WORDS Steve Smith PHOTOS Jan Ras

Millennial beige is not something you could ever associate with Cape Town-based interior designer Roxanne Ferreira. Her Arrange Studio designs – and, as you can see, the clothes she wears – are all about colour. “We believe colour can make you happy,” she says on her website, reaffirming the brand’s mission “to transform surroundings into somewhere that exudes joy”.

We paid Roxanne a visit to get a sense of the personal objects that have informed her aesthetic. Many of her traditional keepsakes are in storage – “We’ve moved quite a lot during the past few years, including onto a sailboat!” – but these are the everyday keepsakes she holds dear.

My ring

“This ring belonged to my husband’s grandfather – he found it in the glove box of a second-hand car he had just bought. He tried his best to find the original owner, with no luck. It was then passed on to my husband’s mom, but it didn’t fit her. And then my husband (then boyfriend) gave it to me for my birthday 10 years ago. It fits perfectly; I’ve been wearing and cherishing it ever since.”

Set of chairs

“My parents were gift ed these for their wedding more than four decades ago. I love them – they’re light and foldable, so we’ve had many picnics in the garden on them. They’ve travelled to three different cities with us, and hopefully we can pass them down to our daughter one day too.”

Missibaba bag

“Chloe Townsend of Missibaba custom-made this hold-all baby bag for me just before our daughter was born, and I’ll cherish it forever. The colours make me so happy! There are compartments inside for bottles, and even a custom striped changing mat.”

Hats

“These are just some of the hats my friend and milliner Albertus Swanepoel made for me. He passed away last year and I miss him every day.”

My mom’s jeans & dungarees

“I’m so lucky that my mom kept many of her clothes from the 1970s, ’80s and ’90s, and that my sisters and I get to wear them now. These jeans and dungarees are some of my all-time favourites – how great is the striped lining on the hem of the jeans?”

Sea shells

“I’ve been collecting shells since I was little. The rush of finding a whole sea urchin in a rock pool is unmatched! As I’ve grown older, the collection has grown to include shell-shaped bowls and plates too.”

Stickers

“My love for stickers started when I was young, and my sticker book was one of my prized possessions. My collection includes fancy stickers bought in Japan – but also some cute ones found at local stationery shops. I’m always adding to this collection because I love using stickers when making birthday cards for friends. My daughter recently discovered them too, so the stash will soon get depleted if I don’t store them somewhere safe!”

Small plates

“These are a few of the many small plates and painted ceramics I bought in Japan. I try to use them often, not just keep them for ‘one day’ – they bring back wonderful memories of that country with each use.”

Pins

“Some were gifts, some used to belong to my parents… They’re such a fun way of personalising your wardrobe.”

Prototype of an Arrange Studio light

“This is the original prototype for Arrange Studio’s Paradise light. I’ll always be thankful to this light and its design, and the joy and pride it’s brought me.”

Crocheted blanket

“My mom crocheted this for me years ago – it reminds me of a Missoni pattern. There’s something about a gift that took many hours and lots of love to create that makes you cherish it even more.”

Bracelets

“I inherited these from my mother-in-law after she passed. She loved dressing up and had the most incredible jewellery collection. I’ll keep these for my daughter.” | arrangestudio.co.za

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Mother-daughter duo Betina Swart and Kelly-Grace Gibberd have opened a bright and inclusive new store at Joburg’s 44 Stanley.

One look at local fashion brand Me&B‘s social media, and their ethos is apparent: this label is all about inclusivity and fun. The re-shares of Instagram posts by customers of varying shapes, sizes and ages, showing off the threads Kelly-Grace Gibberd and Betina Swart have designed, speak volumes. Women have an affinity for their bold, eclectic kit, and want to feel part of the Me&B community. “We create clothing that invites you to step out and show the world who you are while still looking stylishly tailored and feeling supremely comfortable,” the duo explains.

READ MORE: Cool Spaces: Glow Theory Store at Joburg’s 44 Stanley

Manifesting this essence as a physical store (versus their very popular online shop) was a task undertaken by Roxanne Ferreira of Arrange Studio. The finished product is an apt kaleidoscope of colour, warmth and stand-out features. In a nod to a New York loft showroom, Roxanne decided to incorporate the Stanley Avenue space’s original industrial shell by leaving the ceiling services exposed and the floors untouched. And marrying these elements with bright colours and organic curvy shapes means the store has a strong Memphis Group spirit too.

“I wanted the store to feel spacious and create a positive shopping experience, with enough space
to sit, enough mirrors to see what the different pieces or colours will look like on you, and the correct lighting – not too bright, just enough to feel welcomed and see what’s on offer,” Roxanne says. The team also enjoyed using inexpensive materials in different and unusual ways. Coloured Perspex sheets became cladding, colourful tiles cover display plinths, and moveable painted pine boards create mobile backdrops that allow the team to play with space. Vintage vases and vessels sourced by Roxanne add a final layer of playfulness and depth to an already joyful spot.

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Designed by Roxanne Ferreira, the Glow Theory store at Joburg’s 44 Stanley is as much a must-visit for those who admire sleek, contemporary interior design as it is an essential shopping destination for SA’s growing legion of fans of Korean beauty products.

Korean beauty – AKA K-Beauty – products have been taking over the planet in the past decade. Focused on skincare rather than on makeup, K-beauty combines innovative formulas and scientifically tested ingredients to create personally curated, multistep skincare routines. Add playful packaging and, in many cases, affordable pricing, and it’s no wonder that, in 2019, the worldwide market for K-beauty products clocked in at a staggering $10-billion (about R158-billion). Korean brands such as Laneige, Dr.Jart+ and Innisfree have also helped launch entirely new beauty product categories, including sheet masks, skin essences and BB creams.

In South Africa, multibrand K-beauty retailer Glow Theory was launched in 2017, and has been so successful, it’s become something of a cult favourite and leader in the K-beauty space locally. So it’s no wonder that, late in 2021, the brand branched out into a brick-and-mortar space at 44 Stanley in Johannesburg – and its first store is a delightful pastel dream brought to life by young interior and product designer Roxanne Ferreira of Arrange Studio.

No stranger to retail design, with her previous work for brands such as Freedom of Movement also bringing much-needed life into the shopping landscape, this time around Roxanne aimed to create “an environment that feels like being in a candy store, and something fresh and vibrant”, she says. “I wanted the colours to feel reminiscent of warm, glowy skin in different tones. So I looked at the brand’s main colour – pink – and used it as the base, then built around it by introducing lighter and darker tones in the same colour family.”

Like K-beauty, which makes use of myriad naturally derived ingredients, the Glow Theory space needed to feel playful and inviting; a focus on materials that reference nature was key too. “Natural materials also played a role,” says Roxanne, “with the use of plywood adding warmth and texture.” Finally, she explains, the Glow Theory brand’s “secondary cobalt-blue colour was used sparingly throughout as an accent or where impact was needed, for example in the signage”.

In addition to her interiors, Roxanne’s product designs have also recently got the local design world’s attention in a major way. Her debut product, the Paradise Light, was one of 2021’s standout pieces – it was showcased in VISI 116 (and in this story, here), and features proudly in the new Glow Theory store alongside a few more custom pieces, including a bench design created in collaboration with Krafted Design Studio. In short, Roxanne’s work is putting her own aesthetic and that of the brands she’s partnering with firmly on our radar.

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