Why should one by locally? There are so many answers to this question. If you buy a locally produced product you participate in job creation, poverty alleviation, growth of local economy while also being environmentally friendly. The Proudly South African campaign is an initiative, based on these perceptions, which brands companies and products that are at least 50% locally produced. By doing so, the Proudly South African campaign helps socially and environmentally aware consumers finding products and services with these qualities. Original T- Bag Designs is a member of the Proudly South African group; being a company that produces locally, using local material and work force. Last week Jill, Ane and I went to a Proudly South African conference. It was very interesting to meet other enterprises that have the same values and hopes as Original T- Bag Designs. Naturally, active networking between such companies is essential so to exchange knowledge, experiences and help each other out, so meetings such as this one is obviously important. Together I think all such businesses can create a huge difference in South Africa.
By: Thea B. Foslie
After visiting Original T- Bag Designs in May, Nancy Olker came back home with a souvenir for her nephew Christopher. The day she gave it to him was the day of Christopher’s ordination in to the Pasadena Church of Brethen, so a cross was certainly a very suitable gift.
However, this is not the only way Nancy has spread the Original T-Bag Designs’ story. While traveling Slovakia she has spread the word of our company, so who knows, maybe we will start receiving tea bags from Slovakia in the nearby future?
Thank you for being so engaged and telling our story Nancy! And good luck to you Christopher.
By: Thea B. Foslie
This March, Luwanda Mxosana, previously a part of the t-bag team, reached the top of Kilimanjaro! Luwanda, from Khayelitsha, has always looked upon dreams as achievable, no matter whom you are or where you come from. An attitude he has certainly proved to be right: now he has reached one of his biggest dreams: climbing Kilimanjaro. Luwanda and his friend, Loyiso Koyana, who conquered the mountain with him, are currently working on raising funds to pay for school fees and uniforms for children from the townships. A project they call Dear to DREAM. The mountain climbing was the launch of this project. Here at Original T- Bag Designs, we are so happy to see Luwanda’s dreams coming true and that he is creating opportunities and dreams for others as well.
Congratulation!!
By: Thea B. Foslie
Today was Philipp’s last day at Original T-Bag Designs. Despite of countless efforts to persuade him to stay he has decided to move to Sweden to take his masters degree there. Oh well,they’re lucky they have got him! To celebrate his stay here at Original T-Bag Designs we had a great lunch in the backyard, the whole team together, eating fish&chips with ice cream- cheese cake for dessert! His work has been such a great contribution to the company and the whole team is sad to see him go. But we are all looking forward to see him again soon. You’re always welcome back Philipp! Enjoy Sweden!
By: Thea B. Foslie
Obviously the news of Michelle Obama visiting Cape Town sent everybody spinning. Not only is she the first lady of the United States, but also a leading lady for the empowerment of underprivileged people. This is a theme most central at Original T- Bag Designs, so our hope of reaching Mrs. Obama was very high. Original T- Bag Designs was founded on the wish of empowerment and social value creation for the city’s disadvantaged people. Several women sustain their livelihood through this organization. The underlying hope at Original T- Bag Designs has always been to create opportunities and self worth for the people working here. So, inspired by the possible contact with Mrs. Obama, Ane and I put on a little project in the office; creating press packages and designing some special angels. We took some of the angels in the shop that was holding a South African flag, made small American flags as well, and made the angels hold one flag from both countries each. What a nice symbolic meaning these angels had. Angels made by the women from the townships in Cape Town, holding two flags; representing the hope of a relation between both nations and missions. Hopefully these angels reached Mrs. Obama and her family. Who knows? Maybe there are some South African angels, made of recycled tea bags, in the White House this very moment!
By: Thea B. Foslie
There’s not a boring moment at Original T- Bag Designs!
This week we had a film crew from China visiting us. They are making documentary travelling series, and wanted to include Original T- Bag Designs as one of the top places to visit when being in Cape Town. It feels great to have been recognized as one of the best tourist destinations, and hopefully the show will inspire even more people to come visit us. It’s really becoming an international feeling at work now: The day the film crew were here South Africa, England, Germany, Norway and China was represented!
