 5-4. Imagine. Alright, we apologize for that small technical interference right there. But yes, we still have Joanne in the studio, and she's Amoeba Bacateca-Crochet and she's using it to make a living for herself and another special thing that I'm going to be sharing with you guys in the course of the interview. So back to you, Joanne. You're telling me about the far clothing and this is where it starts right here. Yes. Alright, wonderful. Another thing that got my attention is the wedding dress. Oh, my wedding dress. Yes. Yeah, I made it. And congratulations in your marriage, by the way. Thank you so much. Alright, and I'm really happy for you. Thank you. The good thing, or the thing that stands out is that you made your dress by yourself and it was a product of crochet. Yes. Have you ever seen this before? Like wedding dresses made out of yarn? Yes. Yes, I have, yeah. Alright, so why did you get the crazy idea to wear your wedding dress? Because I don't see so many people to wear it. First and foremost, I'm a fan of my brand so there's no way I could purchase wedding dress out there. So I knew from the beginning, like if I want to get married, it's something I would definitely design for myself. Yeah, and that's what I did. Alright, we're going to show you guys a picture. It's a beautiful dress right there. And you told me you use a special kind of yarn when it comes to a special kind of dress like this one. Exactly. What is so special about this kind of yarn that you use to make your wedding dress? This kind of yarn, it's called cotton yarn but it's not only cotton yarn, it's maserized cotton yarn. Like it has been taken. Like it's cotton yarn, like the material is cotton yarn but then again it has been taken through a process of refining it so that the quality is durable, like it's resistant to wear and tear. Yeah, exactly. And the quality is quite top notch. Alright. Before you give us a quotation for the wedding dress because it's something beautiful. Instead of people importing wedding dresses, I think this is the future right there. This is the future by the way. I'd like people to see it first before you give us a quotation. As they line up the pictures, you have an event this weekend, it involves crochet, it involves mental health as well and you're merging these two together for something special. Tell me more about this event. The event is going down this coming Saturday 7th. The venue is Aboretum, Nairobi here. Time from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and it's all about crochet for mental health therapy and empowerment. Alright. You told me crochet is a form of therapy. This is tested and proven and this is something you actually used yourself. Yes. Tell me about this face of your life. Okay. Like four months ago, I suffered like depression, anxiety and panic attacks and I used to crochet as a therapy. Those are three very strong words. You should not say lightly like that. You suffered what? I know. Depression, anxiety disorder and panic attacks. It was quite a hard moment for me. It was just a hard moment for me. It was a tough moment for you. Alright. So did you get to the root of the problem? Did you ever figure out the source of your anxiety, depression and that one? Okay. I saw a psychiatrist and we had a talk and she was trying to pinpoint what was the root cause of all these and for me I think I've had long stressful moments in my life and that could have erupted into all these. Yes. Alright. So you've had some small, small stressful times over time. Yes. These things accrue and might blow up sometimes. Yes. It blew up. It blew up on you. Yes. You found refuge in crochet. Exactly. And this really helped you through a tough time. Yes. Alright. So tell me, how did it work for you? When you felt some type of way, did you just get your hook? You said this is a? A crochet hook. A crochet hook. Did you just get your crochet hook and just try to forget about things or how was the process for you? You see like when you are suffering from depression and those anxiety and panic attacks like your mind is in a constant state of worrying like negative thoughts and all that. You can't point to a setting. Yes. Like you are always like worrying like oh my god like when will be the next panic attack and all that. Like your mind can't settle. But you see like I use crochet as a therapy because my mind was fully immersed into what I was doing so it takes away most of the worrying part of it. Wow. Did you ever get, because you told me you are a psychiatrist. Did he or she prescribe any drugs for you? Yes. I was on drugs for almost like one and a half months. Did they help as well? As good as crochet did. The drugs helped but most of the work you have to put in like you have to be self determined. That is a tough thing about mental illness. Exactly. You see like the drugs they suppress your emotions and all that. And during that moment where your emotions has been suppressed it's up to you as a person now to start fighting for your life. Like going through maybe therapy talks and all that. But for me what I use this crochet as a therapy for me and of course I was also going through cancelling and all that to help me overcome all these. So this led you to having this bright idea of bringing together men and women who are passionate about crochet and in the process you want to help people who are dealing with mental illnesses different kinds of mental illnesses. Expound on this a little bit. Okay. You know getting help like the professional side of it can be a bit expensive especially if you don't have the money to afford these services. But you see art is free. Like it gives you that