October Recap
Reading, Modelling & Why Aren't Women Investing?
How far into the month, can one release a recap of the previous month? October marked the start of the busiest period at work. It was also the start of event season in Lagos, or as I like to call it the run up to Dirty December. There’s design week, then art week, followed by fashion and film week, before landing in December where there’s just a phenomenal amount of activity, buoyed by an influx of out-of-towners hoping to catch the DD wave.
Highlights!
The launch of the Woman & Wealth Series - I’ve been working on this for a while, so having a successful kick off event was 😊
Walking for the Abiola Olushola x Shekudo Runway - Newbie model, 💃🏿
The ArtX Lagos Collectors Preview 👩🏿🎨
Conversations with Uyai Dinner by StudioFola 🍴
My first formal photoshoot!
My Discovery List - Discover new music, podcasts, movies, books, articles and brands through a curated list
Women & Wealth!
Like I said October was a busy month. We launched 3 programs at work, one a program I created titled the Women & Wealth Series, designed to elevate conversations around women and wealth. Conversations, I believe are crucial to empowering women to build more financially secure futures as well as addressing the gender wealth gap. The first event in the series was held in collaboration with Bamboo, a leading investment platform that allows Africans to invest in U.S. stocks and various asset classes in real-time with ease and convenience through a mobile app.
Why Women & Wealth? Despite women accounting for 50% of the world’s population, they only own 33% of the world’s wealth, resulting in a 105 Trillion USD Wealth Gap, according to the 2024 Davos report by Oxfam. I think that women stacking their coins is a critical driver in shaping a more egalitarian society. But for some reason (there are several), women just don’t invest as much as men, and as you’ll see in my next recap they invest differently too. During the Q&A, I asked what the gender split was on the Bamboo platform and the ballpark answer was a ratio of 7:3 i.e 70% of the platforms users are men. 🤯
I learnt a couple of things from this event and I’ll share one or two things here:
Start with Low Risk Investments - This will help you build a foundation of stable and predictable returns, from which you can spring step to taking more calculated risks to boost wealth generation.
Diversify Your Investments - Don’t put all your eggs in one basket! Spreading investments across various asset classes, industries and even geographies will reduce risk and maybe even increase potential returns.
Pick and Shovel Investment Strategy - I don’t know if this is the official name, but it sounds apt based on the Mark Twain quote that was shared. Invest in companies that provide tools or services necessary for thriving industries.
Abiola Olushola x Shekudo Runway
I was asked to walk the runway by these two brands that I love and have been a long time supporter of. Check out their instagrams here: Abiola Olushola and Shekudo. I said yes!! I thought it would be fun, and another way to participate in Lagos Fashion Week, that’s probably less onerous for the introvert in me. I had a great time and the show was fantastic! The models were also so lovely and kind. I was mildly stressed at some point and my inner saboteur came out strong, but that all faded to the background as Tomi Owo’s beautiful vocals took centre stage ❤️
Here are some pictures I took from behind the scenes:
And a video of me walking:
Art X Collector’s Preview
Art X Lagos is the biggest art fair in West Africa and takes place every year in Lagos. In their words it’s a “dynamic platform created to showcase and support contemporary culture from Africa and its diaspora”. It’s a pretty big deal and a standout event of the year, with art, talks, film, documentaries and a live concert, all taking place across a few days.
Conversations with Uyai
Conversations with Uyai Vessels by Studio Fola was an exquisite dinner that served as a tribute to the creative journeys shaping the African continent. The evening featured UYAI Vessels founded by John Asuquo. UYAI is an Ibibio word, that means BEAUTY. John’s work deriving on inspiration from the female form seeks to express the language of form and the intricate balance between form, texture and lived human experiences. Her candle holders, which she said was inspired by the form of smoke, stood out boldly as art and decorative centerpieces that graced the dining table. The dinner was a warm and convivial atmosphere, bringing together creatives from the design, art, fashion, film, and music industries. I’m looking forward to rest of the series and of course what’s in store for UYAI Vessels. Did I mention the food?! This was a four course experiential journey using different flavors and ingredients from across Nigeria.
Photoshoot
I did a photoshoot that I thought would be a casual few clicks but it turned out to be a full production. Here’s my favourite picture from the shoot.
My Discovery List
Discover new music, podcasts, books, articles and brands through a curated list, that shares the best of my internet scrolling and my musings.
