I sat down with (Fine Art) student and business owner, Euphracia Montwedi, to chat about her love for beauty, and find out how she manages school, work, and a social life all while making a difference in people's lives through art. I’d like to think we tend to give the internet and its inhabitants (read different social media platforms) more slack than it deserves sometimes – the internet is actually a sensational thing when used properly. Amongst the junk of it all, you are bound to find a few treasures: art, music, literature, and even pretty cool humans. I spend more time daydreaming about making friends with these fascinating individuals who drink coffee like it’s the elixir for coolness, and listen to alternative music by artists whose names I cannot pronounce (shoutout to google, I can finally pronounce SBTRKT) than actually getting off my ass and doing something even mildy interesting with my life. I think our paths were bound to cross – all thanks to mutual friends – but, this here internet was a catalyst. I remember coming across a selfie video of this flawless skinned, Colgate smile human with an amazing cat-eye and pinup style curls who used her instagram page as a sort of creative diary – practicing her visual artistry and showcasing her talent. After having a look-see at her page – a quirky little gallery of playfully edited videos and pictures – I hit the follow button and here we are today. In March of 2015, I finally had the privilege of meeting the extraordinary Euphracia Montwedi. I was immediately drawn to her aura; she was a bright fluorescent light in a room full of dimly lit candles. Amongst a plethora of creative posts – occasionally showcasing her pencil drawings or her instrumental skills – I remember two distinct water paintings that simply took my breath away. Not straying far from her more constant theme of portraits, she swapped her pencils for water colour brushes, and created two of the most beautiful portraits: one, colour-infused and inspired by Fetty Wap, the other painted in varying shades of brown referencing the beauty of brown skinned girls. Upon hearing her plans of venturing into the business world and introducing her passion beautiful aesthetics and creativity to the world on a much larger platform, I was extremely excited to sit down with her and hear all about it. R: Who are you, and what do you do? EM: I am Euphracia, I study at the University or Pretoria. I’m studying a BA in Fine Arts, and I own a business called ‘Phray Creatives’. Phray Creatives is a multimedia company that branches into different sectors. All these sectors sort of represent who I am as a person. For example, there is a makeup branch, design is involved, art and craft is involved, and photography as well. She explains how her business has been created – and is being molded – in her image to represent her skill and interest in varying subjects, and bring it all together in a way that would not overwhelm one. “It’s sort of like a creative hub, we have everything together,” she says. “Hopefully, we get to add more and more and more." In pursuing her many interests and finding a way to work together to her benefit, Euphracia aims at subverting the idea that an individual has to pick one thing to be successful at and build their lives around. RNLW: How do you think you are changing this perspective, both personally and in terms of business? EM: I’m trying to bring a different, avant garde perspective. I’m trying to bring a new philosophy because being an entrepreneur is simply expressing who you are, you know, showcasing your potential and passion through hard work. And for me expressing ideas means exploring my different interests through the different branches and creative ventures. That’s why I chose to make a multimedia company; I don’t want to just focus on one thing. Juggling school, a social life, adulting and maintaining my overall wellbeing gets tricky sometimes (when I say sometimes, I mean 99% of the time); so naturally, I was curious to find out how exactly she handles all of that, business and all her other responsibilities. “I plan almost every second of my life. I plan what I’m going to do, when I’m going to do it, how I’m going to do it,” she explains as she shows me the calendar on her phone. “I don’t want to find myself just lounging around or not doing anything, unless I planned it. I am a person that works towards goals, so planning gets me far.” And she was not lying. Her daily calendar is filled with tasks and reminders of appointments, meetings, and classes from the hour of sunrise to the hour of sunset. “Three things that I look into when it comes to my priorities: I strictly prioritise my health, I strictly prioritise my time, and I strictly prioritise work – which includes my school work, business, and my ministering.” RNLW: We see you use the term ‘world changer’ a lot. What does that term mean to you personally? EM: ‘World changer’ is literally shifting the socially orientated world, if I can put it that way. Of course we are where we are because of people’s great ideas, so when I say ‘world changer’ I’m aiming at the fact that, you know what, I’m crazy enough to think I can change the world and hence I believe I can. I got the quote from Steve Jobs. The term [world changer] itself I got from the church I attend. They inspire us to be not just ordinary people but extraordinary; reaching your full potential and more – not just being that ordinary person. I am bold enough to make the moves that I can today because that term was spoken over my life; I am a world changer and a history maker. RNLW: How do you think you are changing the world? EM: I believe it starts with the self; how can I say I am changing the world if I am a victim to the world? I wish to create an impact out there to show people that, you know what, it’s not necessary to follow a world construct. When I say I would like to change the world, it’s me just literally hoping to shift the ways of seeing people and the rest of the world. Here is a thing I don’t understand that many people do – they keep their talents and abilities to themselves; I wouldn’t say bondage, but less expression of the self. I want to bring in a philosophy that’s aimed at motivation and encouragement in terms of getting to know the self, and your talents, and sort of expressing that. RNLW: How did your journey with makeup start? EM: I thought to myself, “If I can do it on canvas, I can do it in reality on myself.” I used to be an extremely lazy couch potato and so I started watching YouTube tutorials. I fell in love with what was going on, and after watching a couple of videos I then decided, “Okay, it’s time to do it on myself.” And ever since then it has unpacked into this skill, and I have become very confident in myself when it comes to makeup. If I were to be impressed by any creative, beautiful artistry, I would probably take a chance and succeed in the next two weeks, or three. I find it quite easy to catch on to creative things because I am just a creative minded person. RNLW: Tell us about your upcoming event. Why are you having this event? EM: Besides getting our name out there and making a profit, we really want people to get involved. We want them to socialise, we want them to interact with each other and with beauty itself, if I can put it that way. It’s not just, “Oh, it’s a beauty expo. We’re going to go there just to sit down and listen to people give us all this advice”, we want people to experience beauty and celebrate it the same way many of us celebrate music, and art, and all these things. There is a very minimal appreciation towards beauticians, cosmetologists, and all these other people who are involved in the industry of beauty. RNLW: Besides beauty, what else can we expect from Phray Creatives in the near future? EM: Phray-tography. I have a team of freelancers who are going to take pictures. We want to start conquering bit by bit so that we eventually have a studio. And it’s not just photography, but videography too. With a plethora of beauty related booths, entertainment, a little bit of champagne, and the opportunity to get your brows done-did (by the one and only Phray Creatives makeup team), I do not think you would want to miss it. Taking place on 13 October at the 012 Central Bank Towers, be sure to buy your ticket well in advance and start prepping those poppin’ outfits (inserts fire flame emoji) for the first event of its kind in the 012.
To find out more about the event – and how to win 1 of 3 free tickets and a beauty package – check out Phray Creatives’ instagram page for competition details!
2 Comments
Euphracia
9/12/2017 01:03:56 pm
I am So honored. Tears in my eyes ! Thank you for the feed
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12/11/2018 12:53:09 am
lovely.!
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