#LeBlogue 001: If you can read this,

An intro to Le Blogue, the first story and a front cover explanation.

Oct 31, 2022

If you can read this,

it means you clicked on a link or two, navigated to this page and started reading; a combination of a few simple actions. Life itself is a complex combination of these simple actions. Le Scarf is a brand that aims to explore the by-products of these simple actions.

Le Blogue (Le Scarf’s Analogue Blog)’s printed element harpoons us into the physical world. We say hello to life’s algorithm, printing costs, uneditable mistakes and (what feels like) increased scrutiny. In return, we ask you to say hello to the light #content on these pages, share feedback and support the brand however you can.

To read Le Blogue AS PUBLISHED, click here. To find a list of ISSUE 1’s stories, head to the bottom of this article. Otherwise, without further ado, the first piece:

A Gift from the Lavender Field

When your friend Ingrid asks if you’d like to interview South African Michelin Star chef Jan Hendrik van der Westhuizen, you say yes. Then you sheepishly Google his name.

The plan was to touch on the latest season of JAN (currently available on Showmax, DStv Catch-up and VIA). Set in a tiny house surrounded by lavender, Jan invites various guests to converse with him. Each guest inspires a new dish for his restaurant in Nice, France.

I drove to the JAN Innovation Studio on Kloof Street to meet him. The chat was great. These quotes/sentiments stuck out:

1. Jan has only created seven signature dishes throughout his entire career.

2. Things don’t become recognisable overnight.

3. Creativity gets harder as you become more recognised. You learn that everything produced by your pen, brush or kitchen will be seen and critiqued.

4. The Slash Generation is alive and strong. A chef can be a photographer, designer, artist and writer. You should aim to do many things instead of just peeling carrots for hours on end. How will you get inspired?

5. Starting is precisely that.

6. Food itself doesn’t tell a story; the entire experience does. You can go into an empty white space, and there can be a plate. It wouldn’t mean much if you didn’t know where the plate came from or the hands that made it.

After the chat, Jan gifted me one of his journals (because it was rather evident I hadn’t read any of his work yet). The journal is a beautiful book filled with food stories and images. Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to tuck into it immediately. That said, inside the journal, there was a small A5 booklet about Nice, France. I inhaled the A5 booklet’s content on the spot.

At that moment (the moment of content inhalation), I realised the product’s page limit and physical printed nature respected my time. No overarching tech lords were trying to keep me on their digital platform. Once the content ended, the content ended. I could get off the couch and continue with my life.

I needed to create something similar.

If you managed to find a printed Le Blogue #1, you would have felt, in your hands, the direct result of Jan’s gifted journal. Le Blogue would have been a completely different product if Ingrid’s invitation didn’t get sent. Life’s timing amazes me.

Because of Le Blogue and the inspiration it gave ME, I hope you also benefit from Ingrid’s invite and Jan’s gift.

Front Cover Explanation

IF – A poem by Rudyard Kipling expressing balance and humility. Read it here.

YOU – The person reading this, the reason we exist.

CAN – The thing that happens if you combine action & time.

READ – What you, our reader, will need to do. Because of this, we will aim to make everything as readable as possible.

THIS – A word that points to existence. Everything we put into the world can be referenced as “THIS”. Everything we put into the world can/will be seen by different people’s eyes. We will always be aware of this.

, COMMA – The invite for readers to open the cover and join the journey of creativity, fun, respect, storytelling, existence and community.