There is an intensity about Juditha Sakinofsky. But also a lightness. She is grounded but also appears likely to take flight. She has things to show and stories to tell. Her 55 m² one-bedroom apartment reflects all this.

A small apartment above a coffee shop in one of the oldest buildings in De Waterkant is home to an extraordinary woman. Well travelled, knowledgeable, enthusiastic and unpretentious. A woman who is at home and has been at home anywhere in the world.

Having returned to South Africa two years ago after spending many years living and working in Toronto and New York, Juditha Sakinofsky has settled in this space. If she could ever really settle.

“This is a sanctuary or a hideout,” Juditha says. “I’d hate for it to be a place of memories. Because it’s not. It’s a place of life.”

This colourful yet tranquil slightly overcrowded art-and book-and-fabric-and-antique and-the all-manner-of-beautiful things-filled home reflects a life being lived well.

“A life full of adventure,” Juditha says. “I am terrified of heights, but I’m constantly living on the edge. Everything in this place was once packed up in a box, albeit a big box – a shipping container – and taken to Toronto and later New York. And then it all returned home, back to Cape Town. A full circle. But now that circle has become an infinity loop. Because I’m constantly coming and going.”

A nomad needs a place to come home to. To breathe in before heading out again. This is that space. A very personal space.

“The table, bookcases and chairs belonged to my mother, and when I was 21 they became mine. A couple of years later I took another piece, the armoire. It wasn’t about monetary value. It was about all the things inside of it that were part of our lives. My brothers’. Our extended families’. The smell is still there. I like that there is an awkwardness about one of the drawers; it gets stuck. But I know how to fix it. I’ve known how to fix it since I was a little girl. And here I am at 61 doing exactly the same thing I was doing then.”

“Some of the antiques have cracks because they have been taken across the world from one climate to a completely different climate. In North America there is indoor heating and the air is dry, so there are these cracks. But these cracks are earned. And now that this armoire is back in South Africa I see that the cracks are filling up, because the air is kinder to the furniture.”

She could be talking about more than just the furniture. Juditha’s art collection is worthy of compliments. “Art sounds so fancy,” she says. “These are just pictures on the wall. But of course they have value. They are of value to my heart. They make me happy.”

And so it is that this small space becomes a home – because it is filled with the things of the heart.

The post Eclectic De Waterkant Apartment appeared first on Visi.

We have featured the bohemian creations of Juditha Sakinofsky in VISI before. Now, we’ve taken a fancy to her special take on the much-maligned soap-on-a-rope.

With more than 30 years’ experience in art direction, retail and media under her belt, inveterate traveller Juditha Sakinofsky was inspired by traditional soap makers in Syria to recreate her soap-on-a-rope concept.

Years ago, she moved from the local glossy magazine environment to Toronto and New York, where she honed her creative skills styling for magazines and television before moving into the gifting sector, where she began specialising in artisanal gifts made using materials sourced from as far afield as Turkey, Central Asia and North and West Africa. Tribal textiles are one of her great passions. Colourful, riotous prints adorn many of the textiles she uses to create the tote bags and smaller cosmetic bags in her range.

Now back in Cape Town, Juditha works with a small team from premises in Sea Point, creating gifts for local and international markets. Her latest offering looks as wearable as it is functional. Cubes of soap made exclusively for Juditha by Wild Olive African Artisans are gently coaxed into shape using the sharp edges of credit cards and bone-handled butter knives before being threaded onto cord or leather thongs.

“It’s a heady, therapeutic process of creation,” says Juditha. “The soaps can be slung around your neck and used in the shower, but they are just as good kept in their hand-made textile bags and hung in your wardrobe, where they will emit their fragrance for up to two years.”

They go for R495 a string at Africa Nova at the Cape Quarter and The Yard in the Silo District in Cape Town, and Ark Afrika in Franschhoek. For more information, visit juditha.co.za.

The post Juditha Sakinofsky’s Soap-on-a-Rope appeared first on Visi.

Juditha Sakinofsky’s big silk-and-cotton scarves make a geographical statement.

Juditha Sakinofsky’s beautiful silk-and-cotton-blend scarves feature digital prints of Cape Town scenes and vintage images that evoke nostalgia. “Most of the images have a story attached,” she says. “It all started with the Muizenberg Bathing Boxes and Vintage Sea Point Beachfront scarves, which were initially made for family, friends and fellow South Africans.

“I look for iconic images of places that are meaningful to me.”

Juditha, a 30-year veteran in media, retail and design, also works in home furnishings using hand-woven silk ikat and vintage suzani textiles. She started her career at local women’s magazines before emigrating to Toronto and then New York. While in the Big Apple, she and her brother Salvo launched the brand Found Object, which involved collecting, curating and distributing textiles and objets from Central Asia, Africa and Turkey. Now, she has returned to Cape Town to launch her new range of scarves in the place that inspired them.

The scarves can be worn as a shawl, which best exhibits the design; around the neck, as the fabric drapes fabulously; or as a sarong to the beach.

They’re available through Juditha’s website and at The Trading Company at Spice Route near Paarl.

The post Juditha Sakinofsky’s Scarves appeared first on Visi.