Table of contents for VISI 90 in Visi

• VISI competitions are open to all South African residents, excluding employees of New Media Publishing, employees of the companies supplying the prizes, associated companies and advertising and promotion agencies, and their immediate family members. • The winner will be chosen at the sole discretion of the judges, whose decision will be final. No correspondence will be entered into. • Winners will not be eligible for other prizes for three months after winning a competition. • The prize is not transferable or redeemable for cash. • Neither New Media Publishing nor any of its partners can be held responsible for disputes in connection with prizes or for any loss, damage or injury that may be suffered or incurred by prize winners. • Entrants will be deemed to have accepted these…

 I GREW UP IN A TYPICAL 1970S SUBURBAN JOHANNESBURG HOME. It had slasto on the stoep, which would shed dusty grey flakes of heel-slicing beastliness, and pine cladding in the lounge in mustard-smear-yellow. Its train-like layout resulted in a long passage, leading from the living room at one end to the master bedroom at the other. In the daytime this passage was brilliant for galloping along and holding various sorts of races, but at night it was a terrifying gauntlet to be hurtled down at full tilt while the dark mouths of doorways yawned on either side. It wasn’t, however, the passageway that encapsulated and shaped so much of my growing up. It was the kitchen. The kitchen of my childhood home was devoid of sparkling surfaces and stylish stone…

Graphic designer Kirsten Townsend, the creative behind local design consultancy Fabrica, recently launched Citymapmats, a collection of handmade rugs inspired by the streets and architecture of four neighbourhoods in Johannesburg and Cape Town. The rugs, which depict the bustling locales of Braamfontein, Maboneng, Newtown and Salt River, are inspired by the details of the buildings found in these areas.“The four maps from the first collection are areas that have seen quite a bit of change in recent years,” says Kirsten. She believes we’re currently seeing a revival in African design and creativity, and also in what it means to be African. These areas, she says, have been forging their own DNA and not replicating creative DNA associated with Europe or the USA. Made of 100% wool, each rug is hand-tufted…

Say hello to the next-generation wireless colour reader: the NCS Colourpin II, a pocket-sized gadget that allows you to identify and collect the colours around you with the touch of a button. You never know when you might be struck with inspiration or see that elusive colour you’ve been searching for. With the NCS Colourpin II and its accompanying app (available as a free download for Android and iOS) you can now scan and store colours, create colour palettes and find products that match your colour choices, such as furniture, flooring, wallcoverings and homeware. Gathering, organising and sharing colour inspiration is easy, accurate and efficient. The nifty gadget uses accurate colour-match technology. Once you have scanned your colours and added images to your customisable palettes you can then share them…

The shells of coconuts have been transformed into tiny mosaics from which artisan wallcoverings are created. Available from St Leger & Viney, there are four designs in the Élitis Coco Shells collection: Visayas, Mindanao, Camarines and Palawan. Each is handcrafted using 100% coconut shell fibre on a polyester mesh backing. • elitis.fr • stleger.co.za FAST FACT In some countries, like Sumatra, farmers train monkeys to climb coconut palms and harvest the fruit.…

Food is a powerful storyteller. It’s the tool that Italian food architect Francesca Sarti employs to create bespoke events for brands. She combined her architectural studies with her passion for food to start a food design studio, Arabeschi di Latte, that blurs the lines between food and design. “Food is about experience, and experience is so connected to spaces,” she explains. “I’ve always used an architectural approach despite using food as my medium.” She partnered with Caesarstone to launch its three new colours: Rugged Concrete, Moorland Fog and Montblanc. “My task was to find a way to translate these colours into an edible installation,” Francesca says. “I treated the food as a material, playing with what was edible and what wasn’t to create a three-dimensional mood board.”Industrial Rugged Concrete was…

JAN HENDRIK VAN DER WESTHUIZEN, Michelin-star chef How will you be banishing the winter blues this season? I will be spending a few long weekends in the bushveld, consuming anything that has cinnamon in it and drinking loads of Cape Tawny. Who is your favourite local designer right now? I’m mad about ceramic artist Diana Ferreira’s work. Where do you go for the most delicious hot drink? There is no question about it: in bed! Fireplace or underfloor heating? I’m a fan of the traditional fireplace. Which book is currently on your must-read list? On Vegetables by Californian chef Jeremy Fox. Are you a moviegoer or a TV watcher? Movies every time. Millennial pink – yay or nay? Yay! PALESA KGASANE, content producer How will you be banishing the winter…