opportunity to express yourself. At the same time it gives you like more of an escape for recovery. For recovery. Alright so it's better to choose something constructive in moments, in trying moments like these as opposed to destructive habits like drugs because most people tend towards the drugs when they go through things like this. What is going to be happening on Saturday when we come to aberration? So what will be happening? It's going to be a meet up. We are going to talk about mental health. We are going to create awareness. It's basically unwinding and using art as a tool for promoting mental health awareness. Alright, so as a survivor of mental illness what are some of the stereotypes you see around mental illnesses that you look at and just say ignorance is such a it's such a it's such a development development. Okay let me talk from my personal point of experience when I was going through all this depression and all that first of all I didn't know what was happening to me it's something like I didn't have an idea and then I remember I used to reach out to people like I'm depressed like I'm feeling weird and all that and then most people will tell me like where we are it happens a lot. It happens a lot. People believe that mental illness is for the white people. Like Africans has not embraced like even we Africans we can suffer from mental illness or when you say exactly our mental and then people shy from talking about mental illness because what we want to figure out we want to find out. So you'd rather suffer in silence without people maybe thinking you are going mad or something. Because that is a a tag that nobody really wants to put on when I was in. Exactly. But which is not always the case? It's not always the case. Most of us suffer from mental illnesses we are just in denial. Is this true? It's true because for me even after seeing the psychiatrist I was still in denial when the psychiatrist gave me the medicines I refused to take them because I believed like I'm not mad I'm okay. And the problem is the longer the time you are in denial the more suffering you are putting to yourself. So once I accepted that indeed me as Joanne I have a problem that's when the healing starts to kick in like now you embrace yourself like you start loving yourself like I have a problem it's okay to take my drugs it's okay to seek for help and all that. I assume that mental illness is a straight insanity but I'm told when you read the list of mental illnesses it's a long one. It surpasses Andrew. Alright there's a long list of mental illnesses and insanity is just one of them. Alright so you suffered from three that were diagnosed by a doctor and not so many people can afford a doctor. He told this one is anxiety this one is depression and this one is that. So what are some of the steps they can take to better their lives if they suspect they might be going through a form of mental illness. The first step is reach out talk to people don't hold it in. How do you know the right people to talk to because as you told me you were scared of being tagged an insane person you were going to tag you how do you know the right person to talk to at this particular compromising position. Like for me I used to reach out to random people on social media people that didn't know me so that I couldn't be judged in any way that's what I did and then maybe if I met a stranger I would tell them like do you know about depression have you ever suffered this like I used to cry all of the time most of the time I used to cry and actually crying helps because it relieves your emotions you would press yes crying is a way you can let things out you let things out through crying alright and avoid explosions in the long run exactly ok so Saturday it's going to be live there's going to be conversations are people who are not well versed with the with the craft invited as well they're all invited it's not about all those people who are in the crochet industry even you you can come it's for everyone it's all about creating awareness so we're not locking anyone out in the process so we have a poster on screen crochet club Kenya presents let's talk about crochet club Kenya you're formulated yeah yeah they found out of the crochet club Kenya it's an online platform that has brought people in the crochet industry currently in our group we are over 25,000 members Facebook group 25,000 people are interested in crocheting wow it's created employment yes people are actually selling this exactly but the most people are doing crochet club and it pays well I learn a lot on strength of a woman because I recently had somebody who formulated or founded the bakers club it's a Facebook group that has brought bakers together women are actually feeding their families and taking their kids to school through baking and crochet is also another thing right here I'm learning on strength of a woman that's amazing so how can they join the group on Facebook so on Facebook search the word crochet club Kenya and then you send a request and then I'll just add you up back to the poster crochet for mental health meetup and empowerment carry your own yarn and hook let's conquer the world Saturday 7th March 2020 the venue is Aberatom time is 11 to 2pm dress code is spotty we are going to have a lot of activities that are engaging talking about spotty do we have spotty made from crochet as well ok honestly I've never seen it but I think it's something possible to make but swimming is a sport by the way it's a sport that is the first spotty made from crochet alright I like that I don't see any price tag on this oh yeah it's here to confirm your attendance to my phone number