Monday, April 21, 2008

Inspiration



Hmm...comfy, warm, welcoming. What more could you want?

Thursday, April 17, 2008

Surfing, Dude!

Thanks to the 2008 South African blog awards (go check out who won here) I recently discovered African Surfer.



I haven't read too many of their posts, to be honest, but I am a huge fan of their youtube contributions. Here's a favourite of mine.



You can check out more about the guys on BBC, where they were written about this week.

... and, oh ja, they have nothing to do with art, design or craft. Enjoy anyway ;)

Monday, April 14, 2008

A Side Note

I was reading the fabulous House & Leisure that the lovely Ann sent me last year, and read the ed's letter for the first time. Because the entire issue is dedicated to South African design (Nov 2007), Lianne Burton (the ed) was commenting on South African design as a whole. She had just been to the London Design Festival, and was struck by something special about SA design: she said that is has soul. I think she hit the nail on the head. I think that's what I appreciate about South African design too. I was looking around my house and see that I surround myself with two kinds of things- the modern/contemporary and then things that have a story, like an old travelling case with hangers and boxes inside, or a fabric block print from India. These are objects with soul, and South Africans seem to pass that quality into their work too.



Of course, I have a special connection with it, and appreciate it in other cultures too. But it gives me the warm fuzzies to share South African design with other people from my homeland, and of course, anyone else who reads my blog!

PS: I promise, less soppy stuff later this week ;)

Saturday, April 12, 2008

Au Revoir

I noticed last week, after a while of being really distracted from my usual web wanderings by work, that one of my favourite bloggers has decided to focus on the non-blog side of life. SprayGlue, good luck, your blog was fab.



I relied on Gary to keep me up to date on the latest South African design (seeing that I can't be there myself) as well as other style/fashion/photography. I think one of my favourite things that he did was the Guide to South African Design on Design*Sponge.



PS: So pleased you'll be surfing more... that's near the top of my "must-learn" list.

Wednesday, April 9, 2008

Whispers from Nepal

In the latest Elle Decor (which I am still waiting with baited breath for), there is an article on travelling in Nepal. I read about it on the Elle Decor blog... and now I LOVE the photographer's work.His name is Ruan Benade, and you can see more of his work here. In the mean time, here are some of my favourites... from Nepal, to Morroco, to Woodstock in South Africa.





Tuesday, April 8, 2008

One Thing Leads to Another

Ja, so I'm not much of a girly-girl, but I spotted these things in an old Elle Deco and fell in love.



Gotta love the charming hand-crafted feel. The crocheted serviette/napkin on the crocheted overlay is close to my heart. I only use fabric napkins because it uses less paper, and so is environmentally friendly. One so cute would do well in my collection. Both the overlay and the napkin are from St Verde in Durban. The sweet little lampshade next to them is from Heaven Sent.

I kept turning the pages and the interior of St Verde was there! And it completely was no surprise that this was the original home of that lovely little napkin.

Saturday, April 5, 2008

She Read My Mind

Yesterday I came home to find a package on my front porch from an old friend from whom I have not heard in a long time. What a sweet surprise! She said she'd been picking up a few things that reminded her of me, and she sent them my way... there was a lovely box of rooibos tea in the box, as well as a line of adorable elephants, all in a row.



They look super on my bookshelf. There was also something I've been thinking of getting for ages, but you know how tough it can be to treat yourself sometimes... it's the protea citrus squeezer from Anthropologie. Gorgeous! I bet my friend was thinking of me cooking (or rather my hubby!) She's a great cook, you can see some her handiwork on her lovely blog, Girl and Her Spoon.



The cermacists who made the juicer are South African, the Mud Studio crew I've spoken about before. I am so glad to have my very own in my grubby paws at last! My friend read my mind!

If you hurry over to Anthropolige, a few of the South African pieces are on sale... my "eucalyptus juicer" (as they call it) is not, but these delightful pieces are. Get 'em while you can!



PS: I hear Anthropologie ships worldwide but not to SA. I wonder why? What a pity!