Tuesday, March 24, 2009

From San Francisco to Kwa-Zulu Natal

Well, so much for taking a break from my poor blog! I was resting my eyes at work today, and surfed over to one of my favourite daily reads, sfgirlbybay (I love Victoria's sunny outlook, beautiful pics and fine taste)... and was surprised to see an interview with Neville Trickett. I had first been introduced to him in Elle Decor SA, Summer 2005. I was going to scan in some pics from that article but I just put some new software on my mac and its not co-operating. Not to worry, the pics from Neville's flickr photostream are so gorgeous, it really doesn't matter.

I love Neville and his wife's bold use of color, and of course, the garden full of succulents! Just up my alley.






Neville has also just started his own blog, so be sure to make a beeline over there to see what he's up to. It's quite inspiring... so inspiring I may even get back to blogging again!

And thank you Victoria!

Read the interview at sfgirlbybay: Unexpected Guests: Neville Trickett & Family.

Monday, March 16, 2009

On An Island Far Away

This completely self-sufficient little "bach" (pronounced "batch", short for batchelor, click here to find out why) is built on a small island off the New Zealand coast by South African born architects Nicola and Lance Herbst.



I first saw, and fell in love with, it in Dwell Magazine.

Things are a little busy over here, so I'll be on a blogging break for a while. To fill the time don't hesitate to use the blog roll on the right to find some other fantastic blogs. See you soon!

Friday, March 13, 2009

The Strangest Places

I love traditional African furniture, but sometimes wonder how to incorporate them successfully (and not too obviously) into contemporary spaces. I recently picked up the UK Homes & Gardens, March 2009 issue, and they featured a house with some fantastic use of African pieces (one of the owner's parents used to work in various spots around Africa). Love the chair and rug.





Have a great weekend everyone!

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Animated

As mentioned in Monday's post, the Creative Review Blog had some posts on the recent Design Indaba conference in Cape Town. I love checking out other people's views on South Africa's burnin' hot creative scene!



One of the things that CR blog loved, and I love too, are the Black Heart Gang.


They've done a video for various companies (check out their portfolio) but my favourite video is their self promotional piece, The Tale of How. It's a poem written by one of the members of the group, and (although quite gruesome at times, you've been warned!) it's right up my alley. Delightful! You'll find something new in the details each time you watch it.

Monday, March 9, 2009

Looky, Looky

It seems, folks, that we have been on to some good things on this blog. The South African part of the Elle Decoration International Design Awards (EDIDA) have been announced and two winners have been on this blog before.

The first is Willow-Lamp, which continues to wow me. Just gorgeous. I love this new incarnation.



See my previous blog on an earlier, equally beautiful lamps here, and other current work, here, like the Red Fuschia Chandelier below. Breath taking.



Also a winning design featured on South of the Sahara, is the winner of the Design Indaba 10 X 10 housing project, MMA Architects.



The chaps from UK's Creative Review were at the recent Design Indaba in Cape Town, and they continued their report on the 10 x 10 winner. A year later and one family is very happily settled into the first house (and surviving some heavy weather!) and others are being built. Bravo!





For more on the EDIDA Awards, check out the SA Elle Decor blog, and for more on CR at the Design Indaba, check out the CR blog.

Friday, March 6, 2009

Zinza!

Love these shots from Zinza, a interiors company in South Africa, where "We believe in cutting edge international trends, vibrant local materials and the creation of original pieces..." that result in contemporary pieces handcrafted in South Africa, and that tell its stories.




Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Versatility

I love The Wren's fabulous new Ashley bag, it is so versatile.



You can wear it upright and square, or all relaxed... plus there are multiple sections, all beautifully lined, with eyelets and a zip to keep things safe.





I see I missed the boat on my favourite (the red one above) but I'm sure Wendren will soon be making more... and there are plenty of choices in her etsy shop (gotta get me a bird pouch)!

Monday, March 2, 2009

The Stillness of Snow

Today had that muffled quietness that you have when it snows. It was a calm, eery day. We had some snow yesterday and then over a foot arrived last night (a lot!). So although last week the yard had basically become free of snow and we could finally see the grass, today we have gone straight back into winter.



In the last few weeks winter had been getting to me. I was dreaming of California, and I haven't even been there! I felt like Holly did, over at decor8, that the winters are getting harder and harder to deal with the longer I live up North. Her blogpost got me inspired though, and I made some changes around our place. I put up my hubby's bright and gorgeous movie print of Bruce Brown's film, On Any Sunday.



I pulled out the remnants of my poor attempt of growing a hydrangea and planted a peace lily (known for its air filtering qualities... important when you seldom open windows thanks to the cold). I also got some more of my favourite, favourite plants: succulents! (The plants I got are - with the flower - Living Rock, the purply-green plant - it has some big, scientific name - and Baby Toes - the ones sticking up like, well, toes... and the large plant, held up with the skewers, is a jade) I had good chuckle at the nursery when I took them up to the counter to pay, and the sales assistant said, "Oh do you know they're native to Africa?" And my hubby said, "Us, too!"



I absolutely love succulents, not only because they're Africans like me, or because I can forget about them for days and they'll survive, but because they are so beautiful. They work perfectly with my other favourite plants, which are grasses. If you're interested in either, check out the work of Piet Oudolf (predominantly grasses) and Flora Grubb (definitely succulents, and lots of recycling!) as both are just such inspiration. Oh, you can check out more on Flora on remodelista today. Her work is perfection.

It felt good to bring some newness into my environment.

Then, the snow arrived. Really, I thought I'd be just done at the prospect... but its arrived, and its still soft and fluffy. Oh, its gorgeous! I got an email from my father, who had heard in South Africa about what a pounding we were getting, and he was jealous! And then I took a break at work, and read Sakura Snow's blogpost today about winter. She talks about winter's stillness, its graphicness, and how inspiring it is... how things are healing and renewing, waiting to burst forth in the spring. She's right... and her photos are beautiful.



So, although it is still snowing outside, I really don't mind. Spring will be here soon enough. For now I will enjoy watching a mother dragging her kids down the street in their sleds, and I'll walk the dog, and laugh really hard when he runs head first into the snow banks (even when there is a pathway just 2 feet away!). And I promise to stop being silly about moving away.