Dark Horse Capsule Collection

WORDS Michaela Stehr IMAGES Jarrad Nelson


Local bespoke furniture brand Dark Horse has joined forces with the design team at Clout/SA, releasing a brand new capsule collection available exclusively through @home.

“When you buy a local product, there’s a trickle-down effect. The money that you spend goes back into the economy in a variety of ways, and all the people who contribute to the making of the product get the benefit of that spend. You not only get this amazing product that’s quite unique, you are also truly stimulating the local economy,” says Jarrad Nelson, co-owner of Dark Horse.

Dark Horse was founded by Nelson and his wife Lisa and their design journey has progressed over the last 11 years, producing timeless pieces that are adaptable to a variety of decor schemes and spaces, and actively providing local job opportunities for people through their production warehouse in Paarden Eiland.

The Dark Horse pieces will be available through selected @home stores through the CloutSA collaboration. CloutSA is well known through the design community and beyond for its positive interaction and upliftment of local designers and their creations.

“The collab with @home is quite an exciting story. We’ve worked with CloutSA in the past, and their team knew our look and feel and what we’re capable of. They included us in a presentation to @home to say, ‘if you want to go on a journey of local design, these guys should be a part of that conversation’,” says Nelson. 

Five signature pieces have been selected, including their Saville chair, an exemplary exercise in circular design. It is made from leather off-cuts, stitched together into a 31-metre-long narrow strip, which then gets hand woven to create the dining chair. “It really is an incredible piece, and it reflects how we approach design for sustainability,” says Nelson. 

Dark Horse Capsule Collection

Other pieces in the collection include Dark Horse’s 3-seater Boss couch and Boss armchair, both of which are made of leather and a steel frame, reflecting the brand’s “bold yet refined” design aesthetic. Other pieces in the collection are the Oso and the Rosso dining chairs, also made of leather and steel. 

“Our design philosophy is about bringing people closer together, so with everything we do we want to build memories through the use of our furniture and have those pieces available for the next generation as well. This is why we use hard-wearing materials that can last this generation and the next,” says Nelson. 

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