Don’t miss the opening of Wilhelm Saayman’s solo exhibition In Season Five Everyone Dies at the Erdmann Contemporary Gallery.

“The show draws its inspiration from a fictional situation whereby the artist is the only survivor of a plane crash and is left alone on an island, painting his memories of the other passengers.”

63 Shortmarket Street, Cape Town

Starts 15 May

This weekend  the acclaimed NIROX Sculpture Park was transformed into a contemporary wonderland, with larger-than-life sculptures dotted across the landscape. Some of Franschhoek’s  top chefs and wine producers provided visitors with top-end meals, charcuterie, and wine and bubbly by the glass.

It was a magical day with fantastic food and wine in one of the most beautiful parks in our country. It truly felt like we were lazying about  in a Seurat painting.

After having successfully created the FNB Joburg Art Fair and Sanlam Investments FoodWineDesign Fair, Artlogic has been looking to create a new event that offers Gautengers an opportunity for a day out of the city.

Well they’ve absolutely succeeded and I hope that this will become an annual event.

Follow Art Logic on twitter to find out more about all their fantastic events. @ArtlogicSA

It looks like great things are happening in Linden folks. First there was Whippet, (after some teething problems they’ve finally hit their stride) and now there’s the lovely Ceramic Factory.

The owner, Rial Visagie, has designed  a wide selection of quirky and retro ceramics and it’s the perfect place to shop for presents. Apart from the retail store they’re also a wholesale supplier to lodges, hotels, restaurants, interior designers etc.

Go check it out: 59 4th Avenue, Linden.

http://www.facebook.com/CeramicFactory

The Candlestick Maker by Paul Senyol

Shy Girl by Paul Senyol

The Butcher by Paul Senyol

Fancy Girl by Paul Senyol

The Baker by Paul Senyol

Akivivi by Wesley van Eeden

I’ve been away for a while and I’ve missed quite a few things including this exhibition by Wesley van Eeden and Paul Senyol at A word of Art.

So it’s a bit late, but here’s some of their beautiful work from their recent exhibition.

“Transformative explored the notions of reality in society in a constant stage of change. Van Eeden was taken by the idea of how something we do today will have a certain influence on the way we live tomorrow, next week, a month from now and for many years to come. Trying to grapple for a grasp on the present moment, we find ourselves in eternal stages of change. Senyol took a deeper look at the very fabric of his everyday life and those who orbit his existence as a starting point.”

http://senyol.blogspot.com/

http://www.hopeproject.co.za/blog/

via 10and5

I always love popping in to the lovely and talented young photographer Amy Scheepers’ blog wolf and wood to see what she’s been up to. I adore her whimsical and ethereal photography and I can never tire of featuring her work.

Model: Tessa Rose Vardy // MUA: Alana Pohlmann // Photographer: Amy Scheepers

http://wolfandwood.blogspot.com/

I recently spotted these lovely, fresh geometric bowls on the House and Leisure site. They’re by Carla da Cruz a ceramic artist based in Durban, South Africa. Along with making ceramic artworks, she also makes Token, a range of ceramic jewellery, accessories and decor items.

e-mail: tokenceramics@gmail.com

http://tokenceramics.blogspot.com/

You can also follow her on Pinterest.

Via House and Leisure

Hugh Byrne is a young upcoming artist who works and lives in Cape Town. The city is where he finds his influence. After gathering images he breaks them down into simplified geometric forms and hard-hitting colours.

The brightly coloured artworks shine and are highly reflective. He uses layers of paints, resins and various coatings to get this effect, which is most effective.

The paintings are effective on their own but are often assembled so that they build and extend on each other until networks of them have spread across the walls.

He has been exhibiting around country and most recently at Salon91. Today he is taking part in the First/Thursday art walk and his work will be up at the New Heritage Gallery at 100 Shortmarket.

http://www.hughbyrne.co.za/

From 28 January – 23 February NIROX projects will be hosting Cape Town based artist Georgina Gratrix at Arts on Main, Johannesburg where she will be using the project space as her private studio. The work that she will be creating in this space (not the artwork featured here) will then be exhibited at the end of this period in an Open Studio exhibition from 24 February to 06 March 2013.

“Georgina is one of the most exciting and innovative young artists on the South African contemporary art scene. Part mocking, part criticism, part play, Gratrix’s work offers an inverted visual take on the world. Instilled with her youthful energy and personal experience, her work is refreshing, entertaining and complex.” – SMAC Gallery, Stellenbosch

Artwork via SMAC Art Gallery

I went to the lovely Irene Market in Pretoria on Saturday. The market is set between giant trees on the grounds of the Smuts House Museum 40 km north of Jo’burg. It’s a great morning out and the antiques section of the market alone makes it worth the trip.

We had scones and homemade lemonade at the little restaurant and even though the bulk of the market sells the typical flea market wares, there are some great finds in between.

The market is held on the second and last Saturday of every month.

(Oh and it’s dog friendly.)

http://www.irenemarket.co.za/

Partners Norman Meyer and Abrie von Wielligh have nearly 30 years of combined furniture industry skills and international qualifications in joinery, cabinet making and carpentry.

As passionate nature lovers who find inspiration in natural surroundings, the Meyer von Wielligh approach to furniture design favours the gentle lines and intricate textures of nature.

