Sunday Times Books Editor Tymon Smith speaks to Nikki Temkin, author of Chic Jozi, about what to do and where to go in Johannesburg. Listen:
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Joburg is a big city with lots to do and see. If you’re feeling a tad overwhelmed or, simply want to try something new, take a look at Chic Jozi by Nikki Temkin. This handy guide will tell you about the best places to shop, visit, eat and drink. Temkin recently chatted to Out & About on Zoopy TV about the book and its inspiration, the city of gold:
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Hot, pink, hip & happenin’ – the launch of Nikki Temkin’s Chic Jozi was a real Joburg “jol”. It was held at Roseboys on Thursday, 3 December – where the waitrons danced on the bar and on the tables, and the music cranked out, from Neil Diamond (yes, seriously) to Katrina & the Waves to Miriam Makeba’s always popular Click Song.
Arriving at Roseboys in the late Joburg afternoon heat and new, strange humidity, each guest was greeted with a deep pink and viciously-delicious cocktail. The tables were a feast for the eyes, bedecked with flowers, lamps, wonderful wine and the most-delicious-ever camembert cheese.
Author Temkin arrived in a sparkly party dress with her husband Alex Agulnik. She was enthusiastically greeted by the Penguin Books team – having a ball at the last launch for the year!
Penguin’s Alison Lowry began the speeches saying how she had overhead a conversation recently in Cape Town where someone said it was not worth visiting Joburg. Lowry laughed and said, “I beg to differ!”. Calling Chic Jozi a “lovely, lovely book” she said that the timing for it “couldn’t be better” especially with regards to the “vibe” in South Africa at the moment with the World Cup on its way.
Temkin thanked Lowry while honouring Nadine Rubin, who originated the “Chic Jozi” concept five years ago. She shared how hard it was to write the book with a baby who suddenly decided not to sleep for six months!
Temkin’s own words brought it all together, “I think that the book speaks for itself. I am not going to say too much about Chic Jozi. I want everybody to love our city. I want people to buy the book because it’s my idea of what fun you can have here. It’s a discriminating collection of places that I love and new places that I have discovered. I want you to squeeze the life out of the city. I want you to tell people to come and visit and obviously buy the book!”.
With that, the short ‘n sweet speeches came to an end, guests spilled out onto the pavement into the then cool evening air, and Jozi treated everyone with one of her pink and orange sunsets. There was to be no thunderstorm this night!
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Penguin Books takes pleasure in inviting you to the launch of Chic Jozi by Nikki Temkin on Thursday the 3rd of December.
From restaurants, bargain-hunting, landscape gardening and urban chilling, to club-hopping, museums, markets and vintage stores; from spas, the best boutiques, and local designers, to going green with organic products, kids’ courses, yoga and meditation: Chic Jozi is your onestop, utterly essential guide on how to have a good time in Joburg.
See you there!
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Where do you go for cut-price designer labels, that must-have little black dress, or a unique ensemble for an exclusive evening out?
Where can you take your children so they’ll be entertained and safe while you relax?
And what actually are 44 Stanley, Arts on Main, and Gramadoelas?
Key Jozi survival questions – answered!
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How do you fool your mother-in-law with a delicious homemade (read: catered) lasagne served in the dish she gave you (because what working girl has time to cook a gourmet meal during the week)?
Who can you trust for that fantastic facial or perfect pedi?
Are you looking for somewhere to sip exotic sundowners while the sun sets on the Jozi skyline, a hip place to perch for delicious cocktails, or the trendiest hangouts for a Saturday night on the town?
How about where to find the juiciest cut of steak or the freshest fish in this landlocked city, organic veggies, freshly ground coffee beans, and still-warm, flour-dusted ciabatta?
Look no further – Chic Jozi is here!
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From restaurants, bargain-hunting, landscape gardening and urban chilling, to club-hopping, museums, markets and vintage stores; from spas, the best boutiques, and local designers, to going green with organic products, kids’ courses, yoga and meditation: Nikki Temkin’s Chic Jozi is your onestop, utterly essential guide on how to have a good time in Joburg.
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Penguin Books and Kalk Bay Books take pleasure in inviting you to the second Cape launch of Kiki Theo’s new book, Money Well.
How do you contain the money in your life? Do you have a container? Is it big enough, sturdy enough? Does it leak? Can it withstand the test of time? How you contain money is reflected in how you contain other things in your life – your joy, your talents, your relationships, your goals and aspirations, your humanity.
Come learn more about Theo’s alchemic money processes at the event – see you there!
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Guests were met in the foyer and after being ticked off the list were greeted personally by the author as they entered the reception lounge. The tables with wine, juice or water – the last delicately flavoured with fresh fruit – formed the perfect display and were easily accessible with the waitrons ready to assist. Ambling into the launch presentation room, one found tables laden with roasted vegetablse and hallumi wraps, speciality chicken kebabs, dip platters, choc and pecan wedges, strawberry tartlets and an array of other treats. A very, very good start!
