-Design Indaba 2012, Cape Town- Part 2: Furniture & Decorative Items

NB-I've posted about the Indaba in a two-part series, so for the full coverage, don't forget to read Part 1 (Fashion at the Indaba) here: http://www.ofbeinginspired.blogspot.com/2012/03/design-indaba-2012-cape-town-part-1.html  

The design Indaba was like the wild artist's palette-filled with all sorts of different colours, ideas, impacts, emotions and possibilities. From the contemporary to the traditionally African, from modern-day staples to the unconventional and lovably outlandish-the Design Indaba, Cape Town 2012, had it all.

Delicious Monster: Click for company website (new tab)

Delicious Monster's big chandelier-like structure. fashioned from an eclectic mix of materials and objects, was like a splodge of vermillion in a colour-palette of greys-it caught your eye straight away with its bold, unconventional aesthetic. Definitely a refreshing piece, and one of my favorites! Apologies for the bad picture, but photography restrictions at the Indaba mean that every photo came out rather badly.

Indigi Designs' metal stool, with a red-and-white patterned cushion at the Cape Craft & Design Institute was local and lekker! The piece was bright and had presence, just like its neighbour-the small, two-drawer side table, designed by Saks Corner.

High Thorn: Click for company website (opens in new tab)

 Another great display was that of High Thorn's, a company using   natural materials and hand-crafting techniques to construct their design.  I loved their shaggy white chair and the lamp with the woven shade and interesting tube! In fact, I'm pretty sure I'd trade in my BLOG to sit on that chair...haha nope. I love my blog too much! (nerd love)

Isle of Trees I also loved, and not just because I am one of those annoying environmentalists that hounds people day and night. Their display (yes, they are environmentally-friendly, if you haven't figured that out),  boasted a chair and lampshade that were both simple, yet highly effective. I loved the elegant, clean look to the chair, and the cardboard lampshade seemed like something that came out of Tinkerbell's residence!

Isle of Trees: Click for company website (opens in new tab)

Mart Projects had unique lamps made out of recycled materials that were cool in an off-kilter, eccentric sort of way. The guy at the stand, let's call him 'Mart', to simplify life, was kind enough to let me take pictures (but they still came out badly because I brought my brother's old camera) of their beautiful creations. I loved the two pieces, and upon checking their website, found this lovely piece-the Petalled Ampoule Couture-the definition of beauty!

 

The lovely 'Petalled Ampoule Couture.' (link)

Rebecca Jones' 'Frail Flower Sculpture'

Next-to-be-mentioned is Rebecca Jones' 'Frail Flower Sculpture' at the Mboisa section. I thought it was by far the prettiest thing in the entire Indaba, and in fact it has been nominated as the Most Beautiful Object In South Africa (which is, pretty obviously, what Mboisa stands for) If you want to cast your vote, head over to http://www.designindaba.com/news-snippet/most-beautiful-object-sa-2012-finalists to find out how!

And now, to cover the trends at the Indaba. A major trend was the cantilever lamp, seen at (left to right) Jan Douglas, Drift furniture, and at Cape Craft and Design Institute. Personally, I feel I've seen a bit too much of the cantilever, but hey, it's what's 'trendy' right now...
Secondly, many of the designers at the Indaba concentrated on being environmentally-friendly and eco-smart, whether by materials, crafting methods or other ways. This was a great thing to see, and  Indaba, and South African designers, have definitely taken the high road by going down this path!

The many cantilevers at the Indaba

Martin Doller (link opens in new tab)

One designer that must definitely be commended is Martin Doller, for his fresh and somewhat-minimal aesthetic. His display showed lamps of many shapes and sizes; but all alike in the fact that each and every one was a unique design masterpiece. My absolute favourite was the little coiled number in the foreground-see how it will 'spring' into fame! (I shouldn't even try, honestly...that pun was worse than Juju's fall from what was never-quiet-grace).

The last of my favorites in the furniture and homeware section are these chirpy place mats, from Pepper Plum Designs (Oh look, another good pun!):

Pepper Plum Designs (link opens in new tab)

And now, we move to the decorative items. I've chosen two favorites- Simple Intrigue's book ornaments, which I thought were a work of absolute genius, and Molo Mimi's recycled art, which I thought was absolutely adorable!

Simple Intrigue (link opens in new tab)

Molo Mimi (link opens in new tab)

Because an article needs some sort of continuity, we've now rounded the palette, from vermillion to green to beige and back- the Indaba certainly offered a colourful exhibition, each section impacting and inspiring in it's own way.Pftt..Cape Town Design Capital 2014? Yeah, we've been there since forever. Cape Town, we got this in the bag!

Some links:
Saks Corner: http://www.sakscorner.co.za/
Indigi Designs: http://www.indigidesigns.co.za/


Hope you had a great weekend, and let's all try keep these smiles on our faces for Monday =P xoxo