“Nature provides an array of colours, textures and materials that enhance creative design possibilities. We enjoy a design challenge, especially if we can play around with beautiful woods and interesting finishing,” says Abrie. “We believe that integrity and quality are paramount to our business approach, from design and manufacture to delivery and after-sales service.”

Make sure to catch them at the Design Indaba Expo 1 – 3 March.

http://www.meyervonwielligh.co.za/

via Visi

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!

http://www.salon91.co.za/

Filed under: design Tagged: design, exhibition, local, typography ]]> http://handsomethings.com/2013/02/21/back-in-5-minutes-an-exhibition-of-typography/feed/ 0 hannekes front01_back-in-five-minutes_web clint-campbell_ampersand_web Circle_Clement_de_Bruin_web Dani-Waiting_web Ben-Johnston_Everything-was-beautiful-&-nothing-hurt_web justin-southey_ice-ice-baby http://handsomethings.com/2013/02/15/ilundi-designs/ http://handsomethings.com/2013/02/15/ilundi-designs/#comments Fri, 15 Feb 2013 09:48:41 +0000 hanneke http://handsomethings.com/?p=4580 ]]>

Safia Stodel the talented lady behind Ilundi Designs tells us a bit more about her simple and beautiful range of leather goods.

How did you get started?

I was studying fine art and needed a bag for all my books and supplies. I couldn’t find any decently priced simple leather bags, so I tried to make my own. I didn’t have a sewing machine though, so after a lot of research I created a folding technique which I used to make the bag with. No sewing required! This is how my signature sling bag came into being. Afterwards friends and family commissioned me to make them bags too – and it grew from there.

Your favourite things:

- First parts of making a new product: dreaming, researching and sketching

- Grilled marinated artichokes and vanilla pod milkshakes

- Cats

- The way my daughter wakes us up in the morning with kisses. She’s 16 months old :)

- The earthy smell of new rolls of leather in my studio

 Where can we buy your bags?

Ilundi bags and belts can be bought from Nap, Purr, Afraid of Mice, Mememe, Margot Molyneux’s clothing stall at the Biscuit Mill and very soon an exclusive range can be bought online from Presents in the Post (presentsinthepost.com). I also sell through my facebook page, http://www.facebook.com/Ilundidesigns.

http://ilundi.withtank.com/

Thanks Safia!

Adrie Le Roux

Adrie Le Roux

Kirsten Beets

Kirsten Beets

Kirsten Beets
Kirsten SimsKirsten Sims

Kirsten Sims

Maria Lebedeva

Maria Lebedeva

Maria Lebedeva

Don’t miss the enchanting Aurora all-female illustration show by Kirsten Beets, Maria Lebedeva, Adrie Le Roux and Kirsten Sims at Salon91 in Cape Town until the 23rd of Feb.

www.salon91.co.za

 Amanda Sevasti http://amandasevasti.com/

 Jono Hall http://allyoucaneatforfree.wordpress.com/

Last night saw the launch of House and Leisure‘s annual Food Issue and Trends dinner that took place at The Beach in Braamfontein. It was a beautiful evening with gorgeous food by Lara from the Food Goddess.  Thanks for spoiling us House and Leisure.

Giants among Men by talented Cape Town photographer Dillon Marsh is an ongoing project that features giant man-made objects around South Africa.

Dillon graduated from the University of Stellenbosch with a Bachelor’s degree in Fine Art in 2003. He’s had two solo exhibitions and several group exhibitions and is definitely someone to watch.

http://www.behance.net/DillonMarsh

http://www.dillonmarsh.com/

It’s almost Valentine’s day so here are some dapper, locally made accessories and attire for the handsome man in the boot of your car.

Bow Peep bow ties – from City Mob

Nic Socks (locally made from 100% bamboo) from Citymob

Chapel Navy blue & brown Wildebeest Work Carrier
Hand-painted bike by Studio Muti

Locally made David Red classic veldskoen R750 by Ninion.co.za

Matblac ipad sleeve R520

Filed under: Fashion Tagged: design, fashion, handmade, local ]]> http://handsomethings.com/2013/01/25/hey-there-dapper-dawie/feed/ 1 hannekes Bow Peep bowtie Nic Socks Chapel Work Carrier Studio Muti david_red_0 matblac http://handsomethings.com/2013/01/21/beautiful-scarves-by-local-fine-artists/ http://handsomethings.com/2013/01/21/beautiful-scarves-by-local-fine-artists/#comments Mon, 21 Jan 2013 09:10:31 +0000 hanneke http://handsomethings.com/?p=4495 ]]>

Michael Taylor

Titus Matiyane

Richard Penn

Michael Taylor

Jan-Henri Booyens

Richard Penn

Michael MacGarry

Jill Trappler

For the Summer Collection 2012 L’MAD presented beautiful pure silk scarves featuring artworks by leading South African artists. The artists included: Michael Taylor, Jan-Henri Booyens, Michael MacGarry, Titus Matiyane, Richard Penn and Jill Trappler.

“L’MAD – Lucy MacGarry Art & Design – is an arts-based production company that curates unique and limited edition collections in a variety of media.

Working directly with established and emerging African artists, L’MAD explores several concepts — at the forefront is the crossover between art, fashion and design and with it the juxtaposition of materials, scale and form.”

See all the scarves on the L’mad website.

via Mail and Guardian

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!