Coral Stephens Handweaving is a bespoke handweaving studio in Swaziland, which specialises in producing the finest hand-prepared and hand-woven textiles and carpets made from mohair, raffia, cotton and wool. 

Coral Stephens founded her business in Piggs Peak, Northern Swaziland in the 1940s. In this rural area she organised the purchase of mohair and trained spinners and weavers to produce unique fabrics. Through collaboration with designers her fabrics quickly achieved worldwide repute and the success continues today.

Production is for domestic, corporate and hospitality projects for the South African and international market. Products have a variety of applications – curtaining, carpets, upholstery, cushion covers, blankets and throws. Mohair curtaining is the cornerstone of the business however product range and materials have diversified and raffia curtaining as well as cotton are also popular. Mohair makes ideal curtaining and carpets and while it is soft, it is still durable and will last for decades. 

For more information, visit coralstephens.com or contact murrae@coralstephens.com

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Inspired by silence, seclusion and the ocean, the new Tulsi by Tara Hogan x Frances Van Hasselt rug range brings serenity to your space.

Cross-pollination and collaboration in design often results in magic – the transfer of a vision from one artform to another adding layers and meaning. The new Tulsi range by US artist Tara Hogan, and South African artist and weaver Frances Van Hasselt, is a meeting of minds and mediums where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.  

Van Hasselt, a Karoo based designer who works from one of the country’s oldest mohair farms, has a passion for traditional craftsmanship, and a legacy of collaboration. This new range finds the common ground between the tactile quality of paper, and the raw beauty of mohair. By translating Hogan’s minimal paper collages –  that explore ideas of seclusion, isolation and stillness – into rugs, Van Hasselt amplifies the simple beauty of the pieces. Bold, abstract and minimal, yet earthy, the designs are a homage to Matisse and the mysterious ocean life of Hogan’s native New England, in a calming pared-back neutral palette. 

‘Home is where we find ourselves at present, a space we believe should be filled with sacred and intentional items that bring about a sense of calm and joy,’ says Hogan. 

The collection is made up of five pieces – Rocksalt, Sticks, Eventide, Bateau and Jasumin – designed to imbue your space with a sense of serenity, and while functional by nature, they also easily command a space as a wall hanging. 

Pieces are made to order. 

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Designer and entrepreneur Frances van Hasselt creates beautiful mohair rugs that reflect all the uniqueness of their origins in the South African Karoo.

The arid, semi-desert landscapes of the Karoo are an acquired taste.

This is a place where extreme harshness – scorching heat on summer days, icy cold on winter nights – coexists with the delicate beauty of plant life, and where the bone-dry air is scented with dust, yet still clean and crisp. Sunrise and sunset are soft and subtle, the land stretches seemingly endlessly to the distant horizons, and the sky feels somehow higher above than it does elsewhere.

This is also a region renowned for its mohair. The mohair fibres produced by the angora goats of the Karoo are some of the best in the world, and prized around the globe (most especially in the textile centres of Italy and Japan).

And designer and rug maker Frances van Hasselt has always known about the superb quality of South African mohair: she grew up on her family’s farm, which is located outside the small town of Prince Albert and includes one of the oldest angora goat studs in South Africa.

Making each one of her rugs is a unique process for Frances: she is pictured above with one of her most recent rug designs, which creatively reflects the colours and textures of the Swartberg Pass, in which she is standing.

“When I am in the Karoo, I spend time outside walking, as this is where most of my inspiration comes from,” Frances says. The light and the colours, the patterns formed by the gravel roads and folded mountain ranges – all of these unique signifiers of place are reflected in her designs. These might be inspired by “the tiniest folds of a veld flower or the balancing act performed by rock formations”, she says, adding that nature’s most valuable lesson is that of simplicity.

For more information, visit francesvh.com.

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Cape Town-based studio Bofred recently launched The Homestead Collection, a new mohair rug range created in collaboration with Frances V.H Mohair Rugs.

The beautiful collection was inspired by the plains and shades of the Karoo, the home of the Angora goats.

The five designs that make up the range – Hill, Soil, Cliff, Shadow and Lake – mimic the settings as seen from above, of this much-loved area of South Africa, from river banks to rock formations.

