of being Inspired

Suspended bottles of glass=great design with undoubtable class!

noreply@blogger.com (InspiredBlogger) — Sun, 18 Mar 2012 10:37:00 +0000

What do you get when you combine different elements and materials together, in the most brilliant of ways, to create a balanced, minimalist space? Nothing less than 'The Tasting Room', at Maison estate, Franschhoek, by Chris Weylandts (furnished with items from his own Weylandts line)

The most genius part in the design, and what really puts it over the top, are the suspended glass bottles-a handcrafted, one-of-a-kind chandelier! Original? Tick! Unconventional? Tick! Works nonetheless? Double tick! Just some of the reasons, among many, why this design is not only spectacular, but also speculated!

(Image from remodelista.com)

Here's to a great week! xoxo

-Design Indaba 2012, Cape Town- Part 2: Furniture & Decorative Items

noreply@blogger.com (InspiredBlogger) — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 16:39:00 +0000

NB-I've posted about the Indaba in a two-part series, so for the full coverage, don't forget to read Part 1 (Fashion at the Indaba) here: http://www.ofbeinginspired.blogspot.com/2012/03/design-indaba-2012-cape-town-part-1.html

The design Indaba was like the wild artist's palette-filled with all sorts of different colours, ideas, impacts, emotions and possibilities. From the contemporary to the traditionally African, from modern-day staples to the unconventional and lovably outlandish-the Design Indaba, Cape Town 2012, had it all.

Delicious Monster: Click for company website (new tab)

Delicious Monster's big chandelier-like structure. fashioned from an eclectic mix of materials and objects, was like a splodge of vermillion in a colour-palette of greys-it caught your eye straight away with its bold, unconventional aesthetic. Definitely a refreshing piece, and one of my favorites! Apologies for the bad picture, but photography restrictions at the Indaba mean that every photo came out rather badly.

Indigi Designs' metal stool, with a red-and-white patterned cushion at the Cape Craft & Design Institute was local and lekker! The piece was bright and had presence, just like its neighbour-the small, two-drawer side table, designed by Saks Corner.

High Thorn: Click for company website (opens in new tab)

Another great display was that of High Thorn's, a company using natural materials and hand-crafting techniques to construct their design. I loved their shaggy white chair and the lamp with the woven shade and interesting tube! In fact, I'm pretty sure I'd trade in my BLOG to sit on that chair...haha nope. I love my blog too much! (nerd love)

Isle of Trees I also loved, and not just because I am one of those annoying environmentalists that hounds people day and night. Their display (yes, they are environmentally-friendly, if you haven't figured that out), boasted a chair and lampshade that were both simple, yet highly effective. I loved the elegant, clean look to the chair, and the cardboard lampshade seemed like something that came out of Tinkerbell's residence!

Isle of Trees: Click for company website (opens in new tab)

Mart Projects had unique lamps made out of recycled materials that were cool in an off-kilter, eccentric sort of way. The guy at the stand, let's call him 'Mart', to simplify life, was kind enough to let me take pictures (but they still came out badly because I brought my brother's old camera) of their beautiful creations. I loved the two pieces, and upon checking their website, found this lovely piece-the Petalled Ampoule Couture-the definition of beauty!

The lovely 'Petalled Ampoule Couture.' (link)

Rebecca Jones' 'Frail Flower Sculpture'

Next-to-be-mentioned is Rebecca Jones' 'Frail Flower Sculpture' at the Mboisa section. I thought it was by far the prettiest thing in the entire Indaba, and in fact it has been nominated as the Most Beautiful Object In South Africa (which is, pretty obviously, what Mboisa stands for) If you want to cast your vote, head over to http://www.designindaba.com/news-snippet/most-beautiful-object-sa-2012-finalists to find out how!

And now, to cover the trends at the Indaba. A major trend was the cantilever lamp, seen at (left to right) Jan Douglas, Drift furniture, and at Cape Craft and Design Institute. Personally, I feel I've seen a bit too much of the cantilever, but hey, it's what's 'trendy' right now...
Secondly, many of the designers at the Indaba concentrated on being environmentally-friendly and eco-smart, whether by materials, crafting methods or other ways. This was a great thing to see, and Indaba, and South African designers, have definitely taken the high road by going down this path!

