Innholdsfortegnelse for Vol. 12 (Reframe) i House and Leisure

LOOK / people Masego Morgan Fashion This loveable designer-cuminfluencer is grooving (and crocheting) her way towards a holistically sustained future, which incorporates and heroes the slow fashion movement, in an inclusive, approachable and realistic way. Masego shares, ‘When it comes to sustainable fashion and lifestyle, reframing means acknowledging that there is no such thing as “perfectly” sustainable. Instead, practising sustainability is about small changes that have big impacts — like repairing your clothing before replacing it.’ @masegomorgan Max Melvill Architecture To Max Melvill, ‘Creative practice is collective practice’, which means collaboration is a core part of how he works. Co-founder of the design-led spatial practice The MAAK, as well as the multidisciplinary shared project space The Ramp, Max is also an architect and industrial designer – encouraging people to think…

LOOK / art in collaboration with Investec Cape Town Art Fair ‘The real question is: what is being said with the art?’ That handful of words from Folakunle Oshun, the director of the Lagos Biennial, is a rallying cry. Oshun shared it with Artsy as part of a feature asking a group of curators to predict trends that will define 2024. Throughout the piece, he reiterated the opportunity and imperative for the art world to give more room to the ‘sticky’ issues and to the artists and communities who have something to say but who have not been given the platform on which to say it. Because the world is currently powered and, in some instances paralysed, by the wealth of geopolitical, social and environmental crises, whether they appear in the…

Vusi Ndlovu, Boma on Bree, Cape Town The Mother's City's food scene got even hotter last year with the opening of Boma on Bree, a celebration of open-fire cooking, which was named Best New Restaurant in South Africa at the 2023 Eat Out Woolworths Restaurant Awards. Founding chef Vusi Ndlovu used robust smoky flavours to bring new sizzle to simple, familiar dishes – think jaffles with 90-day-aged Comté cheese and blatjang, the original Mrs Balls chutney (pictured right); Karoo honey cake with burnt milk ice cream; and charred leeks inspired by Simba cheese-and-onion chips (pictured left). ‘The idea with Boma's menu was to tap into nostalgia and simpler times. That, paired with fire, allowed us to create a menu that guests love,’ says Vusi. ‘The key was research and being…

Johannesburg architect Joe van Rooyen and his partner Jacques Rinquest weren't really looking to move when a friend cajoled them into coming to see a flat in one of the city's most interesting mid-century apartment blocks. Joe has a special place in his heart for the city's highly eclectic mix of heritage architecture, which has borrowed influences from around the world throughout its history. The block in question, Killarney Hills, dates back to the late 1950s and early 60s when cutting-edge Joburg architecture was deeply influenced by the tropical modernism of Brazil. Tales of its rather glamorous past - and the daring way many avant garde artists of the era collaborated on aspects of its design convinced Joe and Jacques to have a look. It is at the end of…

Sanctuary is a word that has long been associated with home. Beyond its function as a place to shelter, a dwelling should ground its occupants and offer a sense of ease that contrasts with the busyness of our modern lives. That much is true for the owner of this Johannesburg apartment. A lawyer with a challenging schedule and regular work trips carving up the year, calm ranks highly in her hierarchy of home requirements. After renting just two floors below, she jumped at the opportunity to purchase the 170m2 flat in a coveted Joburg block. But not before calling on Ivan McCarthy, an architect and close friend, to cast his eye over it. The building has distinctly modernist leanings, its sheer glazed façade and sweeping horizontal lines resting lightly upon…

DIGEST / journal guest editor's note By the time you read this I will have launched my latest venture, a programmed venue called Mamakashaka & Friends. Home to our experiential brands and to collaborations with creatives we've long admired. I have spent the better part of my career creating platforms for emerging ereatives, building community mostly on what I can do for others. For this latest phase of my career I've committed to a path whose most prevalent theme is collaboration — creating with others. When I was asked to set the tone for this chapter of House and Leisure, with its theme of collaboration, I thought well, look at that! And right on cue all the ‘trust the timing of the universe’ clichés came rushing to the fore. But, still…

Why are restaurant collabs, pop-ups and takeovers everywhere, and why do we love them so much? As I type this, Will Guidara's weekly Unreasonable Hospitality newsletter lands in my inbox with a focus on, you guessed it, collaboration. Will is the former coowner of Eleven Madison Park restaurant in New York. During an epic and elaborate restaurant swap between the Eleven Madison team and Grant Achatz's Alinea team, they realised that not only are collaborations a great way to enhance (and perhaps change) how the public thinks about you, ‘but these collaborations are also a fantastic way to enhance your own culture. The takeover showed us how powerful it was to collaborate as a collective.’ According to an Eater feature, we hit ‘peak restaurant collab’ in 2023 and ‘restaurants joining…

