From a new PUMA collaboration and colourful crayons to a chair design inspired by palm trees and the latest collection of towels from The Cotton Company, these are the top VISI picks of the week series – week 353.

1. “Crayon World” by Imagebook

Imagebook, a project created by Japan-based Iwasaki Design Studio, has launched a range of colourful crayons. The shape of the crayons, when placed together, look like they could be tiny roofs. The aim of the project is to come up with creative product design possibilities.

Images via Imagebook

2. PAM Chair

After debuting a prototype of the PAM chair at Milan Design Week in 2016, Swiss design brand Studioforma has since perfected the design, together with Italian furniture manufacturer Meroni & Colzani. The tubular chair, inspired by palm trees and leaves, is handcrafted from walnut.

Images courtesy of Studioforma

3. PUMA X KidSuper Studios

PUMA has teamed up with Brooklyn-based streetwear and accessories brand KidSuper Studios on its first collaboration, inspired by its founder Colm Dillane’s past as a football player. Featuring the brand’s signature doodles, the collection features hand-drawn sketches and graphic prints. PUMA x KidSuper is available online and at PUMA Select stores in Cape Town and Braamfontein.

Images courtesy of PUMA

4. The Cotton Company’s New Waffle Weave Towels

Local brand The Cotton Company has launched a new range of 100% Turkish cotton waffle weave towels. Retailing at R629, the lightweight towels, measuring 85cm x 160cm, are super absorbent and fast-drying. The range is made up of seven different colourways, namely Wet Pebble, Slate, Oatmeal, Citron, Marigold, Petrol Blue and Coral Clay.

Image credit: Tasha Seccombe, courtesy of The Cotton Company

5. SA Wine Label Comes Second In The World

The Vinoneers’ Orpheus & The Raven wine range, owned by winemaker Etienne Louw and graphic designer Brenden Schwartz of Cape Town-based studio BRAVO Design, features hand-drawn, baroque-style sketches inspired by 16th-century artist Albrecht Dürer. The label was announced as the runner-up at The Drinks Business Awards 2020 for Best Design & Packaging for Wine.

Images courtesy of Orpheus & The Raven / Bravo Design

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From a kaleidoscopic lighthouse mural by artist Okuda San Miguel and cleverly designed milk packaging to a stylish chair from local brand Lemon, these are the top VISI picks of the week series – week 349.

adidas Clean Classics Collection

adidas has given its classic sneakers an eco-friendly redesign, making use of Primegreen materials, made with a minimum of 50% recycled content, in combination with renewable and reclaimed rubber for the soles and 70% recycled materials for the uppers. The Clean Classics collection, available online and at selected adidas stores, aims to address the issue of plastic waste.

Images courtesy of adidas

Lemon’s Kent Chair

Designed for Lemon by interior designer Yaniv Chen of Master Studio, the Kent Chair was inspired by 1950s design, and Italian 1950s design in particular. “I feel that a piece’s detailing, even its ergonomics can take someone back in time,” says Yaniv. “I like that someone will sit in this chair and feel a subtle sense of nostalgia.”

Images courtesy of Lemon

Depot Milk Carton Packaging

Russian design agency Depot has created a range of clever packaging designs for Milgrad Bryansk Dairy Plant. The blue cat is featured in different positions on various cartons that create a story once placed together.

Image credit: depotwpf.com

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This dining chair, inspired by the toro (the Spanish word for “bull”), was created by Cape Town-based interior design and decor studio OKHA.

With its subtle satin finish, carbon-stained ash, and dense, near-black velvet, the TORO dining chair is reminiscent of the glossy black hide that reflects off the bull’s flank and haunches. “I like to think that the chair has a powerful physical presence, like the bull, it is loaded… charged with an assured power,” says OKHA’s Creative Director Adam Court.

The assertive, sculpted arms of the chair represent the bull’s horns and the design features both A-frame and straight-leg versions. For Adam, the A-frame structure of the legs is a direct homage to Brazilian Modernism, and Jean Prouvé and Pierre Jeanneret.

“When designing the chair I liked aspects of both the A-frame and straight-leg versions,” says Adam. “They are the same chair but not the same chair – it’s like the same word said but with a different intonation. It can mean and express many different things and I like that. I like that with small changes you can say very different things.”

For more information, visit okha.com.

