Contemporary Craft Takes the City

Taking place from 18 to 21 February, Cape Town Furniture Week showcases the best of local design. Here we highlight the showrooms, exhibitions and product launches not to be missed.

WORDS Gina Dionisio PHOTOS Courtesy of Cape Town Furniture Week

Returning for its fourth edition, Cape Town Furniture Week (CTFW) once again takes centre stage as South Africa’s pre-eminent showcase of contemporary furniture, lighting and homeware. The 2026 festival theme, ‘Contemporary Craft’, is an invitation to engage with design, making and materiality through the lens of craftsmanship: the timelessness of things that take time; the great potential in combining old crafts with new technologies; and a celebration of making – in all its forms – as the thing that makes us human.

Anchored around the central Festival Hub, hosted at the old Africa Bank Building at 81 St George’s Mall, this year’s curated programme will feature close to 80 South African brands and designers, as well as open showrooms, pop-ups, launches, talks, tours and exhibitions.

Since the first CTFW in 2023, VISI has been the official media partner of the event. This year, we return as co-facilitator of the CTFW x VISI Design Prize and exhibition, with the finalists’ designs on display at the Festival Hub.

The free, four-day design event is open to the public and takes place across more than 45 venues in design districts including the Central City, De Waterkant, East City, Lower Gardens and Kloof Street, with additional spaces in Observatory, Salt River, Woodstock and Paarden Eiland. Attendees are invited to walk between showrooms and events in each district. Some events require an RSVP, so check the official programme.

Complementing the participation of South African brands and designers is a curated Italian Design programme, in partnership with the Consulate of Italy in Cape Town. This programme will feature the Cape Town showrooms of Officine Gullo, Poliform and Valcucine, including a conversation with Italian designer Francesca Lanzavecchia, who will be attending Cape Town Furniture Week in her capacity as Italian Design Ambassador to South Africa for 2026.

Our Cape Town Furniture Week Highlights

We highlight VISI’s standout exhibitions and events, collaborations, pop-ups, launches and other activities taking place around the City Bowl.

1. CTFW Festival Hub

18-21 Feb | 81 St George’s Mall

The Festival Hub serves as a central point of convergence within the wider city-based programme, hosting exhibitions of new products and displays by more than 40 exhibitors, including special installations and the CTFW x VISI Design Prize exhibition. The Festival Hub for 2026 is the old Africa Bank Building at 81 St George’s Mall (corner of Shortmarket Street).

This year’s exhibitors at the Festival Hub include Acre Studio, Ananta Design Studio, Ben Kennedy Design, Bronze Age / NØDE, Damascus, David Krynauw Design, Ex Hotel, Frystark, Green Brother, Hanneke Lourens, Hoi P’loy, Hope Garden Furniture, Hutch Custom, Jacobs Collection, Kora Collection, Kramer Design, Leighton Kalder Furniture, Locha Design Studio, Modern Gesture, Oliver Whyte, Studio Dilli, Studio Kalki, TENT, Thomas & Verburg, Vitalli, Vorster & Braye Ceramic Design and White Sheep Studio.

• Registered Design Professionals are invited for a welcome drink and an exclusive preview of the Festival Hub exhibitions at 3 pm on Wednesday, 18 February. RSVP here.
• Opening Night at the Festival Hub, the official opening of CTFW, kicks off at 5 pm. Entrance is free, but registration is required. Register here.

2. CTFW x VISI Design Prize

18-21 Feb | 81 St George’s Mall

The CTFW x VISI Design Prize acknowledges and celebrates new designs that advance the contemporary furniture and homeware industries in South Africa. A shortlist of twelve finalist designs will feature in the exhibition, with an independent jury selecting the winning entries. There are awards in three categories – Design, Authenticity and Advancement – plus an overall winner of the CTFW x VISI Design Prize.

3. Opening Night

18 Feb | From 4-8 pm across all design districts

Opening Night is a festive kick-off to Cape Town Furniture Week, with most participating venues open after hours and many events scheduled. It’s an opportunity to explore the city on foot – akin to Cape Town’s popular First Thursdays – to get a first glimpse of the designs, exhibitions and displays, and meet the designers and entrepreneurs behind the exhibiting brands.

4. Design Talks

Breakfast Talk: Morten Larsen (HAY) and Steve Smith (VISI) at INOVA Concept Store

Join INOVA Concept Store for a breakfast talk with Steve Smith and Morten Larsen of HAY, plus get an exclusive look at the new HAY outdoor range.

20 Feb | 7:30 am | INOVA Concept Store, 76 Harrington Street

COST: Free

REGISTER: via luma.com

Panel Discussion: Design for Public Life, with Amy Thompson, Anees Arnold & Luke Pedersen

A conversation on public furniture, urban design, and making a more walkable, welcoming and wonderful Cape Town, presented by Mission for Inner City Cape Town.

20 Feb | 9 am | Gorgeous George Hotel, 118 St George’s Mall

COST: Free

REGISTER: via luma.com

Panel Discussion: Models, Tests, Prototypes with Rory Bester at Wunders

A panel discussion led by Rory Bester about the current exhibition at Wunders. We’ll be talking about the importance of the creative process and the role that models, tests and prototypes play in this process. Panellists include Ronel Jordaan, the MAAK architects, Amy Rusch, Luca Evans, Francesco Nassimbeni, Ralph Borland and Heath Nash.

20 Feb | 4 pm | Wunders, 32 Napier Street

COST: Free

REGISTER: via luma.com

5. Cool collaborations

• N I S H pop-up at Sindiso Khumalo – View the new JOHN | chair at the brand’s pop-up for CTFW, while browsing the incredible fashion designs at Sindiso Khumalo’s new store.
• NOSE exhibition at HAN Studio – A collaboration centred on the NOSE as a vessel for memory. Featuring ceramic sculptures and objet by HAN, a window display and installation by Jana Wasserman, and a photobook by Aftersune.
• ‘The Totemic Field’ – A collaborative launch at Sisonke Gallery featuring new prototypes by Mash.T and TheUrbanative. Curated with Hoven, each piece stands as a vessel of memory and intention, shaped by material, labour, and the many hands involved in its making.

6. Tours, Walkabouts and Experiences

• Workshop Tour: Designing the Di Ponti Touch Light at Hoi P’loy – ​Join Hoi P’loy for an immersive workshop walkabout exploring the design and making of their latest lamp. Responding to the theme of Contemporary Craft, the walkabout traces the journey from concept to object, unpacking the design process, material decisions, and hands-on problem-solving behind the final piece.
• PEDERSEN + LENNARD: A Morning of Craft, Play, and Confections – ​Join Pedersen + Lennard for a morning workshop of play where line, shape, and colour capture the memory of Cape Town Furniture Week 2026.
• ​Studio Tour: Laurie Wiid van Heerden at Wiid Design – Join Laurie Wiid van Heerden for an inside look at the studio’s factory and showroom spaces, plus get an exclusive look at the new Massa Collection.
• Live Activation: Popstrukt x FOM x LaraMakesStuff – Popstrukt collaborates with Freedom of Movement and LaraMakesStuff on a live, street-front activation celebrating craft, collaboration, and creativity in motion.
• Workshop Tour: Behind-the-scenes at Willowlamp with Adam Hoets – Join Founder of Willowlamp, Adam Hoets, as he shows you a new range of finishes and patinas they are introducing and launching for their collections, as well as custom bespoke design projects.

For more exhibitors, locations and events taking place during Cape Town Furniture Week, visit capetownfurnitureweek.co.za.

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