WHEN YOU WORK FROM HOME, AS I DO,YOU SPEND A LOT OF TIME PROCRASTINATING. Much of that is spent looking out the window in a dwaal. Over time, via sensory osmosis you become finely attuned to the rhythms of life around you. I’m familiar with the morning traffic (bass notes provided by MyCiti buses), the sea fog creeping over the saddle between Signal Hill and Lion’s Head, the geese in the stone pines nearby, and school-run mothers shouting, “WILLYOUSTOPHITTINGYOUR BROTHER!” On a corner of Kloof Nek about halfway down between Table Mountain and the inner city, our soon-to-be-ex-apartment block is located at the perfect spot for parents descending on the afternoon commute from Camps Bay to stop. Usually it’s an SUV that’s pulled over. Mom/General has turned in her seat…

THERE ARE FEW STRAIGHT LINES. IT’S ALL CURVES AND SPIRALS AND ARCHES. AN ETERNALLY EMERGING SUPERHUMAN HABITAT. IT’S GAUDÍ MEETS GORMENGHAST. THE AESTHETIC REFLECTS THIS ORGANIC UNFOLDING. THE HOUSE WAS ONCE A MODEST PREFAB CABIN. “THE ENVIRONEMENT AND LIE OF THE LAND CREATED THIS HOUSE AS MUCH AS I DID.” KEITH ROSE is fixing his thatch. And while he is at it he is taking the opportunity to build a courtyard, remodel two rooms and extend the gym. And he has been at it, on and off, for the past 25 years. From the main living area – with its cavernous fireplace and Great Zimbabwe-style sandstone walls, each rough-hewn piece layered upon the next to create a swirling fingerprint of some recently remembered mountain god – Keith…

“I WANTED MY HOME TO REFLECT MY PERSONALITY.” THE SUNSHINE YELLOW NEW YORK TAXICAB SETS THE TONE FOR WHAT’S TO COME. A STEEP DRIVEWAY LEADS DOWN TO THE ENTRANCE OF DIETER LOSSKARN'S UNUSUAL HOME ON THE HILLSIDE ABOVE HOUT SAY HARBOUR. Of course, there is a front door, but Dieter prefers to use his four-car garage to usher in guests. Little wonder, really, because his singular passion in life is motorcars, and the Checker taxicab that enjoys pride of place in the garage, all sunshine yellow paintwork and shiny chrome, sets the tone for what’s to come. Obsessed with wheels since the age of 11 – when he first laid eyes on a yellow taxicab in a movie and vowed that one day he would have one –…

WOOD HAS ITS PLACE Wood as material – or partnered with a variety of materials – was everywhere. Five of the products below received Ambiente’s Design Plus Award+ , drawing attention to products with outstanding aesthetic qualities and excellent functionality. This year’s awards went to great design matched with good ethics. The Messer Serie MY II three-piece kitchen knife set from German cutlery manufacturer Gehring features Damascus steel blades and wooden handles. • gehring-katalog.com The Side by Side card and picture frame is made of untreated maple at the Caritas Wendelstein workshops for people with disabilities. • sidebyside-design.de The oval Loop trivet from Skagerak, which comes in three sizes, is made of solid oak. The cutout in the centre is handy for holding it or hanging it on a hook. • skagerak.dk The…

FAST FACT  The Emerging Creatives programme is an initiative by Design Indaba and the Department of Arts and Culture. The Monique Vee Suspension 2017 collection features furniture pieces that are tensioned between floor and ceiling, a novel concept that has made people in the industry sit up and take notice of designer Monique van Zyl, who was part of the Emerging Creatives programme at this year’s Design Indaba. We asked her about her inspiration and goals. What inspired your fascination with tension and suspension? The seed for Suspension 2017 was planted in one of my first-year lectures when we were taught the basic principles of supporting load. I started to question form, asking questions like: “Does a table need legs?” What happens in your studio? Suspension 2017 is a dynamic…