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The Imbiza range is named after the isiZulu brewing pot, which carries with it a strong symbol of fertility and femininity. Warm curves, contours and round edges thread their way through the range and traditional weaving patterns can be seen on many of the chairs within the range, a celebration of the long-lived craft.

The Imbiza Lounger, Occasional Chair, Oval Dining Table and Cantilever Table are handcrafted and woven by Homewood’s proudly female-dominated workforce.

The Imbiza Occasional Chair

The sharply curved armrest and Cotswold weaving are standout features of this chair, which can be customised with a woven colour of choice.

The Imbiza Cantilever Table

As one of the latest additions to the range, the Cantilever Table has been expertly engineered with angled legs to achieve the perfect balance.

The Imbiza Lounger

The Imbiza Lounger is one of Homewood’s most iconic pieces, with subtle contours and a custom weaving technique created especially for the design.

Homewood has showrooms in Kramerville (Johannesburg); Mbombela (Mpumalanga); Piggly Wiggly and Umhlanga Ridge (KwaZulu-Natal).

For more information, visit homewood.co.za.

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Designed by Cape Town-based architect Matthew Dasneves, the Caulk Chairs collection is a series of seats made from polystyrene and caulked rubber sealant that celebrate spontaneity and the human touch.

Steering away from the principles of predefined design and lunging towards uninhibitedness, Matthew seeks to honour the age-old practice of hand-crafted design with this collection.

Each chair is made by hand to serve as functional art pieces. At their core, the chairs are made from polystyrene offcuts sourced from a local factory. The polystyrene is either purposefully carved or thoughtfully arranged in their original forms.

A caulking gun is then used to lay beads of rubber sealant – traditionally used on construction sites – onto the polystyrene. Each stroke of the sealant is visible to the naked eye, affording decorative texture that at once strengthens the forms enough to function and lends narrative to the artist’s process.

Follow Matthew on Instagram (@matthew.dasneves) to see what else he is up to.

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The collab between architect and designer Meghan Ho-Tong and local artisan Jaekan Coetzee to produce the Hyraxhotong Chair One is an exploration in geometry and imagination.

Looking at the Hyraxhotong Chair One elicits an immediate sense of intrigue. “I really enjoy that this creates an interesting visual tension,” says Cape Town-based architect and designer Meghan Ho-Tong. “When viewed from a particular angle, it feels as if the chair might fall over, but as you move around it, you begin to understand that the geometries are balanced and support each other.”

Together with Jaekan, Meghan designed the stool with a strong circular form and a contrasting triangular base structure.

“Jaekan is a master woodworker with a lot of knowledge in timber construction, materiality and the ways that wood behaves,” elaborates Meghan. “I came to him with an idea and sketches for the chair. From there we started prototyping. We built a 1:1 scale model and made assessments and adjustments as we developed the design.”

The chair’s construction employs interlocking timber joints and the design is void of any glue or mechanical fixings. “It is built from solid yellowwood. Every piece that gets used is carefully selected taking into consideration its character and markings.”

For more information, visit hyraxhotong.com.

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From a stylish new café in London and a new locally-designed chair to a spring-inspired homeware collection and intricate illustrations on musical instruments, these are the top VISI picks of the week series – week 299.

1. Chucs Café in London

London- and LA-based interior architecture and design firm Fettle is behind the look of the stylish Chucs Café in London’s Chelsea. The interiors feature pastel pink leather bar stools, patterned marble floors and oak panelled walls inspired by 1950s Italian glamour.

Image credit: Helen Cathcart

2. Leonardo Frigo’s Illustrated Instruments

Inspired by history, literature and music, London-based artist Leonardo Frigo, who was recently featured on Instagram, creates intricate ink illustrations by hand on string instruments like violins and cellos.

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Images via @leonardo_frigo_ on Instagram

3. Ori Dining Chair by Louw Roets

Louw Roets has launched a new Ori Dining Chair, made using traditional joinery techniques in oak, ash, walnut or iroko, with woven cord in red, yellow, black, nude or blue. The lightweight chair features a wide backrest for maximum comfort.

Images via louwroets.co.za

4. theMAAK Designs Desmond Tutu HIV Foundation Testing Clinic

In partnership with the Desmond Tutu HIV Foundation (DTHF), social architects theMAAK have designed a new 500 m² clinic in Masiphumalele in Cape Town. “The building appropriately addresses both the ambition and prestige of the internationally acclaimed research of DTHF, as well as the sensitive human nature of their work,” say lead architects Ashleigh Killa and Max Melvill.

