Between the Two Oceans Aquarium and an impressive food market at the V&A Waterfront you’ll find the Watershed, a craft and design market that provides a space for more than 150 tenants to exhibit their wares, curated by the inimitable Trevyn McGowan.

Trevyn and her husband-cum-business-partner Julian McGowan have been key players in the promotion of South African design on international platforms through their agency Source.

There’s so much to see at the Watershed we’ll keep going back, but these five must-visit stalls are some of our favourites…

The Cape Craft and Design Institute

The CCDI stall works on a quarterly rotation, so every three months four new entrepreneurs have the opportunity to get their products out into the market.

Michelle Ludek

This fashion designer’s stall is among the best designed. White fringing hangs from the roof in varying lengths, creating a dramatic and glamorous backdrop to the clothing.

African Image

This merchant has always been king of the Afro-kitsch aesthetic, and the stall is undoubtedly one the most colourful and impressive ones at the Watershed.

Odeon

Featuring a wide selection of tableware and homeware, the Odeon collection is curated by Source, giving it the benefit of Trevyn’s experience.

Helon Melon

This label is known for its exquisite bed linen, and we love the range of homeware and bags available at the Watershed stall.

For more information on traders, visit waterfront.co.za.

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Win one of five double tickets to the special edition of Kamers at the Castle of Good Hope in Cape Town from 5 to 8 June 2014.

Sharing a passion for showcasing and developing local talent and design, Kamers has partnered with the Cape Craft and Design Institute, and put together yet another visual feast filled with creativity, entrepreneurship, music, food and fresh talent. Some 110 design exhibitors have been confirmed and, being that the Castle of Good Hope is the original port of trade in the Cape, Kamers thought it appropriate to complete the circle of design during the World Design Capital 2014 by bringing trade back to this majestic historic site.
 
Look out for their mini magazine with a black, white and yellow WDC2014-inspired decor cover shoot listing the products and traders that will be exhibiting and selling their wares.
 
Besides supporting and developing products with creatives and young entrepreneurs, the KAMERS experience also aims to inspire and encourage visitors to explore their own creative potential and help foster the entrepreneurs of the future.

kamersvol.com 

To enter, simply share this post on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Google+ or Linkedin – make sure to include “@VISI_mag @Kamersvol” in the post – and tell us you have in the comments below. Enter before midnight on Thursday 29 May 2014.

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A new R1.62 million challenge calls for sustainable design ideas that can improve life in Cape Town, World Design Capital 2014.

The central theme for the WDC2014 in Cape Town is to “Live Design. Transform Life.” A theme that, if well executed, should see design initiatives play a central role in improving the lives of all of Cape Town’s residents.

The Better Living Challenge, in particular, is calling for sustainable solutions that will improve living conditions in low-income households, with an incentive of R1.62 million in prizes for the winning solutions. The project is one of the Western Cape Government’s 110% Green initiatives and is backed by the WDC2014 and Cape Craft and Design Institute (CCDI).

Who can enter?

Designers, creators, inventors, manufacturers, retailers, professionals and students from South Africa and abroad. In fact, even if you are none of these but consider yourself a capable innovator with awesome ideas that can help improve lives, then go forth and enter. Even already existing projects are allowed to enter.

What kind of ideas exactly?

The challenge has three categories: structural home, comfortable home and connected home. Structural home is all about ideas and products around building materials, structures and expansion ideas on already built homes.

Comfortable homes is about products, systems and services that improve the living environment, air quality, light, energy saving, water, etc. Storage ideas and products that address fire risk also fit in here.

Connected home deals with ideas that digitally connect these homes to their surroundings and the digital world beyond. However, it’s not just limited to the digital – solutions that deal with connecting homes to waste and food systems are also welcome.

Uhmm… what’s in it for me?

The three category winners will each receive R500 000 worth of support to bring their project to reality, tailored to meet their needs and the stage that the project is currently in. As for students, three winners will each get a straightforward R40 000 cash prize. 

OMG! Is it too late? Can I still enter?

Entries opened on 1 March and will close at midnight on 31 May 2014. During the months of March to May, three co-design workshops will also be held to help entrants who attend get to know a little more about the end-user experience.

Visit betterlivingchallenge.co.za to enter.