The rugs are all delicately hand-woven from 100% mohair, making each one entirely unique.

Not only would one of these rugs make a beautiful addition to your space, they can also be hung from a wall as an original piece of art.

Medium rugs retail at R20 700 (1 800 mm x 2 500 mm), large at R27 600 (2 000 mm x 3 000 mm) and extra large at R44 700 (2 700 mm x 3 600 mm). Hill runners retail at R11 000 (medium – 800 mm x 3 000 mm) and R14 700 (large – 800 mm x 4 000 mm).

For more information and to shop online, visit bofred.co.za.

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A shared love of the Karoo landscape led to a collaboration between lifestyle brand Karu and mohair rug producer Frances V.H on a series of luxurious rugs.

The collaboration came about when Frances van Hasselt, founder of the hand-woven rug company Frances V.H, reached out to Karu’s founders on Instagram.

She had noticed familiar influences in Alexis Barrell and Fiona Mackay’s line of artisanal home textiles, sleepwear and clothing: a reverence for natural fibres, artisanal textile production and the evocative beauty of the Karoo. Alexis, who is Karu’s creative director, worked with Frances on the designs. The two launch designs are Patchwork, which references vintage quilting techniques, and Blok Huis, which pays homage to the simplicity of Karoo farmhouse architecture.

Part of the rugs’ appeal is the entirely local supply chain. The Van Hasselt family’s angora farm in Prince Albert supports ethical, sustainable mohair practices. After the washing and combing process, the mohair is hand-spun and -woven by skilled female weavers in the Eastern Cape. Each rug takes six to eight weeks to produce. They’re made to order, and colour customisation within the existing palette is possible.

Available from R5 500/m² through Karu.

For more information, visit francesvh.com and karu.world.

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Stay warm with Hinterveld’s expert tips on choosing the right winter bedding.

We South Africans are notorious for being ill-prepared and ill-equipped to deal with cold snaps. Keep cosy for the rest of the season with the help of these handy tips from Hinterveld for choosing the right winter bedding.

Covers and sheets

Natural fibres such as cotton or silk can breathe and are, therefore, good choices for winter, because they help to regulate body temperature and feel gentle against the skin.

Tog rating

When it comes to duvet inners, the weight and warmth are determined by the tog rating (ability to trap warm air) as well as the kind of filling used. For autumn and winter, you’ll want to aim for a tog rating of between 10 and 13.

Filling

Your choice of filling depends on your budget. Down, an effective natural barrier against the cold, is expensive. Cotton is cool and only really suitable for summer. Hollowfibre is good for people with allergies, and luxury microfibre offers the same features but with added softness and heat-retention properties.

Hinterveld’s luxurious products come in a variety of sustainable fibres, including wool, linen, alpaca and mohair. It’s a classy collection to suit all tastes, be it homage to New York with a slightly chunky weave in natural shades, or the Xhosa-inspired MaXhosa Africa range by Laduma Ngxokolo. | hinterveld.com

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Mohair may be synonymous with silky winter jumpers, but it’s a fibre with loads of interesting applications.

Mohair – which is made from the hair of the Angora goat – is suitable for use in furnishings and much more thanks to its hardwearing characteristics. 

IN THE CAR: Mohair is used for trimmings such as floor mats and convertible car hoods in certain models of Range Rover and Mini Cooper.

ON HORSEBACK: Soft, breathable and comfortable for both horse and rider, mohair is a preferred material for making girth straps.

STRIVING FOR SILENCE: Thanks to its sound-muffling qualities, mohair is a popular choice for sound-reduction panels in recording studios and theatres.

DOING DIY: Mohair paint rollers are most often used to apply solvent-based paints to smooth surfaces.

IN THE AIR: Mohair velour, a velvet-like fabric, is used for upholstering passenger aircraft bulkheads.

IN THE PURSUIT OF BEAUTY: Local artist Laduma Ngxokolo’s mohair-and-wool MaXhosa shawl was voted Most Beautiful Object in South Africa at Design Indaba 2016.

For more information on mohair and its uses, visit mohair.co.za.

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Stephanie Bentum’s company, Krafthaus, has just added a new home and fashion collection to its luxurious felt product range, made from the fleece of young angora goats and merino lamb’s wool.