Image credit: Anton Scholtz, courtesy of theMAAK

5. Love Milo’s Spring Blossom Collection

Cape Town-based homeware brand Love Milo, headed up by designer Nicki Ellis, has launched its Spring Blossom collection. The new range includes cushions, tote bags and storage baskets in French Lilac and pistachio fabric that’s covered with blossoms, peaches and butterflies.

Images courtesy of Love Milo

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Local furniture brand SPAAS, established in 2015, creates high-quality, flat-pack furniture that is both sustainable and affordable.

The brainchild of Cape Town designer Dean Westmore and Paarl-based architects Peter Neokorides and Gerhard Kriel, SPAAS brings together form and function with a easily transportable furniture collection that’s simple to assemble. “Our collection of designer furniture is manufactured using FSC-certified wood (meaning it comes from a sustainable source) and all our products arrive flat-packed and ready to assemble without glue or screws,” says Dean.

“Like all great adventures, our company developed rather organically,” he says. “We didn’t plan on starting a furniture business: all we did was make things we loved, in our own time. Like a hobby. We soon found out that other people loved our furniture too.

For more information, visit spaas.co.za.

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From a big win for a talented local designer and mesmerising murals to new releases from Le Creuset and Mungo and a new limited-edition chair, these are top VISI picks of the week series – week 298.

1. Mungo’s Sea Foam Dhow Towels

Local textile brand Mungo has added a new colour to its range of light-weight 100% linen Dhow Towels. The hue is inspired by the sea foam that washes up onto the shores of Plettenberg Bay (where the brand’s mill is based).

Images courtesy of Mungo

2. Thebe Magugu Wins the LVMH Prize

Joburg-based designer Thebe Magugu has won the LMVH prize for 2019. The €300 000 prize, complete with a one-year mentorship programme, is awarded by the luxury group to talented young designers from across the world. Thebe is the first designer from Africa to win the coveted prize.

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Image via lvmh on Instagram

3. Limited-edition Chair from Feather & Swan

New local brand Feather & Swan has released a limited-edition accent chair in collaboration with artist Dayna-Gay Tate and furniture designer Andrew Dominic. Both the fabric and the chair, made from American Oak, was created especially for the collab. Feather and Swan showcases one design at a time, with only 25 “Victoria” chairs made available.

Images courtesy of featherandswan.co.za

4. Le Creuset Launches Soirée

Le Creuset has launched a brand-new Art Deco-inspired 24 cm Signature Round Casserole, a homage to the 1920s. Drawing on the glamour of the era, Le Creuset has combined its Deep Teal colourway with a gold pattern. It’s available at the brand’s select boutique stores and online.

Images courtesy of Le Creuset

5. Street Murals by 1010zzz

Making use of colour and illusion, Hamburg-based street artist 1010zzz’s mesmerising murals look like portals into unexplored worlds. In an interview with Urbanshit Gallery, on why he uses “holes” in his work, he answers, “Maybe only because holes seem to end in darkness; and that’s what’s encouraging our imagination.”

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Images via 1010zzz on Instagram

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From solid finishes to internal technology that interacts with a game’s audio and responds to what’s happening on screen, gaming chairs are more often than not ergonomically designed, aiming to make the experience more comfortable for the user’s back, neck and legs during extended gaming sessions.

“If you want to enhance your gaming experience, and make yourself more comfortable when you play, then investing in a gaming chair is an excellent idea,” says Sabrina O’Hagan, Cecil Nurse’s Marketing Manager.

Genedia Gaming Chair

While both gaming chairs and office chairs are designed for long hours at a desk, gaming chairs also have more options when it comes to adjustability. This is specifically important for people who play games because finding a position that allows you to comfortably, quickly and precisely control your in-game character for long periods of time is crucial.

Professional gaming chairs are not only ergonomic and comfortable, featuring extra cushioning, they also promote overall wellness for the body when seated. As normal desk activities don’t require this level of responsiveness, office chairs aren’t always as adjustable.

For more information, visit cecilnurse.co.za, email info@cecilnurse.co.za or contact a Cecil Nurse branch in South Africa, Namibia and Botswana.

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