I stumbled upon this lovely little book by Cape Town based broadcast designer and illustrator Arnelle Woker. Arnelle studied Information Design at the University of Pretoria. Wilmi en haar Wolfman is an illustrated love story that she did for two special friends.
Cover: Jay Gordon / Story: Arno Visser / Photography: Bryan Viljoen
Clint Campbell ‘Ampersand’
Clement de Bruin ‘Quit Slackin’
Dani Loureiro ‘Waiting’
Ben Johnston ‘Everything was beautiful and nothing hurt’
Justin Southey ‘Ice Ice Baby’
During February & March Salon91 celebrates design and typography with ‘Back in 5 minutes’ an exhibition featuring an award winning set of local designers, typographers and illustrators, including Ben Johnston, Clinton Campbell of Studio Muti, Clement de Bruin, Justin Southey, & Dani Loureiro.
Each artist has approached the discipline of typography in a fresh & unique style, playing with scale, materials, surface quality, form, colour, dimensionality & of course, words.
The show will open on the 27th of February 2013 at Salon91 in Cape Town.
The Exhibition will conclude on the 23rd of March at 2pm & is not to be missed!
My husband and I just had breakfast at the lovely new coffee shop The Whippet in Linden and I took some photos of this great new spot. Not only do they make a mean breakie, they also sell some great local coffees/ceramics/cakes/pickled goodies/teas etc. They aim to support local butchers and bakers and have a great neighbourhood-centred philosophy:
“The Whippet will be South Africa’s first neighborhood inspired coffee shop and the start of South Africans rediscovering their neighborhoods and their own history.
We had this dream about fundamentally changing the coffee shop industry in South Africa while at the same time celebrating South Africans and their neighbourhoods.
We want South Africans to reconnect with their neighborhoods and history. The Whippet tries to achieve just that as we celebrate the butchers, the baristas, the bakers, the growers, the business men and women and the artists that make our neighborhoods tick. This is the story of 3 entrepreneurs with a passion for South Africa (Divan, Roelita and Jaco) and our story of creating South Africa’s best new coffee shop.”
They host some great coffee tasting events and they stay open for drinks some Friday evenings.
Join their Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/thewhippetcoffee
Visit their blog: http://thewhippetcoffee.wordpress.com/
Follow them on Twitter: @TheWhippetZA
The New Year is usually a time for Intro/Outro-spection. Please watch this wonderfully inspirational video about Empathy and the reason we need to step outside ourselves and discover the lives of other people and other civilizations in order to find life/design/creative solutions.
Initiate.
Empathise.
Solve problems.
Create.
In a great little post by Seth Godin he talks about how it’s much harder to initiate something new (a blog, an illustration, an exhibition, an Instagram photo or a Facebook status) than it is to copy edit or criticise. People are often quick to point out that there’s a spelling mistake, that it’s been done before or that it’s no good and although criticism plays an important part in growth and development, it’s important that we don’t become habitual critics or idea poopers.
So this year let’s rather become habitual creators and innovators who live and create from a place of empathy.
Start something.
(Another great article on Empathy in Creativity and Design Thinking.)
Christi du Toit is a talented young illustrator from Cape Town who’s about to start his 2nd year in Graphic Design at AAA School of Advertising.
Things he likes:
+ Well, I’m loving the Cape Town vibe. Growing up in a little coastal town always made me feel that going to Cape Town is almost like stepping into an amazing new world, and now I get to experience it every day.
+ I have a huge appreciation for illustration/art/design that’s done by hand. Traditional methods seem very true to the creator of the work and gives it an honest feeling, which is why I do most of my linework by hand.
+ I love technology. Without it, I probably wouldn’t be in contact with you right now, and in general it just makes things simpler, and creates new possibilities.
+ I’m a cartoon fanatic. In fact, I’m pretty sure I watch more cartoons and animated movies than most kids.
+ Lastly I love painting. I just wish I had more time to practice it. Even though it’s something I’m not particularly good at, it always makes me feel like I’m accomplishing something, even more so than doing digital pieces.
See more of his work:
http://www.behance.net/christidutoit
http://www.facebook.com/christiart
http://www.crunchblog.tumblr.com
Thanks Christi!
So it’s Christmas time and the lovely Presents in the Post team is giving away a lovely present (which will, of course, come in the post), but in order to win this present you’ll have to write a few lines of your own story that explains how the present gets from the designer to postboxes around the country. Easy kapeasy.
But you’ll have to be quick because sign-up for Christmas presents on their site ends on Wednesday.
The person who wins can have their choice of either the little girl present, the boy present, or the grown up girl present.
Listen to Raj’s Story for some inspiration and have look around their site. You can post your little story in the comments box below.
Cool bat & ball set. Design by Lauren Fowler from Citymob R199
Cool bat & ball set. Design by Leah Flores from Citymob R199
Cool bat & ball set. Design by Sera Holland from Citymob R199
Cool bat & ball set. Design by Sera Holland from Citymob R199
Ok I’m a bat & ball junkie. So imagine my toe-curling delight when I found these cool bat and ball sets designed by some great local talent. They’ll make great gifts, but they’re also pretty enough to hang on your wall.
Waterberry tree. R320. Buy it here.
Cape Ash tree. R320. Buy it here.
I love this idea. Tree gifting.
“Heartwood was created with the idea that small things count. The gifts we give each other shouldn’t be instantly forgettable (another gift voucher), or temporary (like flowers). Instead they should be sustainable symbols: good for giver, receiver, and the environment. Better than a diamond, a tree really is forever – growing, living, greening.
Heartwood was founded in 2009 by Jenni Rowe. An established businesswoman, Jenni founded the luxury Harfield Guest Villa with her husband, Graham, fifteen years ago.