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Have you been down to City Hall lately? It’s getting spruced up for Open Design Cape Town, a festival from 21 to 31 August that hopes to ignite the enthusiasm for the World Design Capital 2014. We asked the brains and passion behind the festival, Y Tsai from Tsai Design Studio, a couple of questions about the event. He is an architect and product designer, and a committee member of the Cape Town Design Network.

What is Open Design Cape Town?

It is a citywide cross-disciplinary celebration and sharing of design and design-thinking. Cape Town will play host to this festival, an 11-day annual event where design practitioners, managers, media, students, educators and members of the public are encouraged to be open and collaborate to share their design with each other, highlighting the significance of design today.

Who are the people involved?

Open Design Cape Town is initiated by the Cape Town Design Network, sponsored and supported by the City of Cape Town, and in partnership with the Western Cape Furniture Initiative (WCFI) and Cape Craft and Design Institute (CCDI).

What inspired you to initiate Open Design Cape Town?

The team from Cape Town Design Network has been discussing the idea of a design festival for several years. Cape Town’s World Design Capital 2014 status was the catalyst that propelled the idea of Open Design forward as an inclusive platform that aims to galvanise Cape Town’s design community to talk about the value of design. 

What is the future of Open Design Cape Town?

Open Design Cape Town is set to become an annual design festival that raises design awareness and encourages cross-disciplinary collaborations between designers. 

How does it relate to World Design Capital 2014 (WDC2014)?

We are working with the WDC2014 team to create a platform in the City Hall, among other exciting events, to showcase some of the shortlisted WDC14 projects. For next year, we are already building partners to bring a bigger design festival that hopefully will include the other cities of South Africa.

The power of design lies in its ability to turn a negative problem into a positive situation. Open Design is an independent project that looks to create a long-term legacy for Cape Town around this positive potential of design.

How can readers, designers and kids respectively, get involved?

One of the cornerstones of the festival is that it is open to all and, therefore, most of it is free. The Open Design team has been working hard to create a comprehensive programme of events, talks, exhibitions and workshops that speak to different types of audiences.

• For the man off the street, the Design Is For All exhibition talks about the everyday use of design in health, education, mobility, sustainability and communication.
• The school learners and parents can drop by the One-Stop-Design-Shop Expo, where various design schools will showcase the best they can offer.
• Design students can attend Talk100, where they have an opportunity to hear professionals expand on their career insights and industry experiences.
• The professional designers, for example, are invited to join Design Storming, a two day co-design workshop in Khayelitsha, or the Designing Our Democracy seminar, where topics such as housing and service delivery will be discussed with some of the country’s leading thinkers.

Anyone can get involved with Open Design and submit an event, but it is important to have a design component to the offering. It will up to the person submitting the event to host, invite and organise his or her own event. The important thing is to take part and in doing so, creating a truly distinctive design festival for Cape Town.

For more information about Open Design Cape Town, visit opendesignct.com

VISI has gotten involved with Open Design as official media partner and we will be bringing you updates, live reporting and recommended events. So sign up to our daily newsletter, follow us on Twitter, like us on Facebook, add us on Google+ and connect with us on Linkedin to stay in touch!

Did you see how Tsai turned the Moyo at the V&A Waterfront into an urban farm? Watch the video here.

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A not-for-profit organization with a mandate to support local makers, the, this year the Cape Craft and Design Institute (CCDI) has funded 12 individual stands, as well as compiling a large collective shop representing the work of 35 Western Cape designers and artists. “A total of 66 applications was received for participation in the CCDI collective shop, of which 35 were selected,” said Doreen Hendricks of the CCDI. “Fifty enterprises applied for individual stands, of which 12 were selected.”

The original products include unique up-to-the-minute homeware, fashion accessories, ceramics, drinking glasses, vases and lanterns made from upcycled bottles. The individual stands have been allocated to Andrea Duell Ceramics, Artvark Gallery, Booth Studios, Indigi Designs, Kula Maliakha Foundation, love milo, Overberg Bottle Craft, Professional Wireworks, Sharon B Design, Succulent Oasis, African Queen studio and Yilasophia.

More information: 021 461 1488, info@ccdi.org.za, www.ccdi.org.za

Decorex runs from Thursday 25 April to Sunday 28 April at the Cape Town International Convention Centre. www.decorex.co.za

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