Design Indaba Expo

Hey friends! I hope you all had a great weekend, can you believe it's already the end of February? My weekend was jam packed, I don't think Ive had such a busy one in ages. I'll share some snippets later in the week but today's post is a mini review on the Design Indaba Expo. I really enjoyed the expo this year, I discovered many new designers and artists and it was great chatting to people I'd only previously met online! So after about 3 hours of photo taking and networking, I was pretty exhausted but left feeling inspired. There were some fantastic ceramics and great illustrated designs. Here some of the designs and stands that caught my eye...

So here are all the links of the artists featured above so that you can explore further...

Genevieve Motley, Renée Rossouw, Indalo Project, Monkeybiz, Yda Walt Studio, Collect, Anomali, Mingo Lamberti, iKhaya, Sootcookie ceramics, Hinterveld, The Fringe Arts

and Justin Southey

Photography: by me

{Words to live by}

Obvious but essential and so beautifully illustrated...

Illustration by Jitesh Patel, Jai Studio

Pretty light

Admit it, does this gorgeous photo not put a smile on your face? There's something about flowers that makes me happy, if I can't have the real thing then a photo is the next best thing. It's the simple beauty of nature, plus indescribable colour, detail and scent, that always wins me over. Elena, one of my lovely blogging friends, happens to take the most beautiful photos and she has just started an etsy shop so pop over and support her! Of course you can check out her fab blog as well!

All photos by pretty light

A Friday post, at last!

Hey there, sorry for the late post today but I have a good reason! My old Mac laptop was starting to play up, every time I turned it on, a huge black stripe would fill the bottom of the screen, I had to move the screen backwards and forwards, trying to get rid of it... a new laptop was definitely in order. So my new little MacBook Pro arrived yesterday and today is my first day using it. Very exciting, such a treat! But believe me going from a very old model to a super new one takes some adjusting, I can't even work out how to copy and paste properly yet! So anyway, while I get to grips with my lovely new laptop, I'm wishing you a fantastic weekend!

ps I spotted two great freebies this week... pop over to Eat drink Chic for her cute DIY love cards, I know it's not Valentine's Day but I still think these would make great cards for a loved one! And for some fun decorative tape strips, visit Federica at Sweet as a Candy! Enjoy!

Image credits: 1) Ashley Meaders, 2) i.Anton, 3 & 4) Eat Drink Chic, 5) Lisa Stickley bedding via decor8, 6, 7 & 8) photos by me, 9) deco tapes by Sweet as a Candy

Absolut Visi Designer of the Year

I attended the Absolut Visi Designer of Year Awards last night which was great fun. It was held at The Chavonnes Battery Museum at the V&A Waterfront which made for an unusual and interesting setting. Li Edelkoort announced the winners and gave a fantastic talk about why she thought they deserved to win. It was amazing to see this incredible lady in real life! And the talented winners are architects, Silvio Rech and Lesley Carstens for their re-imagining of Johannesburg’s Braamfontein precinct which includes their design of Randlords. You can read more here at the new VISI website!

All photography by me, except for Randlords image via Visi

Andrea Kleinloog of Anatomy Design, Greg Gamble and Philippe van der Merwe of Tonic Design and Porky Hefer of Animal Farm were amongst the finalists for this award. Their designs are world class and definitely timeless, take a look and I'm sure you'll agree...

Above images via Animal Farm, Anatomy Design & Tonic Design

Township boutique

A new addition to the Cape Quarter is a colourful, vibrant boutique called Township. It's a fun and unique space selling a small range of clothing for men and women as well as cute pumps, sandals, bandannas and bags. Township's key ingredient is their fabulous fabric, inspired by the passion and spirit of the townships. Made from 100% non-GM cotton, the designs are bold, bright and striking. The clothing and accessories are produced locally by independent sewing co-operatives in the townships and various parts of the Cape Flats, empowering women and giving them both a creative and economic outlet.

So definitely pop in when next in the area, it's always best to support local especially when it's great design! My faves are definitely the cute ballerina pumps... but which colour to choose is the question?!

Photography: by me except last image and mood board images via Township

Township, Shop 10, New Cape Quarter, 27 Somerset Rd, Green Point
Tel: +27 21 422 4828

Fair Lady feature

Hey friends, some exciting news... I'm featured in the March issue of Fair Lady magazine along with three other fab SA bloggers, Miss Moss, Glossary & Lucky Pony! Fair Lady asked me to compile a list of 10 places to go and things to see in Cape Town. So here's what the my feature looks like but you'll have to buy the mag so you can actually read the text and of course see the rest of the article. Go buy it and jump to page 54! Here's a list of my picks in case you're impatient... Chart Farm, Haas, Queen of Tarts, C'est la vie, Marigold, Tokara's Delicatessen, Mungo & Jemima, Superette, Hemelhuijs and Abode/Quirky Me.

Also just to let you know I have updated "My guide to Cape Town" so you can hop over and a see a list and reviews of some of my favourite places to Eat and Shop in Cape Town, as well as lovely places to visit in Cape Town's Surrounding areas.

Sunday Suppers

I always love popping over to Sunday Suppers and feasting on all their eye candy. Beautiful photography and fabulous recipes, gorgeous table settings as well as restaurant sneak peaks. When I finally visit New York, I'll definitely be signing up for one of their sure to be amazing Sunday Supper classes! "Sunday Suppers are class-cooking-dining experiences, pairing friends and food. The classes are held in a waterfront loft in Brooklyn, NY and are taught by local Chefs. The food is market fresh, local and organic and the approach is to create seasonal and fresh meals together." Will you join me?

Photography by Karen Mordechai for Sunday Suppers,

Botanical beauty

Happy Monday to you! Are you ready for the week ahead? I hope you had all a great weekend. Mine was really busy but it ended off with a fabulous lunch with friends yesterday, so I'm feeling happy and inspired for the week ahead which is no doubt going to be another busy one! There's the Absolut VISI Designer of the Year Awards on Wednesday eve and then the Design Indaba on the weekend. If you're in Cape Town, take advantage of the really amazing movies and documentaries being shown at the Design Indaba Filmfest running until Sunday 27th. I'm looking forward to seeing a documentary on Valentino Garavani and one on Banksy too!

Anyway back to today's post, I really love old botanical prints and posters and I've been collecting images of them for inspiration. I thought I'd share some of them with you today. I love how you can use these posters in almost any home whether your look is shabby chic, rustic or industrial. It just works! So many beauties available from Evolution, it would be tough trying to decide on which to buy!

Image credits: 1 & 3) Unfortunately no photographer credited- via Convoy, 2, 4, 8, 10, 12 & 14) All Botanical posters available from Evolution, 5 & 6) By Fryd, 7 & 13) Anna Kern, 9) Petra Bindel via emmas blogg, 11) Craig Wall

{Words to live by}

I bought this little artwork recently, it's mounted onto a wooden block and sits on my bookshelf in front of my desk to inspire me daily, love it!

Art by Ingrid Hall Collection

Celinda.ceramics

I came across these sweet teapots on etsy by celinda.ceramics. Celinda is a graphic designer from The Netherlands who re-decorates carefully selected vintage teapots and porcelain. I love the French inspired women that Celinda adds to these classic pieces, perfect for an elegant tea party. Don't you agree? Bring on the macaroons, petits fours and tea I say!

All images via celinda.ceramics