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Ask me one more time why I didn’t have a patent…
Can we just clear something up. The word ‘patent’ does not mean you’re untouchable. Secondly, the word ‘patent’ does not mean protection for everything in the whole universe. The real underdogs in this whole Woolworths story of mine, were actually my amazing attorneys from Kisch IP, namely Andrew Papadopoulos and team. They have been kind enough to weigh in on…
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On being human.
Have you ever found yourself in a situation where once you got there, you thought to yourself, “what the actual f**k am I doing here and how do I get out of this?” Well that’s how I felt sitting in the front row of the Montecasino movie theatre in JHB, as they opened the doors to the #WeAreSME event and…
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Official Joint Statement: Outcome of Ubuntu Baba / Woolworths discussions
* In honour of being transparent, the below was written by the Woolworths lawyers and approved by me. ____________ We are pleased to announce that Ubuntu Baba and Woolworths have reached a positive and amicable resolution. As a primarily private label business and given this recent experience, Woolworths will be putting into place additional measures to avoid a similar incident…
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What would’ve happened to your business if Woolworths continued to sell?
I was recently asked this question by Matt Brownell, the Head of Brand Marketing at Yoco. I hadn’t really thought about that yet, because I knew that when the public found out about what had happened, Woolworths would really have no choice but to discontinue stocking the product, because well, social media. Never the less, this question got me thinking.…
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Update on Ubuntu Baba / Woolworths situation
I had no idea that my previous blog post would explode on social media the way it did. I knew we were in for some attention, but the support from our customers and the public has been unbelievable and I’m just blown away by how huge this became overnight. So first and foremost, a heartfelt thank you to everyone for…
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Dear Woolworths, you have some explaining to do.
“Shannon have you seen this?” I open my WhatsApp to read the message and see a screenshot of the baby carrier I designed being sold on Woolworths’ online shop. I can’t describe the feeling that went through my body in that moment. It’s 16 December 2018 and I’ve just found out that Woolworths has shamelessly copied the complete design and…
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The Magazine.
I never thought I’d write about this again but I realize now that it’s a huge part of my story to becoming an entrepreneur that actually (finally) pays herself a salary as well as a team who supports me. In December 2004 I returned from my 9 month short (was meant to be 2 years!) working trip to Ireland and…
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2018, you were a real teacher
This year seems to have gone a lot faster than others. Time is racing and it’s not just because I’m getting older, everyone can feel it. Here are some of my thoughts on 2018: When you’ve got a lot on your plate, don’t just push through and sleep less and do more. A tired stressed-out mind doesn’t have anything left…
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I saw Dave smile
While browsing through Instagram stories last night, I scrolled past a photo of an old friend, sitting in the Empire Café down in Muizenberg, with a massive smile on his face. What a smile, it made me smile to see such joy, and then something took over me and I was consumed with emotion and couldn’t help but sob. It’s…
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Where am I in these pics?
I’m so tired. Is it even possible to be this tired? I scroll through old photos on my phone, photos from like 5 years ago. My skin was plump and glowing. The bags under my eyes, ok they were still there, but they weren’t THIS dark. There were so many photos of me back then. Now, they’re far and few…