Jodie Ennik and Chantel Green are the visionaries behind Lustre, a creative management agency that not only represents outstanding artists but also pairs them with like-minded clients and brands to work on collaborative productions. Chantel describes their approach as “a partnership and collaboration of creative talent that allow us to refine the work we want to produce”. Lustre ART+Production provides hands-on expertise crafting concepts and ultimately bringing “a dynamic relationship to life”. Lustre’s stable of artists includes photographers, directors, production designers and creative directors. The agency was only launched in February this year, but they are already able to confidently name-drop some sensational talents, including creative director Kassie Naidoo, international photographer Kevin Mackintosh and fashion photographer Trevor Stuurman. Lustre’s talent-selection criteria are based on excellence; they are on the lookout…

Lisa Swanepoel credits a love of saturated luminous colour and an admiration for the artists of the 1950s and ’60s who pioneered geometric abstract art as inspirations for her latest design venture, a collection of Perspex LED lights. The Perspex is laminated with one or more layers of translucent vinyl and cut by hand, so no two lights are alike. To put a collection like this together, one has to understand how lights can transform a space. “I had to think of these lights as mood enhancers and intense colour accents rather than functional lamps,” she says. “I have many lights in my home to accomplish a warm glow throughout by way of various small pools of warmth – like a spotlight on a wall or a halo for its…

Long the staple of the English mink-and-manure set, Hunter has been making boots designed for the outdoors since 1856. Even Lady Di was once photographed wearing a pair of these iconic wellies. Now, in a nod to modernity, the British brand has launched a sleeker, more tailored silhouette in the form of the Hunter Original Refined variant. Made of thinner, more flexible rubber, Original Refined offers all the cred of the traditional style in a slimmer silhouette. A pair in the new glossy lavender shade Thundercloud is currently top of our wish list here at VISI HQ. • R2700 • hunterbootsa.co.za GIFTS FOR YOU Fancy your very own pair of Hunter Original Refined rain boots? Enter at VISI.co.za/win. NOT ALL SIZES MAY BE AVAILABLE…

THE APPEAL OF FLY-FISHING IS THE MISSION, THE CHALLENGE. When the fly-fishing magazine The Mission landed on our desks, its first cover sporting a suited Conrad Botes with a carp caught in the Castle of Good Hope moat (on a stompie fly, nogal), we were suitably intrigued. We caught up with editor Tudor Caradoc-Davies to find out more. How did the The Mission come into being? The three of us, Conrad [Botes], Brendan [Body] and myself, were all a bit bored with what was available locally. I got chatting to Conrad about putting together a magazine. In time, a friend mentioned that Brendan was keen on doing the same. It soon became apparent that although we all have different backgrounds – Conrad in art, Brendan in…

Happy Monday... don’t forget to stay positive and be inspired. The latest issue of VISI is out. #creativity – @pabs.p Perfect Saturday reading @visi_mag #visi #visimag – @tamarin_evans Mellow yellows this Saturday with Visi #readerlove #visimag #yellow #visimagazine #favouritemagazine – @helenavogelzang.sculptor Sunday morning rainy weather reading in Hemel en Aarde... what a joy #nowaterrestrictionshere #visi #visimagazine #design #decor #inspiration #perfectsundaymorning – @karmakits Catching up on my new favourite magazine while we’re enjoying a weekend away in lush Durbs without the kids! @visi_mag is a design magazine with soul and even though it gives me serious #houseenvy I’m still a huge fan #visimagazine – @belindamountain I don’t often buy print magazines, but the building in this cover story caught my eye. – @freelancewriterbootcamp Getting my green(ery) on! #pantone2017 #visimagazine – @justinefredastanton…

With its retro styling, the Smeg FAB50 evokes a sense of nostalgia for the classic ’50s aesthetic, but there is much more to this fridge than its undeniably good looks. This 80 cm-wide fridge, the largest in the range, has a capacity of 484 litres, a Class A+ energy rating and the latest in cooling technology. It features an ingenious multi-flow ventilation system that evenly distributes the air inside the fridge, ensuring food is stored at an optimum temperature. Add adjustable quick-chill shelves made of crystal glass, a handy fast-freeze function and no-frost technology (meaning the days of manually defrosting your freezer are over), and you’ve really got yourself a winner. Go to VISI.co.za/win to enter and stand a chance to win this fabulous prize. Entries close 31 July 2017.…

