By Natalie Thysse
Edited by Imaan Moosa
Meet the face behind @denzeesays. Johannesburg Illustrator, Danielle de Abreu, brings daily shenanigans to life through humour.
While humour plays a crucial role in her illustrations, she also addresses staid matters. De Abreu’s fervent about women empowerment and uses her platform to create awareness and contribute to the upliftment of women.
You know when you wish for something drastic to happen in order for you to avoid certain situations and that wish becomes true but then you feel guilty because all of a sudden life seems to be on hold?
That’s what lockdown felt like. I was looking for a way to buy more time to avoid reality. Lockdown – in some instances – became that escape plan. I was thrilled about it until it backfired.
Suddenly, I had time to devour books that gave me perspective and after reading that I felt ready to take on the world again. But I guess it’s true what they say, be careful what you wish for.
Social media became an important source of communication. It became a platform where businesses could be advertised, and customers could purchase online products. It also gave local entrepreneurs an opportunity to showcase their work and one that particularly stood out for me was 26-year-old Joburger, Danielle de Abreu or best known as @denzeesays.
“I started my account during lockdown although it went through a few name changes before I landed on @denzeesays. I suppose it was inspired by boredom. During lockdown, I had a lot of time on my hands (as I’m sure a lot of us did) so I thought a good way to keep myself occupied would be by picking up drawing again which was a hobby I had been neglecting since high school.”
@denzeesays calendar
Photo: Provided
A hobby for humorous entertainment
De Abreu’s illustrations bring life-long expressions, feelings, and thoughts to life. When you look at the illustrations, there is only one question that comes to mind:
‘Oh, why didn’t I think of creating something like this?’
She describes her illustrations as simple and playful.
It is intentionally simple as I want my drawings to get straight to the point.
[A]nd straight to the point it is indeed but Danielle’s authentic posts are not directed at anyone.
“I used to overthink everything I posted a lot more than I do now. So far (fingers crossed), no one has directly reached out saying that they were offended although they could have been. My current stance on this is that if you are offended, then you can always just unfollow me. My heart does sink a little bit every time I lose a follower but what can you do?
“I would rather be authentic in what I post than appeal to specific people. I like to say ‘you win none, you lose them all’. However, it is not my intention to offend anyone, it’s mostly just to put a smile on people’s faces.”
There’s no Anglicisms when it comes to Afrikaans slang words. The humour won’t be there and wouldn’t be as striking as saying it in Afrikaans. Danielle’s followers – being predominantly South African – understand this because there’s just something about Afrikaans that only South Africans get.
My mom’s friend once told her that he and his wife went on a vacation to Spain. They were standing in a queue, and he accidently dropped something after which he exclaimed, ‘Fok’. Someone heard him and asked if he was from South Africa and then they started swearing in Afrikaans and had a good laugh about it.
Politics aside, the language is more than just the oppressor’s language.
@denzeesays ‘VOL KAK’ tote bag @denzeesays apparel Photo: Provided Photo: Provided
Interestingly enough, the posts with these words typically get the most engagement. Because of this, I think that [my audience] reacts well to it. As [they] are predominantly South African, they probably like seeing something that’s relatable.
It’s for this reason that her followers have no problem with her using Afrikaans swear words. They just get it because:
“It is unique to South Africa. Afrikaans can capture feelings and sensations that are incomparable in other languages.”
When it comes to talking or illustrating serious matters, Danielle incorporates her witty use of words to convey a message. There’s no algorithm that says, “there’s no room to lighten-up the mood in a tense situation”.
She also creates merchandise such as beanies, tote bags, stickers, t-shirts, and sweaters that entails original @denzeesays prints. She’s recently collaborated with SoulSisters Tees to create a garment intended to support women.
I was contacted by the founder and owner of SoulSisters Tees, Michelle, who reached out asking if I was interested in doing a collaboration. I replied saying I would love to!
Together we brainstormed a few ideas of what we wanted to make and which illustration we wanted to use. It was important to both of us that whatever garment came out of the collaboration, it intended to support women.
Together they decided that the fight against Gender-based Violence (GBV) in South Africa, is a cause they wanted to amplify, highlight, and support.
The illustration we decided to use titled No Means No, was designed by yours truly.
