Considered the Oscars of the local mag industry and convened by the Magazine Publishing Association of South Africa (MPASA), the awards took place at the Emperors Palace Hotel Casino Convention Resort in Johannesburg. Our editor-in-chief Sumien Brink and art director Anton Pietersen were there to represent. 

The ever stylish and composed Sumien was the superhero of the evening. Besides receiving the two VISI awards, she also accepted two awards and two highly commended certificates for Taste magazine, as well an award for Plascon Spaces. In fact, Taste was proclaimed customer magazine of the year!

We must also congratulate our friends at Woolworths W magazine and FNB Siyasiza for their highly commended certificate. The music is pumping and the bubbles are a flowing in the New Media Publishing offices today!

For the full list of winners, visit the MPASA website. 

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When we invited readers to cross-stitch our DIY Deluxe magazine cover, we had no idea how enthusiastic and creative you would all be. You’re really all winners of your own unique once-off magazine cover! 

Overwhelmed by so many submissions, we decided to let you, the participants and readers, decide who would win by voting on Facebook (see the full album here). Now we’ve tallied the votes and the winners are…

However, first, the VISI editorial team has decided to award two special prizes:

• The first, a Special Effort Prize, goes to Katy Mellor from Johannesburg, for her ridiculously impressive entry that was cross-stitched with strips of newspaper. We’re giving her the Knitted Bulb floor lamp from Peta-Lee.

• The second, an Originality Prize, goes to Brandon Brett from Durban. Although strictly speaking it is not cross-stitch, we were just so stunned with how Brandon really thought out-of-the-box and felt that it had to be rewarded with a mohair-filled duvet from Camdeboo Leisure.

The other winners, according to most likes on Facebook, are:

• Louise Filander from Mitchell’s Plain, whose original colour combinations wins her a pair of 50×50 custom-designed Lindi cushions from Cowgirl Blues.

• Lynette Ou Tim from Tamboerskloof who, besides her Mondrian-inspired design, really deserves a pair of hand-dyed Isabella cushions from Cowgirl Blues for all her Facebook campaigning.

• Judi Sheard from East London, whose rosy design showed off some seriously pro-looking stitches, winning her a mohair-knitted ball lampshade from Moonbasket.

• Rene Bakker, assisted by her mother Arja Bakker, from Sea Point, whose earthy colour scheme was inspired by the end of summer and the upcoming fall, winning them a set of two knee-size Hinterveld blankets (110x130cm) from the beautiful story range in Bicycle Red.

• Anja Weihe from Gardens, whose gradient of different textures was very distinguishing, winning her a the second set of two knee-size Hinterveld blankets (110x130cm) from the beautiful story range in Bicycle Red.

Finally, a super-duper thank you to Mohair SA for making this competition possible! Find your nearest stockist here.

Visit www.visi.co.za/competitions for more competitions to enter.

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For those of us not born with amazing carpentry skills or aspirations, there are now ways to cheat. DIY for dummies. 

Are you not handy enough to make your own furniture from scratch but still want to feel you have some part in creating the piece you’ve put on display? Flat-pack furniture is just right for you. The Klik birchwood modular shelving and cupboard system by Raw Studios can be adjusted to suit everything from an office to a child’s room; the Dokter and Misses Flexi Desk is a basic unit to which various attachments, including a noticeboard and a drawer, can be added; and the hand-turned oak coat rack by Harry Parr-Young makes great use of under-utilised wall space. 

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Shoe fetishes, dancing sperm, a RGB vase, a government website, digital music instruments, architectural typography, design hacking and high-rise hell headline the first day of the Design Indaba Conference 2013.

“Creativity is a small defiant act of misbehaving,” announced graphic designer Paula Scher in the opening presentation of the 16th international Design Indaba Conference yesterday morning. And with that small quotable quote, the titan of American design set the tone for a rather mischievous day full of unpredictable design solutions, MCed by the perennially dry Michael Bierut, Twitter darling Khaya Dlanga and bombshell-with-brains Michelle Constant.