 I DREAM OF A HOME, A LITTLE SWEET SPOT WITH A LAWN, HERBS AND COLOURFUL FLOWERS. I WORK TOWARDS IT LIKE A SHIP BEING TOSSED BY RAGING BY RAGING SEAS; I ’M DETERMINED TO REALISE THIS DREAM. I have lived in the Mother City, Cape Town, for eight years now, and the tempests have not been kind to me. My home town is – or what feels like, anyway – a million miles away in the mining city of Klerksdorp in North West. Home is a small suburb with lots of trees and relatively quiet streets, except for the domestic workers who bring with them loud laughter and gossip when the madams are away during the day. I love the simplicity there; being able to join in on their conversations…

MY GRANDPARENTS LIVED IN THEIR HOUSE IN PHILIPPOLIS FOR 58 YEARS. I visited often and despite its National Monument status, it’ll forever be the happy place where I felt safe and loved and valued. Grandpa built his sandstone house right on the dusty road that ran all the way from Johannesburg across the Free State, past his front door and all the way to the salty sea in Cape Town. We’d visit in the summer. We’d visit in the spring. Pa would drive the long road in autumn, and in winter – well, for biltong he’d do anything! It was always the same: Granny would be sitting on the bullnosed roof veranda; Grandpa would be pacing on the red cement stoep waiting for our car to come around the bend.…

BLOK’S MINIMALIST AESTHETIC IS CHARACTERISED BY THOUGHTFUL DESIGN. MARBLE-LIKE BLACK, GREY AND WHITE RULE THE PALETTE. THE LINES BETWEEN INSIDE AND OUTSIDE ARE BLURRED. ASK A LOCAL WHAT THEY LOVE ABOUT LIVING IN CAPE TOWN, and chances are that mountain and sea are near the top of the list. No matter the season, these are the constants of living and working in the Mother City, poles of nature in an urban compass. First prize, of course, is a dwelling with views of both. Two years ago, property developers Blok took on a new development in Victoria Road, Bantry Bay. Designed by WAUW, the building has a shimmery metal facade inspired by the sea, and an abundance of glass to take full advantage of the views. “We are incredibly…

HARDLY A THING WAS WASTED IN THE REFURBISHMENT. SPACES ARE ADORNED WITH DETAILED ASSEMBLAGES OF ART AND ARTEFACTS. KEVIN FELLINGHAM AND WINNIE SZE'S BO-KAAP HOME DATES TO 1839, making it one of the oldest structures on their block. The building previously served as a farmhouse, an industrial workshop, a plumber’s playground and a variety of office set-ups until it found its current purpose as the humble kingdom of a Miniature Schnauzer (with a not-so-miniature personality), Missy, and her creative human companions, Winnie (a curator) and Kevin (an architect). Their well-loved home, says Kevin, is not so much a renovation or restoration as an “Arts and Crafts idea of an honest repair”. The method with which he went about creating the artistic sense of comfortable wonder that the house exudes…

Founded in 2016 by Carien Momsen, a Johannesburg-based interior architect with a penchant for the finer things, Pure Line Interior Design aims to transform spaces and create furniture based on clients’ design briefs. As an interior designer, says Carien, “It is an honour to step into clients’ private lives for a brief period of time to observe the details – the small everyday interactions people have with their intimate surroundings – and then find solutions, make plans and implement creative ideas to improve spatial experiences.” Pure Line’s Alpha-BET furniture range made its debut this year at the Design Indaba Festival as part of Carien’s participation in the 2017 Emerging Creatives programme. The individual pieces are simple yet striking in design. “I love the spare Scandinavian approach to design – where…

GOLD AND BLACK “Art Deco-inspired black and gold decor was front and centre at Euroluce 2017. Warm metallics paired with striking black walls and furniture add a dramatic yet stylish effect to interior settings.” CUSTOMISABLE HAND-MADE SINGLE PIECES “The modern consumer is spoilt for choice when it comes to choosing lights. Designers are getting into the habit of creating single pieces that can be altered and added onto to create a custom light based on a customer’s specific requirements.” THIN WIRES “Creating a clustering effect with lights is another trend on display at Euroluce 2017. This makes for a dramatic lighting feature in, for example, a double-volume staircase. It is done by using a single base with a number of thin wires hanging from it, each with its own light.”…

