(Work
by Songezo Baleni)
Songezo Baleni won the 2012 Emma Smith,
walking away with R40,000. He also set a record in the Durban University of
Technology’s Jewellery Design Department after obtaining a 100% mark for his
BTech degree (BTech) portfolio in 2012 and was profiled on national television
for this achievement.
In 2010, radio and TV personality Anele
Mdoda was spotted on the cover of Top Billing magazine wearing earrings crafted
by Baleni.
Now, the Durban University of Technology’s
Jewellery Design alumnus and part-time lecturer has made the top five of the House
and Leisure (HL) Rising Stars project. It was HL’s Durban writer Glynis Horning
who put Baleni’s name forward because she believed his talent needed to be
noticed.
A total of 51 local creatives were selected,
with Baleni making it to the top five. Rising Stars is an HL owned and
developed concept, which is now into its third year.
HL Editor Naomi Larkin said the project
aimed to showcase talent – particularly young talent – drawn from the broader
lifestyle categories that the magazine covers. These include design, décor,
art, food, fashion, jewellery, wine, music, architecture, photography, new media
and community initiatives. Candidates must have an established track record in
their medium; their work must be innovative, show commitment and a clear
direction as to where they are taking their creativity. They also need to demonstrate
that they have, or are able to take that creativity to the next level and must
be able to discuss their work, the philosophy behind it, methodology,
learnings, influences, future plans, etc.
The selection is made by the HL team and is
compiled over an extended period of time, with the Editor having the final say.
“Apart from covering the variety of mediums as outlined earlier, the selection
is also cognisant of demographic and geographic representation so we are
presenting a project that adequately sums up the country we live in,” said
Larkin.
Thanks to the Rising Stars sponsors – Ford
and TW Steel watches – HL will produce a one-minute video on each of the top
five. The videos – to be compiled by videographers Narrative Truth – will
outline, among others, who the candidates are, what they make as well as
aspects of their philosophy around their work. Larkin said Narrative Truth would
fly to the three areas to film and interview the five. The list and more
in-depth interviews can be viewed on the HL website. From here, browsers
can vote for their favourite choice (of the five).
On October 1, Baleni and the other four candidates
will be flown to Johannesburg where they will be part of a panel discussion, to
be chaired by Larkin in front of an audience of entrepreneurs and business
people. The videos will be screened and the discussion will focus on their
work. The aim of the event will be to launch their work to a broader audience,
helping grow their brands.
On the day, each of the five will also walk
away with a Ford Eco-Sport to drive for a month plus a tank of petrol, a TW
Steel Iconic Canteen watch valued at R6,750 and a hamper from Bombay Sapphire.
This is the first time the project has received sponsorship from which the
prizes are offered.
One of the criterion of Rising Stars is for
candidates to show that their business have room to grow. Baleni is exceeding
boundaries. From being a freelancer in jewellery making, he supplies to
galleries in Durban, Johannesburg and Cape Town. He feels working as a
freelancer allows him freedom to create designs that inspire him. “With freedom
anything goes. I can work on a piece and not like it, a week later I can create
a masterpiece out of that,” he said. Next year (2014), his work may be seen in
the Design Indaba, Cape Town. Baleni will use the Emma Smith Scholarship prize
money to cover expenses towards this.
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