that is 0720 723832 and the 100 Bob it's basically for the entrance fee oh so Aberatom you have to pay so what I do is I'm just consolidating the funds and then I'm going to pay as a group instead of someone going lining up and then you have to pay so you'd like to bring the community together before the opening day I like that I like also that you're not charging anything extra this is not a profitable venture yeah it's not a profitable venture it's something you're doing for mental health because it's something you're passionate about alright I love this how can people get to buy your products you can find me on Instagram my brand is called Johat Jans for HAT HAT is right here yes HAT for HAT and then JANS but it's a one word JOO so it's J-O HAT and then JANS this week sign language you look like you have the grip on it no I don't let's get a taste of the pictures I know you guys have been waiting for this this is our first outfit this is me this is a crop top and you're waddling for yourself yes it's a pineapple crop top you can see the element of pineapples it's here they're pineapples so that your body can also breathe alright that's a crop top anything that is made from this normal fabric that we're used to can be crocheted seems like it because I've seen a crop top now we're yet to see more surprises let's move on to the next one what do you call this now this is called flower of life top flower of life top you have a beautiful name for your outfit so I can drop yes it's called flower of life there's an element of flower in the middle part of it alright I like it let's move on to the next beachwear beachwear I'm guessing it's very hot in the coast as this is a regular time so the yarn has to be very particular yes you must use cotton yarn because if you use any other yarn and as you know that the coast area is quite hot yes you need something that is absorbent and cotton does it that is going to absorb your sweat alright I like but you don't jump into the water with this yes it's going to soak in a lot of water for swimwear it's a no for cotton yarn alright but you can use it to hang out it's like vaping and all that alright I feel you there's a lot of creativity in here alright let's move on to the next wow I can tell this is very hot alright what is happening here this is a fad dress for the red carpet so everything is possible from beachwear to the red carpet to you know what I'm waiting for for the wedding dress let's move on to the next this is Val this is Val yes this is Val and you colored her for real so they shout out to Val she was among my first clients these people believed in me from the beginning wow this is amazing alright I like you colored her for real let's move on to the next wow this is a festival wear it's a two set piece it's a two set piece right there who's this this is a model she's called Sharonutieno yes she's also a stylist alright she's killing this one so this was a runway event no this was actually a photo shoot that we did with her this is a shoot it looks like a stage oh my contrast is different the contrast is different from the other side I can see now I like the choice of colors I like the background who took the pictures Smith photography she did a good job I think Smith and Joanne and this model we are like this this is amazing I love this one what did you call this again this is a two piece it's a festival wear the shot has some ruffle decoration on the lower part of it even the colors so anybody is planning to go to a festival and stand out and look different at the festival you're the person to see I'm the person to see let's move on to the next wow this is a rasta vibe rasta for those reggae fans I got you you can get your rasta outfits from us alright I feel you this is a client to be a shout out what do you want to support me just send a shout out hi my clients I appreciate you so much for the support you've shown me this is still Sharon she bought this piece from us Sharon is the model the previous model she's really killing your outfits don't tell me it's the same photographer I don't know this is a different shoot she did on her own I like the concept with all the fruits and everything it brings out the Caribbean feel so which one did you make here because they all look like this the top part of it is crochet she's one of my clients she's called Miss Mora she's a plus size model alright shout out to you Miss Mora for the agenda you're pushing right there we love you and I love the top as well this is the moment and this is your wedding day this was about four months ago and you designed the wedding dress yes and even the tops like my bride made tops it's also crochet and they matched the wedding dress somehow some way wow comes out alright hat yarns the signature right there these are your friends she also crochets we work together with her she's called Esther this is Annette thank you very much for being there for the beautiful lady her on speechless for sure and how do you manage to make it look so seamless because I can't this could be see through the outside parts of it yes it see through it's less and then I have to now do a lining a lining inside what kind of fabric is used for the lining for the lining because the yarn is stretchy so I had to use a stretchy lining as well so that they can alright let's just hold it there the wedding dress don't change let's hold it there so we can talk about the pricing let's talk about the skirt you have on do you want to see it yes we can see it this is how it looks like it's a ruffle skirt the bottom detail is ruffle and then it's a high waisted skirt so where can I wear this but I made this 4 years ago