I am sure if you are creative and you are reading this, you will be familiar with that question. Where do you get all your ideas from? Where do you find your inspiration? What goes on inside your head? As a creative admiring another creative’s work I am sure you have asked the same question.

In this month’s blog post I am going to give you an insight into what I do when inspiration strikes.

Now, this blog post is late. It was supposed to come out in July and it was going to be very different from what you are about to read. July was a month that was supposed to be the light at the end of the tunnel for so many yet the universe had different plans.

Wednesday the 14th of July 2021 will always be a date that has left a scar on the minds of many.

Tuesday the 13th of July I was at Mu Mu. My place of work for the last 9 years, this year.

It used to be my home. I slept in its warmth and made love. It’s a place that, as a waiter trying to make ends meet, as I launched my label, where I would people watch as I served customers their food, inspiration would strike and I would whip out my sketchbook and draw ideas. A place where the slower days I envisioned the majority of my first collections hats, Ki Mi. It’s a place that I have fallen in love with and it’s largely got to do with the owner and his family.

Ciaran. A man that I have known for 16 years and has become a figure I look up to and admire for his drive and determination, to turn his inspiration into a reality. He has become a close friend, confident, advisor, the mirror I am not willing to look into, and a critic that tells it as it is. You could almost say an adopted father figure. His family has opened their arms and hearts to a young boy from Zimbabwe finding his way into his new home, the U.K. The way we met is a story for another day, it’s hilarious.

Imagine, there we are. Ciaran, Amy (Nellie Gerkins), and myself. We are all buzzing. In just 5 days we will be launching karaoke. Ciaran and his team will be prepping for their nightclubs and dance floors to reopen. Bookings were through the roof. I was filled with nerves as I would be back to be a DJ and partying till the earlier hours of the morning. How was my body as a 36-year man having not danced for almost a year cope? To be honest, a good dance is exactly what I need.

Fast forward to the next morning. My phone is ringing and in a daze, I see that it’s my co-star, Miss Kitty Errington (Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/kate.errington/?hl=en ), calling and I immediately know something is wrong. I picked up and she says, “Mu Mu is on fire!” In disbelief, I pull my phone away and I stare at my phone screen where a message from Ciaran’s wife, Sarah, awaits. I hang up on Kitty to find out what the message is and she informs me that in the early hours of the morning a fire started in the nightclub and has ripped through the building. I can’t believe it and I burst into tears.

In the madness, my Mister and I get ready to leave and see if we can help. The journey there is silent. We park having picked up another co-star Miss Ivy Paige (Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/ivypaigeofficial/?hl=en ) and the air is drenched with the smell of smoke. There are fire engines, firemen, and police. The area is taped off. The reality hits me and others. It’s so sad. It’s heartbreaking. It’s a trigger.

I see Sarah and as the day goes on I catch glimpse of Ciaran. Their faces and body language remind me of my parents when we lost and went through what we did when I lived in Zimbabwe. My head is racing. What are we going to do? The whole day we are sat with the rest of the family been bought food by nearby takeaways, chairs by a charity shop, drinks by strangers, as well as dealing with love and support with the odd angry pain-body (read A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle and you will get the reference) shouting hateful words as the family sits in despair not knowing what their future holds.

The day sped by. I get home. My clothes smell of fire just like they did when the fire season would break in Zimbabwe. I can’t sit still. There’s a pulling feeling that I can’t let go of. I need to go back to see her. We drive back and set against a navy sky the place I once called home and have proudly called my residency sits there in pain. You could almost feel the building’s energy. Desperate to be loved again and the warmth of people and their spirits to fill her again. A lace curtain hangs limply out of a shattered window. The smell of destruction and sadness fills the air. People walk by and their murmurs echo the sadness. We leave.

The next day I turn up and I am allowed in. It’s time to roll up our sleeves. Ciaran looks broken, Sarah a tower of strength stands by. I am shown to the back by their daughter. The once copper bar that shone as the light hits it is covered in a black I can’t describe. The small creaks and noise of water dripping sing a sad song. Sarah mentions to me that the copper bar needs to be recovered. I might lift Ciaran’s spirits. Two words, baby oil. Thank you, Martha Stewart.

Madame Mu Mu After

As the smoke damage lifts the work begins to save and reopen the surviving side of the venue. The next 9 days are a blur. Love and support come pouring through the door. People show their true colors. Some good. Some bad. In this time, I am lead upstairs to the floor where I and many other performers, after a year of no work, used to entertain the crowds. The once office, storage room, and roof lay on its floor. The beauty has been tarnished yet amongst the rubble are glimpses of hope and survival. We managed to reopen the surviving side and it continues to be part of the cultural landscape of Kent.

The phrase, “rise like a phoenix from the ashes!” made its round. Inspiration starts to strike, dare I say it, and ignite. Again my head is bubbling.

As always, what do I do when inspiration strikes?

I sketch. I draw. I erase and start again. I work out the idea. I research and collate. Then when time allows, the work begins.

Tip for any creatives out there. Put a sketchbook in your bag. Next to your bed. On the coffee table in your lounge. Work out a way to record the great ideas that have been inspired by life around you.

For now, this project, as funds come in and I can rebuild the wardrobe myself and Kitty lost in the fire, I have my idea.

A bodysuit draped and tied with shades of tulle net to represent an angry twisted fire dancing over its blackened trail of destruction, a removable black, glittering skirt embellished with clusters of crystals to catch the light as the outfit joins into the number chosen and becomes a reveal. The look will become kinder as the eye travels up to a headdress gleaming and proud as if to represent the crest of a phoenix.

I will be using crystals from Poppy at Crystal Parade and in a variety of sizes from SS14 to SS20. Shades of Jet, Siam, Light Siam, Ruby, Lava, Sun, Citrus, Diamond, and AB. Using Preciosa, Zodiac, and Swarovski. Some may be hand sewn on but most will be glued using the ever so trusting Gem-Tac.

As work begins on this costume I will be posting to my Instagram account - https://www.instagram.com/madamemumuofficial/?hl=en-gb - so keep your eyes peeled.

For now, I leave you with this quote by Martha Graham.

Fire is the test of gold; adversity, of strong men.

Write soon…xoxo

When inspiration strikes!

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Royal Ascot 2021