The many cantilevers at the Indaba

Martin Doller (link opens in new tab)

One designer that must definitely be commended is Martin Doller, for his fresh and somewhat-minimal aesthetic. His display showed lamps of many shapes and sizes; but all alike in the fact that each and every one was a unique design masterpiece. My absolute favourite was the little coiled number in the foreground-see how it will 'spring' into fame! (I shouldn't even try, honestly...that pun was worse than Juju's fall from what was never-quiet-grace).

The last of my favorites in the furniture and homeware section are these chirpy place mats, from Pepper Plum Designs (Oh look, another good pun!):

Pepper Plum Designs (link opens in new tab)

And now, we move to the decorative items. I've chosen two favorites- Simple Intrigue's book ornaments, which I thought were a work of absolute genius, and Molo Mimi's recycled art, which I thought was absolutely adorable!

Simple Intrigue (link opens in new tab)

Molo Mimi (link opens in new tab)

Because an article needs some sort of continuity, we've now rounded the palette, from vermillion to green to beige and back- the Indaba certainly offered a colourful exhibition, each section impacting and inspiring in it's own way.Pftt..Cape Town Design Capital 2014? Yeah, we've been there since forever. Cape Town, we got this in the bag!

Some links:
Saks Corner: http://www.sakscorner.co.za/
Indigi Designs: http://www.indigidesigns.co.za/

Hope you had a great weekend, and let's all try keep these smiles on our faces for Monday =P xoxo

-Design Indaba 2012, Cape Town- Part 1: Fashion

noreply@blogger.com (InspiredBlogger) — Sat, 03 Mar 2012 20:54:00 +0000

Filled with 'lekker' local talent, unique ideas and innovations, the Design Indaba showcased the very best of what South African design has to offer the world in a 3-day exhibition at the CTICC, and did even the most pessimistic of South Africans proud!

The CTFC section

As I hopped from one stall to the next (journal and camera in hand), swept onwards as fresh, locally-sourced innovation caught my eye, I felt what the atmosphere at the Indaba was all about-the aspiring and famous' alike love for design, and the belief that through it, we can better the world in all sorts of ways.

A friend of mine once coined Cape Tonian fashion as having a unique 'vintage feel to it', and as I buzzed around the Indaba, I realized this was true- over-all, the clothing style seemed to be vintage, with a bit of boho and romantic influences, and it was reflective of how many Cape Tonian girls themselves dress.

One section which particularly stood out was the The CTFC (Cape Town Fashion Council) section, featuring names like MosewaMosa, Selfi, Silverspoon Clothing, Good Clothing and others.

MosewaMosa had many cute and quirky dresses in their collection, my favorites being an elegant, white dress (I found the catalog picture for it too), and a fabulous beige dress.

Selfi had a wonderful little number, a colour-blocked dress with a navy Peter-Pan collar, which my classmates and I all agreed was a fresh and unique piece. Good Clothing had an adorable, classic coat, which I didn't manage to get such a good picture of due to the photography restrictions at the Indaba, so sorry in advance for the bad quality of the photos!

Other great clothing pieces that I liked were (from left to right) a dress from Dear Rae & Margot Molyneux (once again, sorry for the bad photos), another from Jenni Venter, a third from Kat van Duinen, and a fourth from August. Another impressive garment was the jersey and scarf from the mohair fabric display under the Emerging Designers section.

Coast & Koi

Coast & Koi also attracted attention with their shoewear stand, also at the CTFC. Their shoes offer a fresh take on classic shapes and style, re-invented and made fresh.

Spilt Milk, whose pieces I'd describe as being part boho, yet also having a classic sort of feel to them, deserves a mention too. Below are some pieces from their 2012 Winter collection:


The Spiltmilk stand

Some clothing from the Spiltmilk collection:

Christopher Strong was also one of my favorites, with an elegant aesthetic that should not go unnoticed; so here are two pieces I found particularly enticing from his winter collection:

Hubre Wahl's Milq & Honey should not be neglected from the list; though admittedly I admired some of the men's pieces as being from the womanswear collection. I adore the denim jacket, which as a woman, I wouldn't mind donning myself!

