A note from Lungisa Kunene

As somebody that's multifaceted and passionate about many things in life, I found myself at a crossroads of having to pick one thing to focus on in order to get a job. I couldn't do it. It hurt having to try pick. After matriculating from Maritzburg College in 2019, I proceeded to study a Bachelor of Arts in Fashion (Majoring in Media) at STADIO School of Fashion (Formerly LISOF - London International School of Fashion) in 2020 where we majored in Computer Literacy & Design, Marketing & Brand Management, Fashion Media, Fashion Theory, Trend Analysis and Fashion Theory. Fashion Writing & Analysis, Make-Up, Visual Merchandising & Window Display Design, Styling and Fashion Photography were modules that were added onto our majors. I met some of the coolest and most talented people at STADIO who I'm so lucky to have studied with. They made all the deadlines manageable.

After graduating in 2023, I applied for jobs in various fields and went for a few interviews when I was lucky enough to get to that stage, but after all of that applying and trying for interviews, the doubt began to creep in. I was lucky to get a Part-Time job at Holmes Brothers as a Store Assistant around October where I've been since. Besides dealing with my own "Free Young Thug" movement in 2024, the desire to explore my creative side came back but I was in such a creative block nothing happened. I thought how could I merge all my passions into one? 1) Visual Arts - I love paintings, Graphic Design, Photography. 2) Performing & Literary Arts - Filmmaking, Music, Dance, Acting, Directing, Writing. I specifically remember writing something in Grade 8 that still sticks with me til this day. 3) Design - I enjoy Fashion in its entirety, from design to apparel and styling etc, Architecture & Interior Design (Lots of my inspiration comes from architecture), and I love Crafts but specifically jewellery and understanding how it's made. I was exposed to pottery classes on Fridays after school in Primary and Pre-Primary School. The process of sculpting something with my dirty hands felt therapeutic to me even at that age. Seeing the final product was so rewarding. 4) Marketing - I always found myself looking at campaigns beyond a consumer and trying to understand the thought process behind it while thinking about what I could do to possibly make it better.

After properly acknowledging my passions I decided to try and do all of it at once - impossible. I thought since I'm multifaceted and enjoy all these different things, I could do it myself - Boy was I wrong, it was impossible. I genuinely got nowhere and the creative block got even worse - I was beyond stressed out. I was struggling to translate the ideas and visuals I had in my head into something tangible. I would tell people around me about the ideas but I realised I have to figure out how to show it. Sometimes I struggle to ask for help because I always thought I can do it myself. In this endeavour specifically, I really realised that I can't do this alone - AT ALL. Numerous months went by while I was in the creative block, still no answers. At least that's what I thought, because I realised that I know some really cool people who are like me and thought about what would it look like if we worked together? All of us coming together and showcasing what we do respectively. That was extremely powerful to me because everything and everybody was around me but I didn't know it. How could I put all of us under one roof? A house. A Creative House.

A Multimedia Creative House. FOR YOU, BY WHO? as a concept was born. Now it was time to refine it. Late 2024 into early 2025 was me conceptualising this and figuring out a framework. The initial idea of a Creative House turned into something bigger than expected. I cant wait to share what we have planned for this. It's truly humbling.

It started with me but now it's bigger than me - it's all of us now. We do this for you, with you.

Stay tuned :)

Love Lungs