The presentations were equally impressive, complete with radio mikes for the speakers; large screens so each audience member had a clear view; a drama skit and a slide show of inspirational quotes with striking graphics, and an inspiring South African music mix by another DAV employee, Daleen Atherton.
The proceedings began with an introduction by Ingrid Kast, CEO of DAV, telling guests about how this “superb leader and astute business woman” had been part of the management team and had excelled in the company for “twenty extraordinary years, leaving a lasting legacy that has been instrumental in making our company what it is today.” She continued, “Annette combines human insights with love, intelligence, a vast knowledge and deep conviction. Her combination of emotional connectedness and capacity to challenge on a strategic level allows her to bring an abundance of creative solutions to every situation. There is a deep calling within Annette to make the world a better place, she does so through her passion to help people to develop to their full potential, to achieve what they may not even realise they are capable of.”
There followed a skit by Gloria Matlapeng and Zelda Vermooten that gave a humorous take on the daily lives of placement group executives – complete with dancing with scarves, plus various other props employed to help visualise clients’ dreams.
Kinnear spoke of her first attempt at a book, a twenty-two page manuscript, written when she was eleven years old in Germany and was given the difficult lesson by her teacher, Frau Klein, that an unfinished book… is not actually a book. She said that Your Career, Your Life reveals that it is sometimes through hard lessons that we get unstuck from not progressing in our lives.
The author welcomed the Jamaican High Commissioner, Kurt Davis, and told guests how one week in Jamaica helped her change her own life and steered her in a direction she wanted to go. She has started a consultancy company, Irie – www.irie.co.za – in the wake of that experience.
Kinnear was not shy to convince guests to buy her book – saying with a twinkle in her eye that this was merely practicing what she was preaching! She pointed out that the structure of the book is set out in weekly lessons to make it accessible to everyone, even non-bookish types. Further, the book stands out in it that relates specifically to career development within the South African context.
An inspiring event for an inspiring author newly-arrived on the scene.
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Helena Dolny, editor of Team Coaching: Artists at Work, recently attended a workshop on the work-place held by the life-coach Martha Beck, in which she learnt the importance of going with her gut feeling.
Life coach Martha Beck was in South Africa in September and ran a workshop for coaches but is relevant to many of us as we consider work-life options.
Round One. What will continue to give us humans the edge on computers in this world? Six things: we tell stories, we design, we symphonise (ideas, analysis). We create meaning. We have the ability to empathise. And we can play!
Round Two. Who are you? What is your combination of talents that brands the unique you?
Round Three. What is your purpose? Who do you work with and where? This will provide you with a filter: the assignments you say yes to, the assignments you refer on.
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Image courtesy WhosWho.co.za
Doors fly open and opportunities arrive on your doorstep once you start to understand the basic principles of career success. Annette Kinnear’s Your Career Your Life reveals these important foundations and shows that career growth is a process that starts inside you.
We’ll see you at the launch!
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Chic Jozi is a savvy style-companion guide to Joburg. It’s like having your best girlfriend in your designer handbag!
Where do you go for cut-price designer labels, that little black dress with your name on it, or a unique ensemble for an exclusive evening out?
Where can you take your children so they’ll be entertained and safe while you can relax? And what actually are 44 Stanley, Arts on Main, and Gramadoelas?
How do you fool your mother-in-law with a delicious home-made (read: catered) lasagne served in the dish she gave you (because what working girl has time to cook a gourmet meal during the week)?
Who should you trust for that French mani or a perfect pedi?
Are you looking for somewhere to sip exotic sundowners while the sun sets on the Jozi skyline, or the trendiest hangouts for a Saturday night on the town?
How about where to find the juiciest cut of steak or the freshest fish in this landlocked city, organic veggies, freshly ground coffee beans, and still-warm, flour-dusted ciabatta?
And if it’s the most decadent Belgian chocolate cake that you’re after to share with your girlfriends or a melt-in-the-mouth cheesecake, you’ll find all this and much, much more in Chic Jozi: The savvy style companion.
From restaurants, bargain-hunting, landscape gardening and urban chilling, to club-hopping, museums, markets and vintage stores; from spas, the best boutiques, and local designers, to going green with organic products, kids’ courses, yoga and meditation: this is your onestop, utterly essential guide on how to have a good time in Joburg.
About the author
Nikki Temkin barely passed Home Economics at school but excelled at Creative Writing, which set the tone for her future as a young woman determined to become a paid writer and a better cook. Her colourful career has included a stint as an advertising copywriter, a TV producer/screenwriter, website editor and various other jobs in the media industry. Over the last eight years she has written prolifically for magazines and newspapers; her longest gig was with the Sunday Times magazine as the TV columnist and features writer. Other than living in the UK while completing her Masters in 1997, Nikki has always lived in Johannesburg, through each of this exciting city’s incarnations. Chic Jozi is the culmination of many hours of eating, shopping, browsing, partying and meandering, and is a fully updated new edition of the original book.
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