Cape Town Furniture Week presented a compelling mix of installations, collaborations and new collection launches from a wide spectrum of local brands and designers. We’ve selected a handful of standout displays, events and pieces that captured our attention.
WORDS Gina Dionisio
The 2026 edition of Cape Town Furniture Week unfolded as a dynamic, citywide celebration of contemporary design, bringing together a diverse network of emerging talents and established studios across showrooms, galleries and creative hubs. From new collection launches and site-specific installations to collaborative pop-ups and open studios, the programme reflected the depth and diversity of Cape Town’s design landscape.
Below are a few of our highlights (of which there were many) from the four-day design showcase – exhibitions, installations, collabs and new pieces that caught our eye.
CTFW x VISI Design Prize exhibition
This year’s Cape Town Furniture Week Festival Hub, hosted in the old Africa Bank Building at 81 St George’s Mall, featured more than 40 exhibitors. The ground floor housed the CTFW x VISI Design Prize exhibition, while the second and third floors came alive with pop-up installations and displays.
Established in 2025, the Design Prize recognises new design objects that contribute to the advancement of South African design. This year, 12 designs were shortlisted, with outstanding pieces from Wiid Design, MŪVEK x Spectrum Mirror, DEFT Studios, Rasengani Atelier, TheUrbanative (in collaboration with Grey Room and Weluka), Alkaline, Woodbender, LIM (in collaboration with Lise van Schoor), NØDE, Hoi P’loy, Stripped Studio with Tom Lead, and Arkivio.
Italian Design Day
Established as an initiative to promote Italian creativity and innovation, Italian Design Day takes place around the world and, in South Africa, was scheduled to align with Cape Town Furniture Week. For this year’s edition, interdisciplinary designer Francesca Lanzavecchia took part in various events across the city, bringing her insights on Italian design.
This year’s programme featured the participation of a number of standout Italian design spaces, aligning with the annual Italian Design Day initiative. Brands including Officine Gullo, Poliform, Valcucine, Eurocasa, INOVA Concept Store and CRÉMA all hosted open showrooms, walkabouts and talks.
Totem by TheUrbanative and Mash.T, curated by Hoven
Legendary Johannesburg-based creatives Mpho Vackier of TheUrbanative and Thabisa Mjo, founder of Mash.T Design Studio, joined forces to present The Totemic Field at Sisonke Gallery. Their living, shape-shifting installation explored the contemporary totemic – how waste, error and experimentation are not by-products of design, but generative forces producing functional forms that quietly hold collective meaning.
HALDANE ‘Site Meeting’
HALDANE unveiled its new outdoor collections inspired by construction, with an interactive showroom launch aptly titled Site Meeting – there were hard hats, high-vis vests, and a brick-and-mortar-inspired cake to celebrate. Highlighted pieces included the Scaffold New Brute occasional tables and the Super Rational modular sofa system.
Mungo x James Mudge Furniture Studio
Led by longevity and material respect, the Mungo x James Mudge Furniture Studio collaboration saw the Harrington and Nordwood chairs upholstered in Mungo’s new Miro Cloth. The bespoke natural-fibre textile brings softness and depth to the chairs’ considered forms.
J O H N | Chair by NISH
Tanisha Neill, founder and designer of N I S H, launched the new J O H N | Chair at a pop-up at Sindiso Khumalo’s flagship store. The new chair, featuring stainless-steel elements, emphasises the brand’s dedication to craftsmanship and highlights the interplay between material precision and natural imperfection.
What the HEX
Furniture and interior specialists Tonic unveiled their new collection, HEX – a trio of hard-edged, geometrically profiled tables crafted from solid French oak. The series is defined by its bold, architectural forms, set in striking contrast to the softness and natural grain of the timber..
Coffee and Craft
Acre, hoop, Kino and Platō Coffee collaborated on an immersive, multi-sensory experience hosted at Acre and hoop’s new work-in-progress studio space. The event celebrated design not only as a finished product but also as a process – inviting visitors behind the scenes of making and material exploration.
Acre presented the various stages of its manufacturing journey, offering insight into the evolution of its pieces from raw material to refined form, while hoop highlighted its own production processes alongside a striking kitchen installation. Upstairs, Kino debuted its new Café Tables, while Platō Coffee guided visitors through a hands-on drip coffee experience.
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