Trees are our poems, and our histories. Aristotle taught under a tree. Buddha achieved enlightenment through one. And Newton was inspired. Oaks, they say, are wise. Olive trees bring peace. The Weeping Willow mourns. In Norse mythology, the world is a giant Ash – its roots tangled in the affairs of man, its branches brushing the stars.”
http://www.heartwoodtrees.co.za/
The lovely packaging is by At Pace. Packaging photos via their website.
Bon Journal Notebook by Essie Letterpress R199 buy it HERE
Wolf & Maiden wallet R350 from Africandy
Owls R180 for the pair from Nice Find
Skermunkil Design Studio ceramics R200 each @ Kalkbay Co-op (from next weekend)
Dor&Kie Imbuia faset ring R180 from Hello Pretty
Diana Ferreira Vase R308 from Africandy
Paper Jet Fridge Magnet set R159 from Citymob (5 days left)
Sessi Bee Fox and Polar bear bowls R325 each. Available from Vamp.
12 South African Craft Beers R340 from The League of Beers
Remember to buy from local suppliers this Christmas!
Says Who designed this great direct mailer to send to potential clients. The mailer includes a calendar, some art prints and a coaster. Such talented folk.
http://sayswho.co.za/78683/867620/work/says-who-mailer
via Nice Find
Greg Darrol
Jordan Metcalf
Adam Hill
Simon Berndt
Clement de Bruin
Johnny Kotze
Essie Letterpress has launched a beautiful new letterpress Artists Almanac (A calendar for 2013) which has been designed by 12 up-and-coming South African Illustrators.
“Twelve different artists designed and illustrated their interpretation of their respective months, resulting in an exciting journey through the year with an eclectic blend of styles and subjects.” - Ben Grib
They printed a limited Edition of 50 calendars and a limited edition of 50 artworks of each month which will be sold separately.
They have been featured on a Citymob weeklong sale, which started yesterday and will be available from their online shop thereafter.
Who doesn’t like a “Surprise!”
Presents in the Post is a lovely new local online shop and surprise present service.
“If you sign up, Raj will send you things by local makers in the post. Makers of things to hang on the wall, Makers of things to wear on your feet, Makers of things to DIY, Makers of things to take on a trip, Makers of things to keep up your pants, Makers of things to give to a friend. As soon as all the presents have been delivered and unwrapped, the shop will be open for perusal. A chance to explore more things made by the monthly maker.”
How it works:
Paper Tales is a lovely range of products ranging from hand drawn cards, illustrations, wooden badges, notebooks and a whole lot more. They’re based in Cape Town and you’ll find them at the Treasury Market in Stellenbosch this weekend.
Go check out their Facebook page for more.
This is just flippen awesome. Dave de Witt is a Durbanite who repurposes old “thrashed” skate decks and turns them into sunglasses. By hand. In Pinetown. What a talented guy. He chatted to Handsome Things about the many careers that led him to this and exactly how it’s done.
What is your background and how did this idea come about?
I am a qualified Weaving Mechanician on an Airjet Loom – that means when I was an apprentice at Frame Textile Corporation in the weaving dept. from age 19 to 23 where I learned to take things apart, fix them, and put them back together. I left there along time ago and have been on a journey from flowrider instructor, skatepark manager, rock wall attendant, cruise ship employee to self employed skatepark builder, cabinetmaker, custom furniture designer and now sunglass maker.
Sk8shades was born through necessity, my sunglasses broke, I wasn’t amped to buy new shades, but I had tools, Google, an old skateboard and some scratched lenses from my old Aviators. I made a pair of shades, posted them to Facebook, and a few months later, here I am making sunglasses, and have just ordered 120 pairs of lenses and am about to order the same amount of hinges.
Tell us a bit about the process involved in making the glasses?
The process starts with old boards being sliced up, planed, laminated, cut into veneers and then laminated into the final shape with a cross laminated core for strength. The temples are re-sawed noses and tails of skateboards taking advantage of the ready-made curves, or they can be made to match the layered frame. I have made custom templates and molds to shape the lens apertures and frame as accurately as possible.
To mount the lenses securely I custom made my own router bit from an old bit. Lenses will be polarized lenses, which pass European Class 1 and Australian sunglasses standards, the highest standards currently set. South Africa has no set standards, but I want to produce the finest quality product. Hinges are currently being imported from China, solid nickel, high quality. Spring hinges will be available shortly. Currently I am working by myself, but am looking into getting some employees to up production time.
At the moment I am selling at the I Heart Market in Durban and through my Etsy store for international orders.
I just love the story of the Conterio family who in 2006 decided to pack it all in and move to a small farm in the Kouga Mountains with their daughters, 6 horses, 3 dogs and 10 cats. And so the small family soap business was started. Their passion has been to make totally natural soap, which contains no artificial fragrances, preservatives, stabilizers or colourants.
“We are ex-Capetonians who are now living a very different lifestyle in the mountains of the Eastern Cape on our small farm and we are so grateful that our small soap business allows us to do this. Our soap is posted to customers all over South Africa and we’re hugely proud of it!”
Each bar of African Bliss soap is made by hand, right down to the cutting and wrapping and therefore each bar is totally unique.
“Our packaging was designed by another ex-Capetonian, Caitlin Truman-Baker, who is now based in Plettenberg Bay, where she runs her own design company.”
They sourced ingredients from all over South Africa, trying to find exactly the right blend to make this a totally natural
and environmentally friendly product. All of the soaps are coloured using only plants, herbs and spices. The beeswax & honey is harvested directly from the hives, it is not bleached and remains in its natural form.
Go read more about this family’s idyllic farm life on their blog http://www.africanbliss.blogspot.com/ and order some soap!