Handmade by a small team of felters in the Hottentots Holland mountains near Somerset West, Krafthaus’s wares include scatter cushions, blankets and shoes. Soft to the touch, with that angora sheen that’s earned mohair the title of diamond fibre, the goods are utterly desirable, and made with the environment in mind.

Stephanie’s designs are inspired by the shapes of nature, but she’s gone all out with the palette – among her earthy hues are bright bolts of colours.

Her entrepreneurial spirit has her constantly exploring new design possibilities. To showcase the wool industry, as well as follow felt’s manufacturing journey, from the farmer to the end product, Stephanie has teamed up with wool processors Segard Masurel and SAMIL to present DDOT14, an official WDC2014 project.

Although DDOT14 has a charming ring to it, it’s short for a mighty mouthful – Design Development from Origin through Technology – and, like the name Krafthaus, it’s inspired by the German Bauhaus School, famous for combining fine art with craft back in the 1930s.

krafthaus.co.za

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Although trapped in the backwaters of the Karoo, without a hipster or a flat white in sight, no one was going to pull the wool over Debbie Loots’s eyes about the avant garde future of mohair. Viva the Jansenville International Mohair Summit! 

The small dorpie of Jansenville in the Eastern Cape recently got all fluffed up for its 2013 International Mohair Summit welcoming dignitaries and trendsetters with three days of fine food and wine, and lots of marvelous ideas of what on earth to do with mohair.

Thanks to funds from the industry as well as local and international government, Jansenville’s International Mohair Summit happens annually, which not only helps develop and grow local agriculture and provide jobs, it’s also an opportunity to showcase all the glamorous possibilities of mohair.

And a lot is possible, mohair’s influence reaches far and wide – it’s even big in Japan… well, at least for two of its residents! Incorporating mohair into their garments, seen at the gala-event fashion show, were Kaori Carmen Hotta and Sayo Takemoto. Their creations are really out of this world, so much so, we think they’d even turn British fashion stalwart Vivien Westwood green with envy! Why didn’t she think of it first – she on the forefront of all things fashion? 

Maybe the same reason many others (apart from the US’s first lady Michelle Obama, once, back in 2009) didn’t, which is that mohair is somehow classified as slighty oudedoos (old-fashioned). It is this perception that the Summit organisers are out to redress, among other important issues such as economic possibilities and growth, as well as community empowerment through job creation, of course. 

But back to the fabulous gala-event entailing a professional mohair fashion show in a ginormous white tent on the outskirts of Jansenville’s township with armed guards, flashing police cars and a red carpet as welcome – the stuff of movies! Like we said, the two Japanese students flown in specially to Jansenville, wowed the crowd – East meets West in a dorp where most of its inhabitants probably don’t know the meaning of samurai style. Amazing. Inspiring.

But, local fashion was just as lekker – the top third- and fourth-year Nelson Mandela Metropolis Univeristy design students and alumni – Laduma Ngxokolo and Kelly Esterhuyse – did not take a backseat when models pouted down the catwalk decked out in their fab, futuristic mohair garb. Alexander Mc-who?

The next day was full of inspirational talks, even the one on world economics and where the local agricultural industry fits into it all, had everyone at the edge of their seats (really). The most glamorous guest speaker of all, however, was Colin Cowie whose passion for mohair’s international possibilities had him waxing lyrically – and us swooning!

This New York-based, East London homeboy, took time out of his busy schedule as world-renowned wedding and event planner and BBF of Oprah, to share his view that mohair could be just the thing to put the lux back into luxury. He thinks that the rich man’s extravagances have lost their supershine somewhere along the way when global mainstream production giants shook its money-making possibilities lusterless. Enter mohair!

And, enter the exhibition hall later… Although sparse in its number of exhibitors, it displayed the usual mohair suspects: knee-blankets, throws, cushion and couch covers, socks, gloves and hats, the most interesting a fluffy baby-goat handbag. Then we spotted Colin!

www.mohairsummit.co.za

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Married to your mohair? Wedded to your wool? Nadine Botha explores why a blanket is the perfect partner for winter.

