Moonjelly 2.0 by Dokter and Misses

WORDS Amelia Brown

Local design duo Dokter and Misses have launched a new collection of sculptural lights, entitled Moonjelly 2.0, that were the result of a week-long visit to the Ngwenya Glass factory in Swaziland.

In celebration of the Ngwenya Glass’s 30^th birthday, local designers were invited to the factory and, with the Ngwenya team and top local and international glassblowers, were encouraged to explore the age-old medium of glass blowing. Dokter and Misses chose to push glass-blowing conventions and bend recycled glass orbs over steel structures. The end result appears melted and Dali-esque, and the juxtaposition of sharp and soft, steel and glass, delivers on the whimsical design language that Dokter and Misses has become renowned for.

“We had an idea of what we wanted to do, but we had no idea whether it would technically work,” says Katy Taplin, co-founder of Dokter and Misses with Adriaan Hugo. “So this really is the result of our play.”

After several experiments and functional problem-solving, the duo devised a series of 27 pieces that includes standing lamps as well as single and cluster pendants. The steel structures carry the bold Memphis-inspired shapes that have become part of the design studio’s signature. “I went back to an old computer programme that I used as a sketch book about 10 years ago,” explains Adriaan. “The limitations of the programme led the way for the shapes.”

The Moonjelly range is available at Dokter and Misses’ new showroom at 99 Juta Street in Johannesburg and at GUILD, Silo 5, Silo District, V&A Waterfront, Cape Town. Prices range from R13 800 for a single pendant to R27 600 for a standing lamp.

For more information, visit dokterandmisses.com.