Architectural and geographic typography

A partner at Pentagram design Paula showed a striking portfolio of her unique brand of “graphic design”, which she has termed environmental graphics. See, the bold typography and striking colours hardly ever sit on a page: she designs it for installation in architectural spaces and can turn the dullest school gym into a richly layered visual treat. On the side, her weekend art hobby so to speak, is to apply her typography to maps.

Hell, war, art, bras and shoes

The second speaker was Paula’s incorrigible octogenarian husband, Seymour Chwast whose imagination is wild and wit is wicked. His drawings and posters had the audience in stitches – from the satirical “War is good business, invest your son” and “High rise hell” showing a contemporary inverted revision of Dante (with the last level filled with spammers) to the delightful “Kama Sutra of Reading” and ridiculous book of bra fashions. Not to mention his shoe fetish (with lots of toe cleavage). Quotable quote: “I steal material sometimes, but only when it’s appropriate. I have my integrity.”

Government design

One of the Design Indaba survival tips is: never miss the speakers you haven’t heard of. Not only had none of us heard of Ben Terrett but his description as head of design for the UK government (as in he works at 10 Downing Street) sounded like a snooze cruise – and it could have been. But with such humility and insight he described one of the biggest information architecture and design projects ever: Taking 400 UK government websites and simplifying into one, gov.uk, with simple interface and easy enough for everyone to understand and find the information they are looking for.

The need for that in South Africa was evident by the number of appreciative tweets during his presentation. He also spoke extensively about the help he got from Margaret Calvert, the designer behind the UK road sign system that has become adopted almost all over the world. VISI magazine kindly pointed out to him that Margaret is South African.

The sound of a scribble

Next up, Alexander Chen, a creative director at Google, had everyone in the auditorium’s mouth hanging open in a stupor as he showed how he turned simple lines into pluckable guitar strings. His famous Les Pauls Google doodle is but one project, as he also showed his Bach machine and subway map instrument. The real showstopper however was the Google Glasses project in which he showed just how close we are to a science-fiction Minority-Report-type reality.

Visualising time

You know those people that just can’t help being what they are, that are in design mind 24-7? Oscar Diaz, a Spanish designer who studied and works in London, is one of those. Although his ink-absorption calendar is beautiful, we at VISI were particularly blown away by his pound-shop hacks in which he redesigned 10 products typically found in pound-shops. Probably we liked it so much because it speaks to the sensibility of proactive DIY that is in our DIY Deluxe edition. His RGB vase, which used  red, green and blue glass over each other to create yellow, also made us sit up straight.

Student freedom

Another highlight on the conference programme is always the student pecha kuchas. Perhaps it’s the freedom from commercial restraints that gives the student projects an extra sense of wow. This year Howard Chambers and Bland Hoke’s Softwalks project that added seats, tables and plants to city scaffolding; the gestural interactive digital sound instruments of Pieter-Jan Pieters; and the resuscitated prehistoric mammoths by Marguerite Humeau particularly stood out for us. And of course, our favourite, Leanie van der Vyver, born and raised in Paarl who created an internet sensation last year with her Scary Beautiful shoes – she is also featured in our DIY Deluxe edition.

The real gets more respect

Probably the most entertaining presentation of the day came from Japanese art and video director Masashi Kawamura. Starting with the philosophy of “By making something different you will get something different (no duh)” he went on to show just how his work really takes that principle so literally that the “process itself becomes content”. A synchronised crowd-sourced webcam music video, a music video using 250 camera flashes as pixels, a photobooth coupled with a 3d printer to create tangible family portraits and the dancing sperm music video. Dancing sperm? Uh yes, we warned you that this was going to get mischievous! As John Maeda said later: “You have to have a balance of the serious and the jackass to reflect true culture.”

New leadership for a new world

“Why would anyone choose to take the longer, harder route to do anything?” John Maeda mused after Masashi’s presentation? “Because it’s not the hard route, it’s the right route.” John’s presentation was meditative, talky and inspiring; one long string of quotable quotes of which we probably only managed to capture a few. He spoke a lot about traditional management and leadership vs creative management and leadership, as well as how this affects the design process, the start-up business and the “end-up” business. A brave new design world.

