The wild

WORDS Malibongwe Tyilo PHOTOS Julia Jaki

Animals are awesome in decor right now and Julia Jaki and Phillip Schulz have opened Mandibles in the Woodstock Foundry to showcase and sell their collection of skulls, horns and heads. 

Animal-inspired three-dimensional design, specifically taxidermy, has taken centre stage in design circles recently. This scientific art form has received something of a bad rap over the past century, due to its connection to the hunting industry. However, its story is much bigger than that, especially in the world of museums, where it’s used as a way to preserve the beauty and knowledge of the animal kingdom. Its return makes sense, especially considering our fascination with all things farmhouse over the past few years. 

Julia Jaki, co-owner of Mandibles, a natural history collection shop in the trendy Woodstock Foundry in Cape Town, says she has experienced an increase in shop traffic, from interior designers looking for animal heads to hang on the walls of fashionable homes to jewellery designers looking for bird skulls to incorporate into their designs. After 11 years of exporting, she and her taxidermist partner, Philipp Schulz, decided to open the showroom to meet rising local demand. Regarding the ethics, their collection is made up of animals that died of natural causes at bird parks and zoos, and the skulls and horns are all by-products of SA’s sustainable game farming industry.

076 762 1330 (Julia), 082 350 2320 (Philipp), mandiblescollection.com

Read more about Woodstock and it’s evolution into Cape Town’s unofficial design district.

Read more articles by Malibongwe Tyilo.