To whet our collective appetite for the launch, Guild asked 12 designers to create their own disruptive take on the classic I Love Cape Town T-shirt (which will be available in limited-edition series of 200). Eight of the designers posed for us in their T-shirts. • theguildgroup.co.za ANDILE DYALVANE, ceramicist This T-shirt is about interconnection, says Andile. He chose meditative freehand line work for its ability to centre and relax the mind. The intersecting of lines, the colour shading from dull to vibrant, and the fading of forms reinforce the concept of interconnection. Andile loves Cape Town because… “of its creativity and its beauty”. JUSTINE MAHONEY, artist Justine’s fascination with science fiction and adolescence – not necessarily in that order – are an initial point of departure for her T-shirt design.…

Yes, its wedding registries are renowned and those handwritten notes are now legendary, but did you know that beyond chef’s knives, coffee machines and crockery you can now also kit out your kitchen with Yuppiechef? From beautiful imported Italian ovens by Elba, Lofra and Faber to dishwashers, fridges and even high-pressure cleaners, floor polishers and electrical clothes dryers, you can order it all all online. • yuppiechef.com/kitchen-appliances.htm GIFT FOR YOU  To stand a chance to win one of two Yuppichef gift boxes, enter at VISI.co.za/win. THINK INSIDE THE BOX From the foodie to the gin fundi, the coffee connoisseur to the cookbook collector, Yuppiechef has the gift solution that you can source, select and send from the comfort of your couch. Mark your order as a gift and your message will…

There were 88 entries for the 2017 Wine Label Design Awards, sponsored by Rotolabel and convened by winemag.co.za. The competition acknowledges the best wine packaging in the country. Judging criteria include originality of concept, execution, shelf appeal and effectiveness of communication. Here are some of our favourites. GIFT FOR YOU  To a case of 12 wines from the Wine Label Design Awards, enter at VISI.co.za/win. GIFTS FOR YOU We love Wixworth’s subtle Renosterveld-infused gin, and sharing is caring! We have a Wixworth Gin set to give away – visit VISI.co.za/win for details. You’ll find more ginspiration at wixworth.com.…

Photographer Bkkr – or Niel Bekker – credits his mother’s vast collection of fashion magazines for exposing him to photographers like Helmut Newton and Ellen von Unwerth, which lay the foundation for his subject matter and aesthetic: candid female nudes, all shot on film. After the success of his first exhibition, Four Years Nude, he shares what motivates his art. In an age of filtered Instagram camera-phone celebrity, you have chosen film… It’s such an effort to get film loaded, wound up, processed and scanned, you really have to want to take a picture. I think that deliberate quality helps to produce images that have more lasting value. It also makes editing easier: Instead of editing 1 000+ images from one shoot, I only have to look through 60 or…

A BEAUTIFUL MESS: CELEBRATING THE NEW ECLECTICISM by Claire Bingham, teNeues They say maximalism is on the rise in interior design, in reaction to the less-is-more aesthetic that has dominated for a while now. So A Beautiful Mess is a timely publication. It offers inspiration and decorating tips for a home filled with collectibles and a multitude of colours, patterns, textures and fabrics. A former homes editor of Elle Decoration, Claire Bingham takes readers on a tour of interiors that range from ornate to whimsical. She has some great advice for getting it right if you want to achieve an eclectic decorating style in your own home. VITAMIN P3: NEW PERSPECTIVES IN PAINTING Phaidon This is the third in Phaidon’s Vitamin P series of books about painting, for which curators,…

When we saw the Magneto series of torches at Builders Warehouse, we were inspired to turn one into a bedside lamp. The torch has a strong magnet in the tail end and a telescopic neck that allows you to direct the head to where the light is needed. We screwed a small L-shaped bracket to the wall: The torch rests on the horizontal leg of the bracket when not in use, and the magnetic end attaches securely to the vertical leg when you want to read in bed. We bought the L-shaped bracket (R8) and Magneto Original torch (R99,95) at Builders Warehouse.…