Read our higlights from Day 2 and Day 3 of the Design Indaba Conference.

Follow our Design Indaba coverage at visi.co.za/designindaba

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The influential Italian-based Memphis Design Movement, whose colourful stacked geometric shapes were the epitome of unconventional 1980s design, is experiencing an international revival, according to trend forecaster Li Edelkoort. Here on South African soil, collectors have the opportunity to purchase one of the Memphis Group’s most iconic pieces – an original Carlton Room Divider – at the upcoming Stephan Welz & Co Decor and Fine Arts Auction in Cape Town on Tuesday 19 and Wednesday 20 February.

Also known as the Carlton Cabinet or Bookcase, the Carlton Room Divider is valued at between R160 000 and R180 000, and is “a serious piece of Memphis design, epitomising all that the group stood for,” according to Anton Welz, Stephan Welz & Co managing director and furniture specialist. 

The Memphis movement was started in Italy in 1981 by Etore Sottsass with its focus on post-modern furniture, fabrics, ceramics, glass and metal objects, and comprised designers from a number of countries. The approach was kitsch and almost “anti design”.  It was a protest against the plain and humourless design of the 1970s and used cheap materials such as plastic laminates in bold and bright colours. The name Memphis was inspired by the Bob Dylan song Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again, which was played repeatedly during the evening when the group first met. The group was dismantled by Sottsass in 1988; however, the items designed as a protest against dull design have become classics in their own right, and are now highly collectable.

“Sales of Memphis originals have been strong in the past year, and we are always thrilled when these fun and quirky pieces, which are rapidly increasing in value, come our way, mostly from collectors who have lived overseas,” says Anton. 

Worldwide, Memphis is influencing designers, from fashion to textiles to home decor and furnishings. The geometric black, white and candy tones of Memphis are the natural stuff of inspiration for South African designers, according to trend forecaster Li Edelkoort, who is curating an exhibition on Memphis-inspired local designs at this year’s Design Indaba Expo (1 to 3 March), in Cape Town. In a piece published in the current “DIY Deluxe” edition of VISI magazine, Li talks about the liberation of South African design and its kinship with Memphis, with similarities between our township colours and the Italian 1980s colour palette, as well as “the stacking and layering of colour and materials, which delivers a totemic quality”. 

“One of the most iconic design objects ever is the Carlton Cabinet by Sottsass,” wrote Li. “It looks and acts like a totem with a strange African vibe, stretching out its arms to the world… The idea of stacking, storing, building and constructing new African totems is emerging; the world is looking to Africa to be inspired.” 

Other design highlights to be auctioned include rare books on South African architecture, as well as a distinguished collection of international street art by the likes of Faith47, Mr Brainwash and Shephard Fairey. 

The Stephan Welz & Co Decorative and Fine Arts Auction will take place Tuesday 19 February and Wednesday 20 February at The Great Cellar, Alphen Estate, Alphen Drive, Constantia.

Pre-auction viewing open to the public at no charge, on 15 February from 10am to 3pm, and 16 to 17 February, 10am to 5pm.

For more information: 021 794 6461, ct@stephanwelzandco.co.za, www.swelco.co.za

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We know that February means that the pressure is on to find the perfect gift for your darling. Are you feeling totally uninspired? We’ve decided to help you out with a few unique Valentine’s Day gift ideas to show your loved one just how much you care.

1. Mosaic Kits by Bit By Bit Mosaics 

VISI loves DIY! This do-it-yourself mosaic kit comes with a selection of red and mirror tiles, a wooden heart and glue. You can connect with your inner artist and create the heart yourself, or wrap up the entire kit for your Valentine.

2. Chocolate arrangements by Coco Gifts

“Nothing is more romantic than chocolate,” says foodie Ted Allen. These chocolate bouquets are a delicious twist on tradition. Gorgeous and available in many arrangements and flavours, you’ll be hard-pressed to pick the perfect bunch.

