A clean slate for designers
signer James Mudge will portray the earthy colours using his love for solid wood.
A creative co-lab tapping in on the trend towards do-good design is the M-net Cares Café at the show. “We urge visitors to bring their second hand children's books and be part of this wonderful new initiative,” says Nika Smit, senior manager of Decorex’s special projects. This partnership between M-net Cares, Decorex Cape Town, Salvocorp (the official distributor of Staron by Samsung) and local designers support the MNet Naledi Children's Literacy Project. Aidan Bennetts, Katie Thompson of Recreate, Joe Paine and Goet will design bespoke children’s bookshelves, using literacy and typography as their cue.
At the Contemporary Country Fabric Trend Installation another collaboration expresses the yearning of urbanites to get grounded in the great outdoors and bring the rural spirit to their hard-edged city dwellings. Weaving together this fusion of country and city the Laurence Brick Creative Direction team leave no room for the bland. “It’s about textured fabrics with touch-me knitted upholstery, raw linen, natural wood and punches of acid yellow come together against a backdrop of the latest in wall covering — including ’70’s style wood-panelling,” says Smit.
Combining celebrity with creative collaboration is an innovative way to tie trends and charity. “This is what the Operation Man Cave design initiative is all about,” according to Smit. “It combines dogood design with men’s fantasies of their own space without a woman’s touch. Local celebrities representing charities of their choice team up with designers to build their ultimate ‘Man Cave’.”