Hobbies, starting a fashion business and celebrity stories
Designing for fashion brands, Recs on The Kennedys, Purdue Pharma and Adele
I’ve been thinking about how often to publish this newsletter and podcast and get other things done in my personal life so I spoke to my husband about it. He recommended that I publish new episodes once a month so I have enough time to rest and plan between each episode. I’ve decided that I’ll try this and also send this newsletter once a month. That’s the plan for now and I hope I stick to it 🤞🏾.
🎙 What’s New On The Podcast
I got a question once on my Instagram stories on how I balance having creative projects like the podcast and the newsletter alongside my day job and being a mom to a toddler so I spoke about this on the podcast. Author - Zainab Kwaw-Swanzy was also a former guest on the show where she talked about balancing creative interests with her job as a product manager and I shared a clip from my interview with her in the episode. (Listening time, 08:06)
Also, I spoke with Adebusola Ekoko who’s designed prints for fashion brands such as Kai Collective and Rendoll about launching a surface pattern design company - Grapes Pattern Bank in Nigeria. She shared the challenges she faced and what she’s prioritising now to grow her business. (Listening time, 20:02)
What I’ve Watched, Read and Listened to Lately
📺 I recently watched Painkiller on Netflix about the opioid crisis in the US and how Purdue Pharma created this crisis. The series told the story from different perspectives so we could see what was going on in Purdue Pharma and how their sales reps were told to market the pills to doctors, what the US government did or didn’t do to stop Purdue Pharma and the impact opioid addiction has had on families.
📚 I like historical fiction that centres on women’s stories so I picked up The Second Marriage by Gill Paul. It’s about Jackie Kennedy and her marriages to John F. Kennedy and Aristotle Onassis. Her second husband - Aristotle Onassis had a long-term relationship with the opera singer - Maria Callas before meeting Jackie. The book explores the rivalry between Jackie and Maria and the story is told from both women’s perspectives.
🎧 I’ve enjoyed listening to Terribly Famous which is a podcast about what it’s like to be famous and the not-so-lovely parts that come with fame. They recently had a season on Adele and the current season is on Victoria Beckham.
Have you enjoyed reading, watching or listening to anything interesting lately? I would love to hear about it!
Take care,
Motunrayo
Painkiller is on my to-watch list, but I'm waiting until I have the headspace to take it in. I recently finished a collection of essays edited by Margot Kahn and Kelly McMasters titled "This is the Place: Women Writing About Home" - like with any collection like this, it was a mixed offering on the whole, but I found some stunning stories (and new writers) that I know I'll be revisiting.
Painkiller is definitely worth watching plus it’s a short series so not many episodes to watch. I haven’t read a collection of essays in a while and will check this out.