3. Grow Love with Me by Yoko Ono

This is Yoko Ono’s special-edition organic Valentine’s.  A “magic bean” with the word LOVE laser-etched on, is packaged in a can. As the seed grows the word shows on the inner cotyledon, and then on the first leaf. Cool or what?

4. Handcrafted love teddy bears and rabbits by Taunina   

Each Taunina soft toy is exquisitely embroidered and appliquéd by women from disadvantaged backgrounds. Each toy is completely unique and there are hundreds of designs for an extra special gift for your sweetheart.

5. The Love Range by My Wall Tattoos

These easy and simple wall decorations can invigorate even the drabbest of rooms. The Love Range is super cute and comes in various sizes to ensure they fit your wall, door or even fridge.

6. Sweet Heart by ascribe

A text or an email’s not the real deal when it comes to love notes. These heart-shaped chalkboards come in loads of colours and can be hung all around the house, ready for spontaneous sweet-nothings and inspirational scribbles.

7. Flame Heart by Hartedief

These wooden hearts are fitted with a hand-cranked music box and play one of 31 different tunes, ranging from Fly Me to the Moon to Old MacDonald. There are also various wing designs and paint effects to choose from.

8. Heart Tree Bookends by TinTown

Keep your bookshelf tidy and prop up those romance novels. These laser-cut metal bookends are stylish, cute and very practical.

9. Hearts Scatter Cushions by Shweshwe

Comfortable loving. These digitally printed 100% cotton twill cushions make great gifts to funk up a bedroom or living room.

10. Last, but certainly not least, the new VISI DIY Deluxe!

We can’t think of a better way to spoil your sweetheart than with a copy of our best yet! There’s something for everyone and you’ll be bowled away by our ingenious DIY ideas. Your Valentine is bound to be chuffed with this gift… who wouldn’t be?

Don’t forget to sign up to our weekly newsletter for the latest architecture and design news.

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We know you are going to love this collection of the best Smart Ideas that have appeared in the magazine over the past 12 years. Some of them originated within our creative team, a few were spotted for sale in design stores or online, and some of them we photographed in the homes of our readers.

What I’ve discovered about ideas like these is that they only happen when there is a need for a practical answer to a decor dilemma, such as when you need to conceal a bare light bulb while saving up for the designer light of your dreams, or when you look at the packaging and broken goods stacked up in your garage with new eyes. That’s when flat tyres, a bag of discarded phone chargers, keys left by lovers who slipped out the back door, and everything else that piles up while life happens, can be reinvented. Of course there are also all the objects we willingly hoard: the precious collections we want to present to the world in an unusual way.

Whether you want to create accents with colour, use objects from nature creatively, or style up a party venue for a special occasion, VISI’s smart ideas will show you how to rethink, recycle and revamp. The best part is that it looks great and costs little enough to enable you to restyle as often as you wish.

Although VISI’s former Johannesburg decor editor Klara van Wyngaarden and I got our hands really dirty scratching around in hardware stores and their dustbins, we would never have been able to bring these ideas to life without our team. The photographers were chosen for their brilliance, their love of DIY and their patience with our creative plans: they often had to jump in with “male logic” when a brilliant idea went up in flames (before the days of energy-saving light bulbs and LEDs), or a styrofoam masterpiece bubbled under the spray-paint nozzle. My heartfelt thanks to the team: Lise Avis, who spent hours in the archives collecting high-res images; Nadine Botha and Malibongwe Tyilo, who compiled the 32 Reasons to Always Love Smart Ideas (pages 123 to 184); Anton Pietersen, who put this issue together in such a fresh way that even I reconsidered some of the ideas for my apartment; Michelle Coburn who practised DIY on our words; and finally Sumien Brink, who made sure nothing slipped by without it being perfectly accurate and exciting at the same time.

Here’s to a 2013 filled with many more smart ideas!

Annemarie Meintjes has been VISI’s deputy editor since 2001. You can follow her on twitter @AM_VISI or follow her blog here.

Decorate our cover with cross-stitch and you could win a fabulous prize! Click here.

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