Over-all fashion trends observed at the Indaba included leather (especially where bags were concerned), old-fashioned big collars (which are definitely coming back into style!), transparent, silky materials being used as outer layers in garments, and mellow tones as well as grey, beige and khaki hues.

Chapel, a line making leather bags that was present at the Indaba. First three images from Mara Greenaway on Pinterest.com.

One piece I cannot leave out is a scaled dress by Suzanna Heyns, right by the entrance, which seemed to garner a lot of both positive and negative reactions. But isn't that what great design is all about? Creating a reaction amongst the people; using your creative expression to affect people and make them think again.

If one goes by that definition, then certainly, the Indaba has been a great success! But by whatever definition you construe what great design is all about, it can be guaranteed that the Indaba lived up to it! Inspirational, innovative, conceptual, original and uniquely South African-If Indaba 2012 is anything to go by, we've got Cape Town Design Capital 2014 IN THE BAG!

PS-Tomorrow I'm going to post Part 2-Furniture and Decorative Items, so stay tuned! =D

Some links (if it's not mentioned here, click on one of the company's pictures above to take you to the company website):
August: http://www.designindaba.com/exhibitor/august-profile
Dear Rae: http://www.dearrae.co.za/
Good Clothing: http://www.goodclothing.co.za/
Kat van Duinen: http://katvanduinen.com/
Margot Molyneux: http://www.margotmolyneux.com/
Selfi: http://www.selfi.co.za/
Silverspoon Clothing: http://www.silverspoonclothing.co.za/

Lotsa love and have a great weekend! xoxo

Elegance: Minimalism & Chairs

noreply@blogger.com (InspiredBlogger) — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 17:37:00 +0000

Minimalism is breaking down a design to its most basic elements; yet by doing so, giving the design the maximum effect. Pure, elegant and sleek are three words that can be used to describe minimalism, as well as some great chairs, either purely minimalistic, or more contemporary but with a slight minimalistic feel, that I have found and fallen in love with. Enjoy!

1. Branca, by designer Sam Hecht (London), is a wooden chair inspired by the growth of tree-branches. Made for Italian brand Mattiazzi (Milan)

2. Drawing on Japanese aesthetic, with small rubber feet, is the Fine chair by Olle Gustafsson.

3. By Naoto Fukasawa for Maruni, the Hiroshima chair collection (the Hiroshima armchair, left, and the Hiroshima chair, right) is simple yet highly effective. It blends traditional Japanese craft with new technology to develop 'a simple, subtle structure'.

4. Yonoh's Clo chair is not so minimalist as its listed counter-parts; however I still find it to have a somewhat minimalist quality because of the over-all simplicity of it-eg, the simplicity and the small amount of the detail as well as the simple materials. It is inspired by Japanese traditions and made out of beech and cotton rope.

5. A contemporary version of the famous Scandinavian timber chair, the SB-Cuatro, from BRUNNER Studio (Copenhagen), is cute and flawless.This chair too is not so minimalist, but has a clean, elegant and basic look which is in accordance with the other chairs on this list.

Have a GREAT weekend! xoxo

Japanese Packaging

noreply@blogger.com (InspiredBlogger) — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 18:55:00 +0000

Recently, I have come across Japanese packaging. Different than our usual packaging, it presents itself to be an artwork and makes the product better than what it would've been, had it been wrapped in plastic and cardboard. In my opinion, it's classy, attractive and grabs your attention, but not because it's big and bulky but because standing on its own, it's a piece of art. What do you think? Enjoy :)