MOOD / editor's note We're celebrating 30 years of House and Leisure, which means 30 years of covering the creative community. It also means we've seen some pretty incredible things along the way. And more than a few impressive homes. One thing all of these inspiring places have in common? The art. What's amazing to see every time we enter someone's home or space, is how they live with art (artworks, objects OR decor), and how they each choose to display it: framed or unframed, hung up, or nonchalantly leaning against a wall, intentional or accidental. And most interestingly, what they all consider to be art. We've seen it all, and we're here for it. The eye of the beholder, right? When we relaunched in 2021, LOOKBOOK Studio - our…

Bielle Bellingham: Contributing Design Editor Design for the Real World by Victor Papanek (Thames & Hudson) Whether you're a designer or not, this book provides valuable insights into creating a better world through design. It's a timeless classic that continues to inspire and educate readers on the significance of design's real-world impact. Jackie May: Contributing Sustainability Editor The Day the World Stops Shopping: How Ending Consumerism Saves the Environment and Ourselves by JB MacKinnon (Ecco) Capitalism depends on consumption, which is driving the planetary crisis. Journalist JB MacKinnon offers thought experiences that explore what it means to consume (far) less and better. Read it if you're interested in our future. Zanele Kumalo: Contributing Art Editor The Story of Art Without Men by Katy Hessel (WW Norton & Company) This simply…

LOOK / interiors In the last year, artist Justin Brett has burst into the design landscape, capturing the attention of viewers with his distinctive sculptural art forms. Last year, his ceramic objects appeared at Investec Cape Town Art Fair, RMB Latitudes (both with Reservoir gallery) and at 100% Design. This year he's working on a double-storey sculpted wall mural for the foyer of a new Joburg art gallery designed by Tonic. His method is anything but conventional, and so it's no surprise that his own home and studio space follow suit. Though it seems ‘sudden’, Justin's rise to art fame is preceded by a Master of Fine Arts degree, a decade of lecturing painting and sculpture at Michaelis in Cape Town, and a career in drawing, painting and sculpture. His…

Towards the end of a short cul-de-sac in Vredehoek, an interesting-looking façade juts out of line from all of the other surrounding townhouses, differentiating itself immediately. This is the place that artist Jono Dry calls home. His dream home, in fact. ‘About eight years ago a friend and I moved into a tiny apartment - just a stone's throw away from this house,’ explains Jono. ‘We very quickly began exploring the neighbourhood and I discovered this row of townhouses right at the base of Table Mountain. Since then, I've desperately wanted to own one, but at that point it seemed fairly unobtainable.’ Fast-forward a few years - as Jono's career gained momentum and the pandemic caused an extreme dip in the housing market's prices - and the out-of-reach suddenly seemed…

Cape Town's City Bowl, bounded by the ocean on one side and the face of Table Mountain on the other, sports many apartment buildings - but only a few are instantly recognisable to its denizens. St Martini Gardens is one: mention the building by name, and anyone who's spent time living or working in the city will know what you're talking about. They might even mention St Martini Gardens’ beautifully kept central courtyard garden, complete with large outdoor swimming pool; or its impeccable Modernist architectural credentials; or its excellent location on the edge of the verdant Company's Garden park. The building was designed by German-born, Bauhaus-trained architect Pius Pahl, who moved to South Africa in 1952. And the Bauhaus principle that design and function should always work seamlessly together is…

DIGEST / space Rosebank's leafy streets have always been part of Joburg's creative lifeblood, and over the last five years promises of an ‘art mile’ for the city and significant architecturally bold developments across the suburb have really started to take shape. Now, with the arrival 223 Jan Smuts - a new creative hub that opened in December 2023 — the mile has another key anchor, and the city's ambitions for a connected arts and design district are suddenly starting to look a lot more real. The extensive project is spearheaded by Berman Contemporary and Candice Berman Gallery (one of the few guild-certified framing houses in SA that frame at museum grade), whose founder, Candice Berman, has set out to create an exciting collaborative space where artists, designers and creative…

DIGEST / art What happens when a gallery's pristine walls and floors are remade into an open studio that embraces artists as they switch between curators and mentors and artists, all under one roof? Described by its creators as ‘works in progress’, Occupying The Gallery's second run wrapped earlier this year and was the brainchild of Johannesburg-based artists, mentors, curators, creative entrepreneurs and partners, Mary Sibande and Lawrence Lemaoana. Balking at tired adages such as ‘stay in your lane’ or ‘master of none’, Mary and Lawrence initiated the project last year as ‘an intersection of an artist mentorship, a residency, curatorial project and a makeshift market’. First launched at Keyes Art Mile's Gallery 1 in collaboration with local printmaking studio Danger Gevaar Ingozi, and then moving on to SMAG Gallery…