Most of us had a favourite blanket as a child. And whether it was called Blanky or Banky or Pinky or Lovey, it was supernatural. In seconds it morphed from blanket to teddy bear to tent to picnic to superhero cape to comforter. Being tied to our mother’s back was sublime, sleeping without it was unimaginable, and as for warding off the giant big-nose monsters…

Security blankets are for many of us the first inanimate object with which we create a relationship and find comfort in. Like Linus and his blanky in the Peanuts comic strip, dependence on these comfort objects can either evoke empathy or scorn in others.

Psychologists, however, regard them as a positive part of key developmental stages. Termed a ‘transitional object’, the security blanket eases us into independence from our mothers, and are said to facilitate learning as well as helping children adapt to new situations.

Recent research has also revealed that adults who have kept some form of comfort object (not necessarily a blanket) are more independent and better at dealing with stress. In Japan, many adults have traded up from blankies to robotic pets, while in the UK it is estimated that about 35% of adults still sleep with a teddy bear.

The blanket as comfort object is timeless. Weighted blankets are used in psychiatric care to treat everything from anxiety and insomnia to autism, Asperger’s syndrome and ADHD. They provide deep pressure and are described as a ‘firm hug’.

Dutch trend forecaster Li Edelkoort writes in her latest book, Fetishism in Fashion (win one of five copies by entering here), ‘Most babies are given a safety blanket that is meant to be a partner and protector, a cuddle to be cherished. Some people will hold on to that first bit of cloth for the remainder of their lives and will be very distressed when losing the cherished object. Therefore this first encounter with fibre and weave is responsible for many of our future encounters with fabric. We will continue to search for the same softness, a similar colour, an equal weight.’

A blanket as fetish object? Well, there’s no denying that wrapping yourself in a good blanket is a sensual experience and that, especially as adults, we often choose our blankets with as much care as we do our partners. We do, after all, have to sleep with it.

What makes a good bedmate? Natural, manmade or blended? Cotton, wool, mohair, merino, polyester or nylon? What about allergies? Matted, woven, knitted, felted or fleeced? Will it get too hot? Handmade or machine produced? What about microfibre and, even, electric? With the range of options on the market today, you should be able to find whatever you desire. You can even find one with sleeves, called a ‘slanket’ – not that it’s advisable to leave the house wearing a sleeved blanket.

If you’re having a Linus day and can’t get by without your blanket, rather take your cue from Louis Vuitton. Developing the hipster oversized scarf trend to its supersized conclusion, swanky men and women were seen wearing blankets across their shoulders and around their necks during the European winter. However, with Louis Vuitton’s blanky going for US$1 260 (about R12 600), it’s not likely to take off here any time soon.

Mzansi is the original home of blanket fashion. Many African people use blankets as cultural identifiers. Checked Masai blankets are widely known, and Zulu and Xhosa people also make use of blankets during initiation ceremonies and other rituals. The Basotho people in Lesotho and the Free State wear their tribal blankets throughout the year.

Deeply embedded in the Basotho culture, blankets are differentiated through striking colours and motifs, which indicate special occasions and social status. Originally produced in Britain, the blankets are now produced locally based on the patterns and colours integrated by the Basotho. To this day, the blankets are still made of 90% wool and 10% cotton, making them fire and rain resistant. Shnu Tribal & Basotho Blankets produce beautiful heirloom blankets, with royalties going to the Basotho nation.

Breathing new life into traditional blankets is young fashion designer Thabo Makhetha. Born in Lesotho and now based in Port Elizabeth, she showed a striking range of clothes and accessories made from Basotho blankets at this year’s Design Indaba Expo.

Laduma Ngxokolo, who’s known for his Xhosa-themed Fair Isle knit jerseys, has also collaborated with mohair weaving company Hinterveld on a range of blankets inspired by African culture, from the corn blankets of the Sotho to the burnt orange blankets of the Xhosa and the colourful throws of the Ndebele.

Just a rectangular piece of cloth – that’s all a blanket entails. Native Americans leave a flaw in the weaving to let the soul out, while Nasa coats plastic with a metallic film to create space blankets that conserve body heat in emergencies. So simple, so versatile, so indispensable.

First published in iMagazine, the glossy lifestyle magazine of City Press. Subscribe here, we do!

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