I binged watched three video podcasts on Diary of a CEO by Steven Bartlett. Thanks to the Youtube algorithm this podcast came up on my feed and down a rabbit hole I went.
The Sex Expert: Why Casual Sex is Almost Always Bad For Women with Louise Perry - I agree and don’t agree 🙃.
The Divorce Expert: 86% of People Who Divorce Remarry with James Sexton - Who doesn’t love a happy ending 💕
Attachment Styles with Esther Perel - I love EP, and will pretty much watch anything or read anything related to her.
Tomi Owo on repeat - I discovered her last year, but now re-listening because I met her in person. Check out an Amapiano remix of her song Beautiful.
Past Lives - I just really liked this movie. The essence of In-Yun and the connection between the two childhood friends.
An Unmarried Woman - A 1970’s romcom with a feminist angle on separation. What’s not to love.
I’m Mostly Here to Enjoy Myself - by Glynnis MacNicol - I heard about Glynnis through Substack. I feel like my internet scrolling led me from The Hyphen by Emma Gannon, to Jennifer Romoloni, whose book Ambition Monster I highly recommend, to Glynnis. This was supposed to be my summer read, but I didn’t realise she had a previous memoir so I listened to the audio book of that first, before reading this. Glynnis has a way of teasing out big life decisions and the consequences of those decisions amidst the humdrum of her daily life. It’s a fun read, because its basically a book about a woman having a great time in Paris, but it’s also an interesting read because we get a glimpse of what a woman’s life could be like if she chose to not have kids and not have a partner. And spoiler alert, it doesn’t look anything like what we’ve been told.
I also started listening to an audio book on what’s happening to our attention span, Attention Span by Gloria Mark, - I have to say listening to an audio book talking about how our attention span has decreased from sub 4 minutes, to 47 seconds, whilst your mind keeps wandering, really hits home the point of diminishing attention spans. This is a great listen so far, and is really a combination of neuroscience, the impact of social media and digital screens on our attention and, psychology.
Open Strategy - if you work in corporate strategy or are in a leadership position you’ll appreciate the nuances involved in collaborative strategy especially in a world that’s increasingly less predictable. I’m still reading this, but it’s a concise explanation of what open strategy is, how to do it, and how open strategy can unlock disruptive strategies hidden within organizations. It also has great examples of organizations who have utilized open strategy for new strategic initiatives and their implementation.
The Marginalian - I’m always reading articles from here, so this will feature on my discovery list often plus Maria Popover shares the same love I have of understanding creative routines and process. So here’s John Steinbeck on using his diary as a tool of discipline.
Lagos Amah Member’s Club - When you have writer friends you read their work! Her bio on Wallpaper reads “Mazzi Odu is an Ugandan-British writer, editor and cultural consultant based in Lagos, Nigeria. Her work focuses on jewellery, design, fashion and art.” She is also a lovely human being.
Do Birds Dream - This was definitely an internet scroll straight from The Marginalian and the significance of Blue Herons in her life, to finding out that birds can engage in unihemispheric sleep, on her article on the evolution of REM sleep in the NYT.
Summer Fridays - I discovered Summer Friday through Maxine’s Interview and I can firmly say there’s now a lippy in my amazon basket.
Dye Lab - This isn’t a new discovery, but I did buy new pieces from them, a pair of blue culottes and a pale blue jumpsuit. 🩵
Girls Who Love Tennis - I started a new IG for girls who love, like and want to play tennis. It’s supposed to be a little cheeky, so issuing a PG advisory warning.
- , I discovered Lee Miller earlier on this year and find her an inspiring icon, so will generally read what I can about her.
As Seen On - By
One of my favourite Substacks. I probably read everything she posted in October. I live under rock, if you can believe that, and Ochuko keeps me current. Plus also wondering how she reads so many books in a month!Sunday Scrolls - By
- My scrolling done for me 😂! Another favourite Substack. I'm partially on Substack because of Emma Gannon. I’d never heard of it before. I met her in Portugal at a book reading she did at Salted Books earlier on this year 💛 and thought she had interesting views on being childfree and productivity. So when she mentioned she had a Substack naturally I subscribed and later when I was looking for a platform for Her Journal I chose Substack.
There’s a story behind this blue door? Can you guess? Share in comments. This story of women doing what they want is so new no one is quite sure how to tell it yet.
Glynnis MacNicol
Brilliant