LAST WORD There comes a deeply uncomfortable moment, in the middle of a game of Bananagrams, when you are compelled to give up a word you believe to be darn right impressive, tremendously clever! This moment is met with mental and emotional disquiet. The other players, absorbed in their own 21 tiles, have not noticed the genius of your work or your careful construction. There is a kairos* moment, a moment to let go and reframe, to reorganise your letters. You must once again employ your genius to form entirely new word(s), giving up your delicious word for the possibility of more words, perhaps not as sexy as your beloved word but words that might form a basis for a new construction. As your tiles click clack on the table,…

Trace, tap, snip, splice, stick, crinkle, toss. It's become an annual event of ASMR (autonomous sensory meridian response — or, a pleasant tingling), complete with scissors, glue, paper cuts, secrets and self-actualisation. I think we may have begun the tradition of cutting up our favourite magazines and refashioning them into vision boards, around six or seven years ago. Most often, this kind of ceremony happens at the start of the year. We'll gather around a kitchen or dining table to reflect on the year behind us, and collage what we want to introduce into our lives and what we want to let go of. The things we want to cut the cord from might land up written on a piece of paper and then burned to ashes. The text or…

Innova Concept Store Tonic Design Crema Design Bofred Minotti Cape Town (Limeline) Establishment LIM *For more decor product credits, see the final page in our Shop the Look lookbook.…

LOOK / trend Cape Town's AKJP has recently added a cafe/bar to their offering, making this Kloof Street concept store a one-stop spot for the best in local clothing, jewellery and leather design, niche print publications and now the city's best vodka Martinis – made from locally distilled vodka, of course. In the words of Andy Warhol, ‘They always say that time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself.’ This is a truth Cape Town designer, artist and concept store owner, Keith Henning, knows all too well. From selling canvas backpacks at the Old Biscuit Mill's Neighbourgoods Market to the recent launch of AKJP Bar, Keith's brands have remained relevant through collaboration, re-imagination and most importantly, creativity. When the store opened – it was previously a video…

A charming cottage on a quaint, tree-lined cobbled street in the heart of Green Point, Cape Town, recently underwent a captivating transformation to create a new home for Pieter Malan and Wynand van Dam. Pieter is an architect and partner at Malan Vorster Architecture and Interior Design, while Wynand is head interior designer at Basalt Home. The cottage is part of ‘T Groenehof, which was declared a historical monument in 1964, and has a rich history dating back to the 1800s. It tells tales of a bygone era, having served as slave quarters, farm workers’ homes, and a barn within the Victorian estate formerly known as the De Goede Verwachting farm. Pieter's approach to the renovation went beyond the ordinary. It wasn't just about restoring the physical structure; it was…

From securing heritage and council committee approvals to dealing with unforeseen structural challenges, renovating an historic home is complex in design terms and costly in execution. And so it was with this Victorian cottage in Tamboerskloof, Cape Town, which was built in 1904 and set in a terraced row of houses on one of the suburb's most charming tree-lined streets. Fortunately, the home's careful and multi-year renovation process was overseen by one of the city's prominent interior designers, who also happens to be its co-owner and the founder of his own quantity surveying practice. Dawid Augustyn has been combining left-brain precision (in the form of his quantity surveying expertise) with right-brain creativity as the managing director of ESTABLISHMENT, his interior design business, for the past 18 years. The house had…

There's an adage that says you should buy the worst house in the best area. It may be a tad hyperbolic, but the sentiment rings true: look for gems in unexpected places, and you might just unearth a treasure. This is the case with Liesbeth and Gavin Slabbert's family home in Stellenbosch. Rozendal is a quiet suburb, where the yards are mid-century massive and the trees majestically old and deeply rooted. Established in the early 70s, the area still houses some of its first residents - retired professors, community pillars - with one of the Slabberts’ neighbours even being the original builder. It's a leafy respite from the gleaming new developments sprouting up around town - and a fortuitous find for a young family that loves to entertain. But they…

DIGEST / fashion When fashion designer Luke Radloff wanted to explore knitwear for a collection for his brand UNI-FORM, he reached out to South African designer Natalie Green. Luke was aware of his limits and knew that Natalie was an expert from following her on social media. ‘Knitwear is such a beautiful craft, and I loved that Natalie knows it so well and uses local fibres.’ Pooling their skills and experience, they created what has quickly become known in fashion circles as ‘that iconic dress’. Knitted in plain stitch using a neutral-coloured yarn made up of wool, mohair and viscose, the dress has appeared in several fashion editorials and at Nigeria's Arise Lagos Fashion Week in February 2023. When Luke and Natalie visited my Gape Town office in January to…

LOOKBOOK Follow our lead and use colour, form, texture and pattern from your favourite piece to create a cohesive and connected space. Cover image: Adele van Heerden, inside Outside, 2021, @adelevanheerdencreative.…