Products (Starting at the left:)
Row 1- a) A gift set, by Seikan'in, with 5 watermelon jellies. [Image: Pingmag]. b) A bamboo-like container, by Furyudo, with 'mizu-yokan' (azuki bean jeally) inside. [Image: Pingmag]. c) The packaging for a confectioner, Koujuken, designed to resemble a flower. [Image: Pingmag] d) Cute animal matches [Image: The Dieline]
Row 2- a) A banana-flavoured juicebox designed by Naoto Fukasawa [Image: 1stwebdesigner.com] b) A Mizu-Yokan sweet package by Kogetsu. [Image: Pingmag] c) A set of 5 'sasa-dango' dumplings, wrapped in bamboo grass. [Image: Pingmag] d) A tea package wrapping by the Nakane-en teashop in Lida. [Image: Pingmag]
Row 3- a) Cleverly-designed fruit-shaped Sticky Notes, by D-Bros [Image: www.1stwebdesigner.com] b) Rice cracker gift-set by Shikibunosato in Kyoto. [Image: Pingmag) c) A sweet-chestnut-flavoured small cake, by the Morihachi confectionery in Kanazawa. [Image: Pingmag] d) A cute and simple packaging design, by Rise Design, for the Milk Forest Brand. [Image: Vizeer] e) Tohato Caramel Corn snack packaging. [Image: Japan-Talk]
Row 4- a) A boat-shaped package, bt Marushin, for natto, from the Kujigawa area in Ibaraki. b) A clever way to package a set of clothespins [Image: www.globalpackagegallery.com] c) Packaging (made of rice straw) to carry five eggs. [Image: Hideyuki Oka]. d) [Image: www.postcardsfrombattersea.blogspot.com] e) Awamori, an alcoholic drink, jugs from Okinawa [Image: Notcot.org] f) The Akanbe Felt Bag, which can also be used as a mat [Image: JP Design].

Have an absolutely great week! xoxo

My Personal Water Wonderland: Photography by Zena Holloway

noreply@blogger.com (InspiredBlogger) — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 19:11:00 +0000

Zena Holloway is a top photographer,
who evolved from being a scuba instructor to being one of the most famous in her field. Her photographs, specializing in underwater scenes, are absolutely magical and have an undoubted touch of fantasy to them. She captures images so enchanting and dreamy, ones that we could only hope to otherwise find in the deepest, wildest depths of our imaginations. I hope these images inspire you as much as they have inspired me. They are like my personal Water Wonderland!

To see more images, visit:
http://www.zenaholloway.com/indexzena.html
(There is some nudity in the images)

Lots of love from down here in SA, and truly hoping that wherever you are, life is good
for you right now! Have a great evening!
xoxo

Warning: Some of the images displayed
below contain a bit of nudity.

Weedrobes: Clothed by Nature

noreply@blogger.com (InspiredBlogger) — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 18:51:00 +0000

Weedrobes, created by artist Nicole Dextras, is a collection of clothes created entirely out of natural materials-leaves, twigs, flowers etc- that aims to 'raise awareness about the impact of industry on our eco-system,' as well as show us how 'our most effective tool for change is for consumers to demand more equitable products.' Nicole's Weedrobes philosophy is also about 'being a free thinker' and 'creating one's own sense of style.'

Not only does Weedrobes cause us to think about our relationship with nature, but it goes beyond that-it's a work of art. Here are my personal favorites from the breath-taking Weedrobes collection:

From top left, going clockwise (excluding close-up images): Hydrangea Debutante, Yucca Prom Dress, Crab Apple Gown, Camilla Countessa.
Images from www.nicoledextras.com

Visit http://www.nicoledextras.com/ to see more of Nicole's artwork and the rest of the Weedrobes collection! =D

Heath Nash-Green Design

noreply@blogger.com (InspiredBlogger) — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 15:14:00 +0000

Check out these lamps made out of recycled material by South African designer (#local pride!) Heath Nash. This is going green in style, what with the products having such a fun, hip, and unique design! :D Thumbs up for Nash, for taking his product beyond just being environmentally-friendly, to also being something with an original and fresh aesthetic! :D

If you want to see other designs and learn more about the designer and his work, visit Heath Nash's website: http://www.heathnash.com/others.php

Be green, and have an awesome day! xoxo

Elie Saab 2011 Spring Couture

noreply@blogger.com (InspiredBlogger) — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 19:22:00 +0000

I'm always a bit skeptical of couture lines, to be honest. I just find them too....much. Too weird. It's almost like some couture lines try so hard to be the most different out there and end up just plain strange and unexplainable. Like, a model walking down the runway looking like a lamp-what?! That's just my personal opinion.
However, I have been completely blown away by Elie Saab 2011 Spring Couture. These gowns have a most beautiful design aspect to them. I love how they're so soft and whimsical, like they've come off the bodies of fairies in spring.

Sorry for the blurr factor :P Have an awesome Wednesday!