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VIEW THE COLLECTION

From seeing a retweet on twitter we came across Nine Hours (9h), and what made us end up following them was their biography which reads…..‘This is nine hours in Kyoto. We would like to propose a new category of hotel industry called Sleeping hub to the world!‘ This being an extremely innovative concept called “Capsule Hotels”.

‘Capsule hotels are unique accommodations developed in Japan. It usually costs about $25 to $40 per night. Since it’s cheap, mainly business men who couldn’t go home stay at capsule hotels. Also, capsule hotels are popular among foreign travelers.

Although these hotels have been aroound for a while now there is no denying that 9h is a concept of its own kind, from its website, branding and theory behind its name, it is a total and unique transformation to the everyday new hotels currently coming up.

In capsule hotels, each guest stays in a small sleeping space (capsule) which is about 3 feet by 4 feet by 6 feet. In a capsule, there are a TV, an alarm clock, a light, and so on. The open side of a capsule is shut by a curtain or a screen, and it is unlocked. To sleep well in capsule hotels, earplugs might be helpful.’

For more information on 9h click here…

Last year we featured Blk Jks on our site and blog and caught up with them for 5 minutes after the release of the first album ‘After Robots’, which  received international recognition.

Today described by the Rolling Stones Magazine as ‘Africa’s Best New Band’, Blk Jks had the chance to rock with CNN, as CNN put it!! Here is a snippet of what they shared with CNN….

Drummer Tshepang Ramoba told CNN, “It is important to know where you live, where you come from, your history, what’s happening in the world.”

Guitarist Mpumi Mcata told CNN, “In the beginning people were like, ‘oh, they are black, they play rock …’

“South Africa is still segregated, so you have a situation where they put us in front of a white audience and the white audience is confused, and you put us in front of a black audience and the black audience is confused. So it’s not an easy crossover.”

But Mcata said the band’s music is ultimately traditional, with their rock sound based around “ancient rhythms.”

Ramoba agreed that South African traditions are at the heart of the band’s music. “The last song on the album is called Tselane, a story we used to be told when we were young before we would go to bed,” he said.

“Those fables connect to how we’re living now,” added Mcata.

“In Soweto, if they don’t like you, they don’t like you. They’ll throw bottles,” said Ramoba.

“So in Soweto, the fact that they liked us is a huge thing. When we started playing everyone just stayed and danced. It was the best.”

Click here for the live interview!!

Blk Jks will be performing at the Cape Town International Jazz Festival, make sure to check them out if you are in Cape Town.

Continue checking our blog for updates on what going on with the Blk Jks

> A nod to Madiba’s awesome dress sesnse
> The rugby world cup that he held in his hands
> His younger self at the beginning of the walk to freedom
> The 24 karat gold “WALK” lace protector
And a heck of a lot more!

This piece is a personal one – I took everything I love and put it down on the digital canvas – Madiba, shoes, graphics, Africa my home, (not so much the Whisky [right]) – they all have a very special place in my heart.

Hope you enjoy it “

It is said that the D.O.P.E STORE is the coolest concept store in Africa and can it be said that it is one of the “dopest” products, spaces or even brands that Élan has come across this year in Africa.

The creators describe their store as ‘a cool shop that stocks the best products in the market. From clothes to kicks to hats to shades n everythin else that’s worth havin. We are pushin iStyle with a love for being fresh’….

co

Look out for a full feature on our new website that is launching soon……

The Dope Store is located in the CBD of Johannesburg, South Africa.                                                                                                          30 Loveday St, entrance on Fox St, nearby the Rand Club. Tel 011 4920488

Welcome to a place that has become widely known as the fashionable alternative to the Chateau Marmont and the Sunset Marquis. Whether you are a working artist (or non-working) or a business traveler who loves beautiful things, your invited to come and take refuge and experience the intimacy and elegance of Petit Ermitage.

“Bohemianism is a way of life. A state of mind. An atmosphere. It’s about living richly and irreverently, beyond convention. It’s about being uninhibited, unbuttoned, creative and free.” – The Bohemian Manifesto

image courtesy of boo george

“The ancient Bushmen enter the international jewelry market

The Bushmen of the Kalahari Desert are almost as old as humanity itself. Geneticists tell us that they are perhaps the oldest group still walking the earth. Sadly, like many ancient peoples, they are among the poorest and most disenfranchised in their southern African homeland.

Poverty notwithstanding, for countless generations the Bushmen have made beautiful jewelry to adorn themselves and their loved ones. Largely isolated from the outside world until the last century, they created (and still create today) intricate pieces using wild seeds, sticks, bone, tortoiseshell, and most importantly of all, beads painstakingly hand made from shards of ostrich eggshell. With ingenuity and precision, the women turn some of the beads a rich brown by frying them or black by roasting them – in order to have three colors of beads with which to make patterns and designs.”

For the full article click here

]]> http://elanbotswana.wordpress.com/2010/01/14/inspirational-photography-the-bushmen-of-the-kgalagadi-by-boo-george/feed/ 1 elanbotswana OLD LADY'S[7] TRIBE1[6] http://elanbotswana.wordpress.com/2010/01/13/jewels-of-the-kalahari_part-two/ http://elanbotswana.wordpress.com/2010/01/13/jewels-of-the-kalahari_part-two/#comments Wed, 13 Jan 2010 13:22:17 +0000 elanbotswana http://elanbotswana.wordpress.com/?p=527 ]]>

Some of the images Boo George took during a trip to Kgalagadi in Botswana over December 2009 with Sabine Roemer, Anna Haber and Charlie Ryan. This is part of the Jewels of the Kalahari Jewellery Collection.

A trip full of inspiration and an exchange of knowledge from both Roemer and team and the Bushmen people.

The model used is a 13 year old girl from the settlement in the Kgalagadi.

Click here for more!!!!

Élan Botswana recently got involved with a project that involves the women of the Sans People.

]]> http://elanbotswana.wordpress.com/2010/01/13/jewels-of-the-kalahari_part-one/feed/ 1 elanbotswana Telegraph Magazine (d)