CALLING FOR OLD AND BROKEN BOARDS

We have received an overwhelming response worldwide for our 360 INITIATIVE. It has been great and has really encouraged us to push harder , make more and sleep less.- – its all worth it!

We visited the Scottsdene skatepark during their program and made a small video for you to see the difference that skateboarding is making in their community. By supplying kids with boards we are all helping to keep them off drugs , away from all the bad elements , reducing crime within the areas due to drug abuse and creating jobs along with giving these kids something to simply be happy about! We are also creating green awareness by introducing the idea of recycling and upcycling. Boards have been donated to us , new boards are reshaped from them and the scrap off cuts get turned into jewelry and accessories so nothing goes to waste. By purchasing a 360 product you will be purchasing a board for a child.

These are a few of our latest products

…….and introducing 360 MINI CRUISERS……..

these boards have been reshaped from old boards and the accessories were made from the off cuts

Please we are calling for any old or broken unwanted boards. If you have one and would like to donate it to the cause please contact Thania 079 034 8955 or Amin 083 434 1504

In the meantime I am trying to figure out how to subtitle our little video for all our international followers before i upload it onto out blog but you can view it on our  Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Cardomom-Monkey/350331938322596

this board was sponsored to a child in Zulu land through the Indigo Youth Movement by Element. After many great skate sessions and wonderful times this young boy has donated it to 360. Amin has reshaped it into a 360 MINI CRUISER and when it gets sold along with the accessories made from the off cuts , more kids will receive boards from the very board which was donated in the first place.

HOW COOL!

SEEKING NEW SHIP……..

It has been a while since I last blogged or facebooked and the reason being is because things have not been going quite as we planned. After five months of several burst pipes , electricity shortages , damp walls and leaking ceilings , we have decided to give up our old shop and look for new premises before we have even had the chance to open……its become a bit of a laughing matter on our side because if we don’t choose to laugh about it we never going to stop crying! hahahahahahahah! So lets laugh!

SO, the search is on…………

And of course we are feeling like every minute gone by is a minute too late but what can we do but just embrace and carry on. We have not become despondent but rather excited and instead of only including you in our goods time iv decided to include you in the bad times too.

Months of having our hands on deck and now seeking a new ship, lessons have been learnt and money has been lost , but we still feeling positively excited and maybe a bit VERY frustrated ha ha ha!

In the meantime my treasure hunting continues for all those quirky whatnots , Amin is working hard adding new items to 360 , and lots of great furniture pieces are being painted and sprayed.

If you know of any great vacant spaces or shops please drop us a note and join our search.

Thanks a million

Much love

Thania

BOOK yourself into THE CARDOMOM MONKEY

I LOVE BOOKS!

Problem is , the child in me , at least i like to blame it on that child , prefers the kind of books with LOTS and LOTS of pictures so all the books we have in store at THE CARDOMOM MONKEY , needless to say , have the most beautiful pictures of amazing architecture , delicious food , photography , drawings , clothing , jewelry , fine art , shoes , graphics , animation , interior design , home diy  and well , the list is endless! wherever your heart lies in the world of Art and Design , we have the book that your eyes can feast upon!

a few examples of what’s in store

360 INITIATIVE

For the past few years Amin has been involved in programs using skateboarding as a tool to teach kids life skills and encourage youngsters to stay away from drugs by giving them a new interest. So far the programs have been successful and last year we accompanied 50 children to Kimberly to be spectators at the Maloof Money cup , the largest skateboarding competition in the world. Skateboarding builds friendships , breaks race barriers through common interest and keeps the kids busy doing exercise rather than hanging about aimlessly and susceptible to bad elements.

The government has caught onto the positivity that skateboarding brings to communities and has built concrete skateparks in Kleinvlei , Kleinmond , Mitchell’s Plain to mention a few poorer areas in South Africa. This is great , problem is the kids have no boards to skate these parks so whats the use! Amin along with the Indigo youth movement and Dallas Oberholzer , our beloved friend , have been running a program that gives the boys access to 20 boards for 2 days a week. However these boards are just on loan to them by our sponsors for that hour or so that they being taught on those days.

Amin has been desperately trying to make a way to get the kids their own boards and after lots of tears and sweat spilt we have started our own initiative called 360.

360 is an initiative whereby we collect old and broken unwanted skateboards and upcycle it into very cool funky pieces of jewelry and accessories. Proceeds go towards buying a new board for a child and when that child has used the board to a point where it cannot be skated anymore , he gives it back to 360 where it will be upcycled too and go toward buying a new board for another child- so it does a full 360!

We are also hoping to create work and promote sustainability by teaching people from poorer communities to make the jewelry and accessories. So far we have welcomed Raymond as a member of our team but are hoping to have many many more in the future!

take a look 

Amin ‘Arni’ Gray has been skateboarding since eight years old. Skateboarding is what kept him going through bad adolescent times and gave him the best times of his life. He forged lifelong friendships through skateboarding and went on to becoming a pro skateboarder . This year is the 12th year that he holds the title of ‘HIGHEST SOUTH AFRICAN OLLIE’ it remains unbeaten. His love for skateboarding along with his youthful heart and passion for kids , having 2 boys of his own , is what drives him daily to doing 360 – and I help him hahahahahahah! At a loss of eloquent words to promote myself in this equation! hahahahaha!

360 accessories will be available to buy at THE CARDOMOM MONKEY

If you would like to donate any old boards to 360 we would greatly appreciate it.

Please contact THANIA 079 034 8955 or AMIN 083 434 1504 or pop round to THE CARDOMOM MONKEY when it opens soon

Have a seat

I’m a big fan of all things french and all things TOILE!

Slip your pretty toosh into a little polka dot skirt , seat it onto a fanciful chair and drink your latte from vintage fine bone china cup and saucers –  then take it all home!

ALL IN THE NAME OF FUN AND FANCINESS

All hands on deck

In the true spirit of recycling we have finally started to get down and dirty with all hands on deck in the shop!

Since we are on a fairly tight budget , recycling has worked wonderfully in our favor!

Amin and Raymond has managed to build great solid counters for you to chill at whilst drinking your coffee and watching Woodstock go by or read one of our great Art and Design books.

Our shop counters cost us R610 to make!!!!!!! Thanks to ROSS DEMOLITION in Lansdowne Industria where we purchased secondhand wood for R4 a meter. Compared to new timber which is about R100 a meter and it comes with all the personality of a life lived! That character that we so love!

I really wanted to wallpaper the bar/kitchen area to separate it from the rest of the shop and make it homely and warm like our kitchen at home but once again , why cut down more trees for more paper – lets save our trees! I picked up a bag of old music books for R100 , got some lightweight wallpaper glue from the deckle edge and 2 days later – we have a brand new kitchen area!

Take a look:

whats in a name?

It has recently come to my attention that I have spelt ‘cardomom’ in THE CARDOMOM MONKEY incorrectly – (amongst other minor grammatical errors) ha ha! Clearly writing is not my strong point! But now Im stuck at a cross roads – do i change it or do i leave it?

We have grown quite fond of our incorrectly spelt name , it seems more like a character flaw rather than an incorrectly spelt word. And since its all those character flaws that make all things beautiful and set them apart from the rest , maybe we should leave it as is to stand as testimony to that philosophy! We love character , uniqueness and the tad odd ball all the time.

What do you think?

More in Store

STAY TUNED for whats in store

THE CARDOMOM MONKEY coming soon to Woodstock