The 100% Design South Africa pavilion at Decorex Cape Town, which runs from 1 – 5 May 2019 at the Cape Town International Convention Centre, is titled 100% Extraordinary, and will be showcasing a series of unusual designs from leading local brands.

The display of creative and unusual objects is a collaboration between the curators of 100% Design South Africa, Platform and local manufacturers and designers.

The theme, Botanical Office, explores an alternative idea to ordinary, bland office spaces, pushing the boundaries of what co-working spaces and open-plan offices have become over the years.

“The botanical theme is a no-brainer for me,” says Creative Director of 100% Design South Africa, Cathy O’Clery. “I feel people have a huge desire to connect with nature these days and I see no reason why this can’t come into a workplace. Cape Town is a beautiful city surrounded by the most extraordinary nature – there is no reason not to bring that into a space where we spend the majority of our time.”

Each brand and its respective design pieces have been carefully curated and chosen in consultation with Cathy, with the intention of pushing boundaries.

“In keeping with the intention of this year’s pavilion, I have chosen products and pieces from designers whose work already stands out,” says Cathy. “Ordinarily, their designs are gloriously idiosyncratic and unmistakably their own, but for 100% Extraordinary they have progressed this even further, into exciting, fresh territory.”

Participants in 100% Extraordinary include furniture designers Kino and Houtlander; textile designer David Bellamy; ceramic artists Louise Gelderblom and Mervyn Gers; lighting designers Hoi P’loy; office furniture manufacturers Entrawood and carpeting specialists MONN.

100% Extraordinary at 100% Design South Africa will be held at Decorex in Cape Town from 1 – 5 May 2019 at the Cape Town International Convention Centre. For more information, visit 100percentdesign.co.za.

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Not all readers are good cooks, which may make hosting book club a stressful affair. This is what inspired artist Louise Gelderblom to write a cookbook for bibliophiles.

“I think of entertaining as a little show that I put on, and I really enjoy the preparations as much as the actual event, says Louise, an artist who is best known for her ceramics. “It’s a sort of a zen activity, and I really believe food tastes better when the cook has been completely present mentally in the preparation thereof.” We selected a recipe from her book for a dish to serve at book club on a warm summer’s evening.

Enjoy these individual puff-pastry tartlets with drinks and good conversation.

Makes 18 Tartlets
2 tbsp olive oil
2 medium onions, thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 tsp caster sugar
1 tbsp picked fresh thyme to taste
salt and freshly ground black pepper
250 g all-butter puff-pastry sheets, thawed but still cold
1 free-range egg, beaten
18 anchovy fillets, drained
18 stuffed green olives

1. Heat oil in a saucepan and fry onion over a gentle heat for 10 minutes or until soft and just starting to colour. Add garlic and caster sugar, and fry for 5 minutes or until the onion is golden, stirring frequently to prevent sticking. Remove from the heat, stir in thyme and season with salt and pepper.

2. Preheat the oven to 200°C and grease a baking sheet or line it with baking paper.

3. Roll the pastry out on a floured surface to measure 15 cm x 30 cm. Trim to neaten. Cut the pastry rectangle into 5 cm squares. Transfer the squares to the baking sheet, leaving a bit of space between them. Brush the tops of the pastry squares with beaten egg.

4. Top squares with onion mixture, leaving a little border. Cut each anchovy fillet into 2 long strips and lay them in a cross on each square. Top with an olive. Bake for 10–15 minutes or until the pastry is golden on top.

5. Serve warm or at room temperature.

VARIATION: Substitute the anchovies with a thin slice of Chevin goat’s milk cheese or crumbled blue cheese.

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Not all readers are good cooks, which may make hosting book club a stressful affair. This is what inspired artist Louise Gelderblom to write a cookbook for bibliophiles.

“I think of entertaining as a little show that I put on, and I really enjoy the preparations as much as the actual event, says Louise, an artist who is best known for her ceramics. “It’s a sort of a zen activity, and I really believe food tastes better when the cook has been completely present mentally in the preparation thereof.” We selected two recipes from her book for dishes to serve at book club on a warm summer’s evening.

Vegetable Summer Rolls with a Peanut Dipping Sauce

You can add or substitute any vegetables you like in these Vietnamese spring rolls.