The photo above is of Jill and TVB’s reporter Louisa So.
By: Thea B. Foslie
“You just made it!” These were the words that met us when we arrived at work today. In front of us all the girls and Philipp were up and running, ready to leave the office. So, we turned on the spot, returned to the car and got to know that we were all heading to Chapman’s Peak for an excursion. For this distraction, production could stop for an hour. The weather was beautiful, the view was spectacular, Philipp had bought everyone croissants and we had Spanish rhythms in the car. In other words; we all had a great time. After stopping a couple of times, enjoying the sun, we actually found out that this was the first time the girls were there! This surprised us as they all live close by. We got to know that the reason they hadn’t been there before was not because they had not wanted to, but because they hadn’t had the chance to go. Few people from the townships can prioritize their time and money to go on excursions like this one. This was the reason why we were there. Knowing that this trip meant so much to our new friends, made the experience very powerful and it was nice to share it with them.
When we arrived today the whole group was gathered in the back yard having lunch. Everybody was in a particularly good mood and the reason soon became clear: one of the producers, Elaine, had brought her baby boy Albert! He’s so adorable and was of course passed from hands to hands. No one wanted to miss out on some cuddling. Philipp impressed everyone with his paternal skills.
It was such a positive atmosphere at work today. People where working outside in the sun painting the tea bags and eating, really just having a good time. We also got to know the volunteers; Sharon, her sister Lee and Jill. They come to T Bag Designs once a week to help out. They participate and teach sowing to the girls working here.
As Ane was fiddling around with the blog’s layout, I took photos of each person while they were working with the products and learned about the different stages of the production. Later we continued buzzing around at the office, and Jill went out to get some donated fabrics from another company; Upholstery Works. She came back beaming and loaded with bags filled with different textiles.
Luckily for us it turned out that it had been Sharon’s birthday during the weekend, and such occasions are celebrated with cake here at T Bag Designs. Few things boost the moral like proper good chocolate cake!
By: Thea B. Foslie
The interns are coming!
We are two girls from Norway who are in Cape Town to work with T Bag Designs for 3 months. It’s really exciting to be in Cape Town; a city filled with everything from spectacular nature sites to urban city life. We started our T Bag experience with a beautiful drive, passing wine yards and forests. Both were really excited to get together with Jill and the rest of the people at T Bag Designs. What an opportunity!
Naturally, our first day started with Jill offering us a cup of tea, creating a cozy atmosphere already from the beginning. It’s so nice to work in a place where the whole production and administration is gathered at the same place. In that way everyone can interact with each other, and you get to see what everyone is doing. The process from t bag to a finished product is really complex and involves so many people putting in their energy and creativity. Our creativity however, was bouncing of the walls as we sat down for a meeting with Jill, Phillip and Helen. As we got the overview of the business and discussed future plans and dreams, one thing became quite clear: we will not be lacking things to do! Several projects have now been started: which we will write more about the coming weeks.
While Jill where flying between customers and picking up paint, Phillip showed us around in the store, all three of us picking out our favorite items that we want to bring back home. After this we all stuffed our self together in the little office and started working on the blog, layouts and the online shop. Before we knew it the hours had passed and it was time to go home. But, we’ll be back tomorrow, possibly bringing some used tea bags our selves!
By: Thea B. Foslie
We know we are a little early with this one but October is just around the corner!! Most of our staff are female so we decided that a talk on Breast Cancer is a must. Early detection is vital to a recovery. The four men on our team hid their blushes and were rather amazed (and maybe a little comforted) that the person who came to talk to us was a male!!! Everyone listened to the talk very closely and hopefully took some of the information away with them to share with friends and family.
Here is a picture of some of the attendees and the to medical staff who gave the talk. From left to right – Elaine, Rachel, the two medical staff (sorry we did not record your names – oooops!!), Nomsa and Lucy (Jill’s daughter).
Original T-Bag Designs 