Meet Sydney Guillotine | Screenwriter & Beadworker

We had the good fortune of connecting with Sydney Guillotine and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Sydney, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
I began my jewellery business during the pandemic, the small glass beads remind me of home, South Africa, where artists are so skilled they can create life-like models of animals and plants out of glass beads and wire. Creating beautiful, colourful creations helped ease my homesickness during the quiet chaos of Covid-19. Initially, I made items for myself but having the opportunity to finally share my creations with my loved ones after lockdown ended was utterly amazing. I feel grateful that I can further share my art with strangers through my online store.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Storytelling has always been my biggest strength. I find comfort in creating lush worlds that mirror our own but shimmer in magical realism. Screenwriting is my passion as I find exploring reality through visual metaphors utterly enchanting. My ability to challenge my protagonists and then empathise with my antagonists is what makes me a talented writer. I want to write stories about my home and the people I love as they truly are, instead of the one dimensional perspective we’ve seen of Africa thus far. My jewellery also serves as an avenue of storytelling, just like the Zulu people would send love letters and other communications through beaded badges. The colours of my necklaces and earrings are inspired by the world around me, such as the seasons or my own spiritual journey. All in all, I want people to be seen; the truth in my stories to validate someone’s experience and the beauty of my jewellery to boost someone’s confidence.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Honestly, I feel that Los Angeles is extremely expensive and often a bit of a rip off. If my best friend came to visit, I would cook her a meal; I haven’t seen her since I learned to cook. I would introduce her to my new friends, and we would just talk, in real life, for the first time in four years. I think that would be the best time ever. I apologise for the anti-climax.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My mother, Dorothy Nairne, is the reason I do what I do, I owe her everything and more. Dorothy Nairne is a phenomenal woman who continues to inspire her children and the world at large. An African American woman who moved her family to South Africa to work with sex workers during the HIV endemic. My mother has always handled any hardship with grace and humility, and extends herself to help other at any chance she gets. Right now, she is working on a recycling business based in New Orleans, my grandmother’s home town, which will focus on rehabilitating formerly incarcerated people back into society. My mother is what reminds me that there’s good in the world, even after a long day of being alive during capitalism.

Instagram: sydney.guillotine and the_guillotine_store

Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/sydney-fikile-adjoa-guillotine-54aa37232

Image Credits
Dayana Yakhyarova and Michael Liu (The three photos of people with the jewellery on) Thando Mbele (Photo of me with boom in the back, and silhouette photo with sunshine) Myself for the abstract-ish photos of jewellery