and it's one of my favourites and as you can see it's still in good shape still in good shape 4 years counting if anybody was worried about the durability your question is answered alright where can a sister wear this to apart from a TV interview obviously ok you can wear this to even to church if you are not that conservative but the good thing is I customize I can make it to a certain length that you desire and you can also do this for even at work like formal wear and all that it all depends where you want to and you can mix it with a fitting t-shirt you can mix it with a top you can mix it with a coat depending on your style and where you want to take it can I I keep saying I like I want to alright can a sister rock this with some sneakers maybe make it a little bit it all depends with your personal style however you want to rock it that's up to your personal style how much do I have to to have this beautiful dress for somebody special ok for this card is Kenyan shillings 3500 3500 only only considering the way it's time consuming to make it that's like 35 dollars 35 dollars only 35 dollars only 35 dollars you can get this card and as Kenyans like to say atwiz gosan atwiz gosan a crop top maybe a crop top starts from Kenyan shillings 1000 bob going up depending on the material used like the same crop top maybe I could make for like 1000 bob if I use like a different material that is highly cost that is costly perhaps it's even going to cost like 2000 3000 so it also depends with the material this client has selected alright how about swimsuit swimsuit ranges from Kenyan shillings 1500 going up to 8000 depending on the design the size and the material used the material the yarn yeah the yarn used depending on the yarn alright and how much you yarn for it alright so the big word the wedding dress now oh yeah like your wedding dress in particular how much would you have had to pay if you were not the person making it so how much does it cost in simple okay this wedding dress would cost like 50,000 Kenyan shillings yeah atwiz gosan what if I'd like one for hire I don't want to have the wedding dress forever I just want to have it for that to hire for that particular event for Kenyan shillings 15,000 only 15,000 only before we get back to talking about the event I'd like I'd like to give you a chance to share your social media handles so they can make their orders the people who are having their weddings during this April season so they book their things the people who are going to the coast for Easter or get bikinis out on a swimsuit just share with them the social media handles the phone number, the business phone number so my instagram name is johartyans and my phone number is 0720 723832 and you can also find me on my personal page joannaokor if you just search joannaokor you'll find me and we can pick it up from there and by the way I also have a youtube channel what kind of content is that I teach people how to crochet for free so my youtube channel is called the johartyans and it's all about crochet content and crochet tutorials crochet content crochet tutorials what would you tell the guys who are watching right now who don't trust Kenyan products, who don't trust Kenyan businesses enough to buy from Kenyan producers Kenyan sellers what I can tell them is we need to change our mindset we need to support our own Kenyan designers our staff are authentic like you see what I'm doing here this is handmade, this is something unique you can't find it anywhere else and you find that most of the people they trust like they are broad market well the same things you can still find them in Kenya at the same quality quality is the most important thing but the value the value that I'm giving is the most important prize to Nezongia another one last word to people who are dealing with the mental illnesses or people who are affected directly or somebody who is just living with somebody who is suffering from any form of mental illness what I can tell them guys it's time to talk do not suffer in silence reach out to people, seek for help because when you share your problem with the people it's going to be easy for you to get out of it rather than suffering in silence their medical help their professionals out there who are ready to cancel you and also there is medical aspect of it alright so from the list of people you've mentioned it's not just people, they're right people share your problems with the right people because if you share it with the wrong people you can also get stick waters your situation might get worse thank you very much for coming through thank you so much for having me thank you very much for what you're doing if they'd like to be part of the Saturday event how do they get in contact with you one last thing on the business page or you can reach me on the same contact is 0720732832 or you can search my name on Facebook and then you can inbox me and then I'll give you more details about it or you can simply just show up on Saturday just come the numbers are on the business page alright which is right here yes and by the way there will be a free ride like we have a partner on board they'll be offering free ride to people alright wonderful you're already making moves like that thank you very much for coming we appreciate you so much keep doing what you're doing for mental health and for making us look good thank you so much we have come to the end of our segment Strength of a Woman this happens every single Wednesday on this day we celebrate the queens and hashtag is always queens Wednesday hashtag is white in the morning and we run from 7am to 10am and coming up next is Girl's Talk another thing for