Michelle then reached out to @annateewear who was responsible for the production of the sweater and @earth_sugar for the embroidery on the sweater. The best part about this collaboration is that 50% of the profits are being donated to @keeptheenergy. @keeptheenergy is a non-profit organisation dedicated towards fighting against GBV in South Africa.
To help support the cause, one can purchase a sweater at SoulSister Tees.
‘No means No’ illustration Photo: @denzeesays
How this project came about speaks volume to becoming one in the fight against GBV. Danielle, being passionate about uplifting women, says that women empowerment is an important and necessary cause.
“I think we should be sharing any knowledge we have with others and learning from other women. By supporting and assisting in the upliftment of women, it allows for more women to be independent through knowledge, awareness and education.”
But though we raise awareness, there’s still the reality of feeling unsafe and unprotected. Danielle says that safety must be the number one concern women think of everyday.
“No task can be completed without thinking ‘is it safe for me to do so?’ Whether it be walking alone on a street or taking transport by yourself, we must always be on alert. It is tiring, unnerving and often limiting.”
Addressing such personal related experiences is a way of staying connected with her followers. It’s a way of saying she’s real, she has real feelings, and she goes through the same trials and tribulations.
I think it’s important to remind people of what’s real. Feelings are real, good or bad.
Albeit social media will never be a true depiction of reality, I think it’s nice to show that whilst you can be sipping cocktails and having a good time there, you can also be crying about that one time that boy left you on read. Because that’s life, there will be ups and downs forever and ever until there are no more.
Yet, there is no specific formula for creating awareness.
I think I must just stay true to myself and carry on doing what I’ve been doing. I try to be alert and aware in terms of what’s happening around me and in our society. I do know that sometimes things may not seem relevant or current to others but they’re always relevant to me and how I’m feeling. My hopes are that there’s at least one other person who can relate to it, too.
@denzeesays tote bag @denzeesays and Salty C Cap
Photo: Provided Photo: Provided
Her posts on current affairs – such as load shedding, lockdown, global warming and corruption – are all matters South Africans face as one concurrently creating inclusivity.
“People are welcome to comment and engage in conversations as they deem necessary.”
Danielle is hoping to expand her business by having a website and attending markets.
I want to experiment having my drawings on a wider variety of products and material. I’d be keen to collaborate with more people and just carry on connecting with others in general.
I am a very satisfied client because the facial expressions I get from people when wearing a @denzeesays apparel is indescribable. If one had to ask for a description of @denzeesays apparel, I would describe it as a metaphor for acceptance and inclusivity. Accepting that this is our country and we are affected by things like loadshedding and lockdown as one.
I am working on a few new things so that’s also exciting. With apparel, it’s a lot easier to create things that are unisex. Not only in terms of the actual manufacturing and production process, but I also enjoy that my pieces can be worn by a wide range of audiences.
@denzeesays ‘DOEN DIE DING’ apparel
Photo: Provided
Illustrating has always been a part-time-thing for Danielle. It’s something that’s naturally part of her life because she did art in high school.
Danielle describes balancing her personal life, part-time illustrator and part-time social media marketing manager – for a catering business – as facile depending on her headspace. She admits though that the making of the products for @denzeesays and chatting to suppliers can be time consuming.
Going forward, I intend to dedicate my time and efforts into expanding @denzeesays. Stay tuned!
More about Danielle de Abreu
Conveying a message and hoping that you’re not misunderstood is one thing but adding a bit of humour to it, let’s just say you’ve got to play your cards right.
I asked Danielle to reveal her age and her response was:
I am 26-years-old. A little bit closer to 50 than I was last year.
Simple, yet whimsical.
She holds an undergraduate and postgraduate degree in BIS Publishing from the University of Pretoria.
Like the early bird who catches the worm, she gets up at 05:00 AM.
“Typically, I do a yoga class at 05:30 AM. Yoga is a practice that I have come to truly value and appreciate. After that, I will either work on some things for my part-time job, do some admin and create some lols for @denzeesays. Most importantly, I like to dedicate time towards being with my favourite cat.”
Speaking of her cat, Kitty, is a well-known figure on the @denzeesays page. He is part of morale and like any other major shareholder, he also has his off days and productive days.
For young girls pursuing a career in entrepreneurship, Denzee says “the time is now. You can start little by little and learn along the way. You can do hard things and it’s never a sign of weakness to ask for help. It’s easy to downplay your accomplishments and achievements but it’s all possible because of you.”
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