that in fact we hold the jewel to our destiny. In this case, Rori, discovered this through the interaction with a homeless person that he met along the road. This homeless person, approached Rori and offered two items of jewellery that were made in leather, he offered both pieces for R20. Rori obliged and paid for them. He then was intrigue by the workmanship and went home and began to unravel the jewellery to understand how it was created. That then set him off on his passion, as he realised that he was in love with the creative element and decided to make his own pieces. He shared this new found talent with Mr John, who encouraged him and directed him to a factory where he could purchase offcut leather pieces and he would therefore be able to make his own pieces.
Another turning point in his life, where it has been proved that through human interaction an communication, concepts and thoughts are born. If had taken a taxi, he would never have walked, met the homeless man and therefore he would not have taken on a new direction in life.
He applied his work and creativity to the learnings that he received from Mr John, who lived by passion and knowledge. He soon began to grasp the understating of the importance between quality and brand value.
Through his additional reading and consuming all this knowledge he saw it as a mechanism of connecting with the soul. He was introduced to the world of Credo Mutwa, who shares universal messages about the origins of African and the power behind African culture and tradition. Rori, shares with me on how Mutwa talks about the fact that so much genocide happens in Africa and it is due to the fact that we are being distracted from our wealth, through our minerals, tradition and culture.; he talks on how we have become enslaved as a means to stop our development. The writing are the knowledge that every human race should be left alone to discover their own destiny without being interrupted. As Africans we have always had interruptions, destroying our cultures and beliefs. As a way forward, Africans should focus on their own creativity to succeed.
After consuming this knowledge and power, Rori decided to move back to the North West province and pursue his career in design, using his skills, creative mind and passion. In 2017 he moved home and began designing various pieces from earrings, to bracelets, neck pieced a chokers. He uses off cut of leather and suede, each intricately designed. His aim is not to mass produce but to create beautiful time pieces that reflect quality, precision and passion.
All of his pieces require a lot of time as he uses his naturally resources being his hands and mind. The only instrument that he uses is a pair of scissions to cut the material.
This read necklace was made after he went to purchase off cuts from a factory that was manufacturing bags and belts. He took a piece that was meant for a bag, he took time, looking at the way the pieces had bene attached, he designed a neckpiece then using pieces of metal to intertwine with the material to create another effect.
His future plans are that he wants to learn the trade and be able to take his passion to great international platforms, he wishes to purchase a laser cutter, which will eliminate the time he spends on cutting out each piece of leather or suede. He plans to market his trade, he wants to take his designs online and create retail stores.
When asked what his personal journey will include, he said with a broad smile: I want my art to be a source of healing, I want you to wear my art piece and express an emotion or express your joy through it. See the difference and uniqueness in my work.
With that passion, vision and talent, I know that the brand Time and Rori, will be a brand that will be able to stand and compete amongst some of the worlds leading labels.
He can be contacted on the following mediums:
Email
olnditsele@gmail.com or
Telephone/WhatsApp +27765840882
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