I am above all else a creative at heart who is obsessed with business development in South Africa and in particular within the secondhand community. I’m a leader who is invested in the well-being and growth of others in my community. I run two major companies, Picnic And Thrift which operates in Johannesburg, Pretoria (Irene & Centurion ) Cape Town and Rivonia. My other company is Crybaby.Thrift which specialises in brand design handmade vinyl merch (shirts, hoodies, stickers, corporate packaging, etc) for corporate and once off orders. Crybaby Thrift is also the co-parent of Picnic And Thrift and my specialty started out with and still includes Thrift creation for reselling production up cycling and sourcing. I believe I was nominated for the Jewish achievers awards as I am a Jewish achiever. I am exceptionally proud of my Jewish identity and believe that being Jewish has culturally given me a strong backing in the business development sphere in South Africa Africa. I am a leader, my years in HDSA attested to that and assisted with those natural skills being brought out. I believe that being an achiever is so much more than just … financial reward and outcome. It is about a bigger and higher goal, which for me is rooted in community upliftment which I believe both Crybaby and Picnic And Thrift in particular have successfully done due to my leadership skills.

My biggest vision for the businesses is actually rooted in my biggest version for South Africa which is to promote self reliance and sustainability in the informal and private sectors. I believe that the future of South Africa is deeply rooted in trade industries including market reselling and I believe that my physical market Picnic And Thrift is able to assist with an entire generation of South Africans becoming self reliant and moving away from corporate and towards being the bearers of their own fruit.

For myself, I have a very big vision of contributing to the South African small business economy and sustaining that, for me it is extremely important to be a part of something that is greater than the trivialities and materialist aspects of life. I want to make change, and keep change as sustainable as it can be. I have a deep desire to help others – and allow them to this help themselves more. Without the backdrop of condescending campaigns that don’t allow for self reliability – but against the backdrop of the young entrepreneurs who came before them.

Not everyone can run a business – but everyone can dream. Picnic & Thrift and the crybaby community allows for that – even our customers exemplify such uniqueness in their fashion choices, their money habits and spending habits, and their ways of engaging with ideologies and community. The major aspect that I think Bing is Picnic And Thrift with the broad South African future is that it is a growing community that has not been swallowed in it success, but rather uplifted by it. The community speaks oceans, and I’m proud to be a part of it. My vision for the community is for it to become more inclusive and open to newness.