Makes 20 Rolls
Warm water, to soak rice-paper wrappers in
10 rice-paper wrappers
1 large carrot, peeled and julienned
1 large cucumber, seeds scraped out with
a teaspoon and julienned
½ large red sweet pepper, julienned
1 avocado, thinly sliced
A big handful of fresh coriander, basil and mint, chopped
5 large soft lettuce leaves, thinly sliced
Sesame seeds, to garnish

Dipping Sauce
½ cup peanut butter
½ cup plain yoghurt
A handful of fresh coriander, finely chopped
1 tbsp hoisin sauce
1 tbsp soya sauce
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 red chillies, seeded and finely chopped
1 tbsp lemon juice, or more to taste
2 spring onions, finely chopped
2–4 tbsp warm water, or more as needed

1. Pour warm water into a shallow flat bottomed dish slightly bigger than the wrappers. Working with one wrapper at a time, submerge it in the water for 20 seconds, remove and lay on a smooth surface like a plastic chopping board. You want the wrapper to be soft yet slightly firm and pliable. Pat it with kitchen paper to remove excess water.

2. Place a few strips of each of the vegetables, a slice of avocado, a generous sprinkling of herbs and some lettuce ribbons on the bottom third of the wrapper. Do not overstuff the roll; it will be difficult to roll up and awkward to eat. To roll the wrapper, bring the lower edge up and over the filling, fold in the two sides, and roll the whole thing up using your fingers to tuck in the filling as you go. Roll it tightly.

3. Cut the roll in half and place it on a serving platter. When you’ve done them all, sprinkle with sesame seeds.

4. To make the dipping sauce, mix all the ingredients except the water. Add warm water to thin the mixture to the desired consistency. Serve in a bowl.

TIP: If you are making the rolls in advance, place them in a large flat container on a sheet of baking paper without them touching. Cover the container very well with plastic wrap and store in the fridge. Bring back to room temperature before serving.

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Lees in Afrikaans.

Laduma Ngxokolo on display next to Le Corbusier in Europe? South African design features prominently in an exhibition hosted by Helsinki, World Design Capital 2012.

This week in Helsinki saw the opening of the International Design House Exhibition, a World Design Capital 2012 signature event, titled Everyday Discoveries. Housed in Helsinki’s old power station, Kattilahalli – and extending into an outdoor shipping container village and urban gardening installation in surrounding Suvilahti – the exhibition showcases the best examples of design solutions from 23 countries, created by over 100 designers.

South African designs feature prominently in the core exhibition, which is divided into six themes: icon, innovation, invisible, reinterpretation, imagination and get-together.

Up-and-coming young Eastern Cape knitwear designer Laduma Ngxokolo’s Xhosa-inspired sweaters share the ‘icon’ category with everything from Le Corbusier’s chaise-lounge to the Rubik’s Cube. The Hippo Water Roller is displayed in the ‘innovation’ category alongside hi-tech designs including a toilet that automatically composts waste and recycles water, while an installation of Dolos breakwater protection blocks shares the ‘invisible’ category with items like energy-efficient light bulbs and Italy’s classic stove-top coffee maker.

Cape Town’s pooch paradise, De Waal Park, features in the ‘imagination’ section via the illustrated children’s book and innovative iPad app, Bonsai and Geronimo Go To The Park. In the ‘re-interpretation’ exhibit, an elegant ceramic vessel by Andile Dyalvane of Imiso Ceramics references Xhosa scarification marks, with red markings sliced into the bone-coloured ceramic flesh.

The core exhibition is curated around a central spine featuring an impressive 20m-long dining table that brings together all the featured countries, hence the title ‘get-together’. Here, Haldane Martin’s Zulu Mama chair is paired with Cape Town ceramicist Louise Gelderblom’s giant etched plates and 100% recycled glassware, designed by Source’s Trevyn McGowan and chef Reuben Riffel for Ngwenya Glass.

The International Design House Everyday Discoveries exhibition runs from 6 to 16 September 2012, coinciding with Helsinki Design Week, and is expected to attract tens of thousands of visitors and press from across the globe.

Originally published on the Cape Town World Design Capital 2014 website. Like them on Facebook and follow them on Twitter – we definitely do!

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