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High ceilings and gleaming floors offset thrift finds and collectables. The carpet and leather sofa were gifts, and the cushions were painted black to match the setting. -
A huge Guy Tillim photograph looks over the space – a gift from the apartment’s previous owner, ex-VISI editor and stylist Sumien Brink. The Art Deco lounge set and sidetables were found in second-hand stores over the years. -
An antique cabinet is the focal point of this space. “From my father’s shop in Danielskuil, I grew up with this cabinet,” says Mervyn. “I stained it dark teak – the same finish as the floors.” The curved Mid-century floor lamp combines well with the Art Deco chairs, coffee tables and a stainless-steel kitchen unit. The red chandelier was a birthday gift from publicist Marilyn Thompson. -
An antique cabinet is the focal point of this space. “From my father’s shop in Danielskuil, I grew up with this cabinet,” says Mervyn. “I stained it dark teak – the same finish as the floors.” The curved Mid-century floor lamp combines well with the Art Deco chairs, coffee tables and a stainless-steel kitchen unit. The red chandelier was a birthday gift from publicist Marilyn Thompson. -
The custom-made 12-seater dining table was stained a dark teak, as were the chairs. -
The Koi fish are a symbol of fertility, flow and prosperity, and they feature on one of Mervyn’s most iconic and popular ranges – the award-winning Koi Swim, which was shown at the Ceramics Biennale in Romania. -
The apartment is designed to work for a romantic getaway, as a digital nomad space, or as an entertainer’s dream, with a bar from Mervyn’s childhood home and a generous and practical kitchen. -
The apartment is designed to work for a romantic getaway, as a digital nomad space, or as an entertainer’s dream, with a bar from Mervyn’s childhood home and a generous and practical kitchen. -
The main bedroom features a patchwork bedspread from Uruguay. At the foot of the bed is a Nguni ottoman, and alongside is an antique dresser. -
The sanitaryware in the bathroom was decorated and refired with Mervyn Gers Ceramics’ iconic Blue Willow pattern.
WORDS Steve Smith PRODUCTION Mark Sera PHOTOS Jan Ras
In an Art Deco block in the heart of Cape Town’s city centre, renowned ceramicist Mervyn Gers has renovated an apartment to reflect his own tastes and his love for fired and glazed clay.
There are ceramics everywhere. On one wall, colourful plates feature designs by quirky South African artist Walter Battiss; on another, a mosaic of plates plays home to a school of koi; next to that, on five shelves, a collection of vases shows a range of colour from earth tones to turquoise. And that’s just the main living area.
It’s hardly surprising – the apartment does, after all, belong to Mervyn Gers, whose company Mervyn Gers Ceramics is renowned for dinnerware ranges that are much loved by high-end restaurants, luxury lodges and private homes, both here and abroad. Despite his obvious talent, you may be surprised to know that Mervyn only began working as a ceramicist in 2008 after a successful radio career as the station manager for KFM – he sold his shares in that business when it was sold to the SABC. “I played around with renovating flats and houses, and then started thinking about something concrete to do,” he recalls. For this lifelong collector of ceramics, what was initially a hobby slowly developed into something more. One of his houses had space for a studio, so he installed a couple of kilns, and taught himself fi ring techniques, as well as how to make different glazes.
Once his work began to sell steadily, Mervyn took over a failing ceramics business in Paarden Eiland on the outskirts of the city. “One of the companies I bought clay from was closing down; they offered me the premises along with all equipment. It was a great deal – it came with two big kilns, four small ones, and five people. I re-employed everyone. The original idea was that we’d produce tableware so I’d have time to create sculptures or whatever else I wanted to do. Next thing, we employ 54 people… and I’m still trying to find the time for what I want to do!”
What he has found time to do is the renovation of this beautiful apartment. It used to belong to VISI’s illustrious former editor, Sumien Brink – and one could argue that it’s a brave man who attempts to change a home whose previous owner had such impeccable taste. Not one to shy away from a challenge, Mervyn has gone about layering his own personality into the two-bedroom fl at. “I know Sumien well, and I had been here a few times previously,” he says. “One day, she told me she was selling it, so I asked how much she wanted for it. I bought it on the spot. I think that when you walk into a space, you either immediately fall in love with it, or you don’t. It’s a gut feeling.”
While buying, renovating and selling properties over the years, Mervyn always hankered after something with volume. “There’s an old, repurposed synagogue in Vredehoek that I’d often walk into and think, ‘I would love to live here.’” So, with its 3.5m-high ceilings, this apartment in the middle of downtown Cape Town was perfect. He changed the original layout, retaining the two-bedroom configuration but increasing the bathroom count from one to two-and-a-half. “It’s very different from the way it looked before. It was a rather feminine space, with a lot of stuff in it, and I wanted something a little more minimalist – something that could breathe more.”
With that in mind, painting all the walls white was a conscious decision, and one that has created the ideal backdrop to his collection of ceramics. “My interior decor taste is varied. I like Victorian, Deco, Mid-century, ’70s German Brutalism, kitsch… It’s a mix. It’s the same with ceramics. I inherited pre-Victorian stuff from my mother and I’ve always bought old pieces at markets, so I’ve got loads.”
“When I travel, I seek out rentals in the heart of a city with an aesthetic that’s soothing, and a reflection of the local environment, culture and history,” says Mervyn. “Seeing this apartment reminded me of holiday stays in Buenos Aires, Tokyo, Istanbul and Barcelona – places I rented that echoed the art and architecture of their surroundings. I’d developed and sold properties, but never entered the rental market. And I thought how fantastic it would be to create something in Cape Town’s CBD that’s not the usual holiday stay, but accommodation that’s authentic and heartfelt, a place where people want to hang out. I see this as ideal for travellers who want a true home away from home, as well as a venue for events and launches. And, of course, I love relaxing here when it’s not occupied.”
Along with working as a rentable space, the apartment is a vibrant showroom for the company, housing pieces from the start of Mervyn’s creative career, like the outsized vases and trademark Koi designs, as well as recent experiments with reactive glazes and metallic lustres. For the moment, he’s happy for it to be a bolthole from his daily life, where he can sit in his favourite Deco chair – “I love its ergonomics; you can have your cup of coffee right next to you without needing a table” – and admire his vast collection of beautiful ceramics. | mervyngers.com
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