16. A look at the AFRICAN JACQUARD fabric brand and its founder Christine Daron

African Jacquard designs, weaves and manufactures unique combinations of 100% French linen and African cotton in the heart of Cape Town.

The African Jacquard story began when Frenchborn Christine Daron first came to Africa 35 years ago. Aer 11 years in Gabon and travels through the Congo, Angola and Burkina Faso, Christine decided to make South Africa her home in 1997.

While she had managed interior design projects in Angola, Tanzania and Congo in the early 2000s, weaving her own fabric in Cape Town felt like a natural step to satisfy the needs of her clients. Using mainly cotton and linen, Christine decided to adopt the Jacquard style of weaving, in which the intricate woven patterns created are fully reversible and displayed on both sides of the fabric. And so African Jacquard began in 2014, at first making only tea towels and tablecloths.

Projects for Babylonstoren and Angama Mara lodge in Kenya happened during this time – African Jacquard still supplies the former with textiles today. In mid-2018, Christine decided to expand African Jacquard’s ranges to include throws and towels combining Jacquard design and waffle pattern. Design professionals started paying attention right away: “Suddenly, everyone was stopping at my tiny little SARCDA 2018 stand,” says Christine. “Interior designers were becoming more and more interested in what we could offer: beautiful and unique throws mixing linen, bamboo, cotton, in all possible ways.”

African Jacquard soon began working with architect Lesley Carstens on textiles for Jao Camp in Botswana, and has since made custom pieces for lodge design specialists Fox Browne, the &Beyond group, the Zeitz MOCAA store and many more. Two years later, the company is recognised as one of the key suppliers when one needs a special touch for a bedroom, lounge, or an outdoor space.

Inspired by the colours and natural landscapes of Africa, the company’s in-house collections include the Bogolan range – based on a West African cotton fabric traditionally dyed with mud – and the Kuba cloth collection, African Jacquard’s take on the classic fabric made from raffia in the Congo. Along with these original ranges, which are in constant evolution, African Jacquard continues to create customised designs for a range of clients.

An especially exciting current project involves creating unique fabrics with Trevyn McGowan of GUILD, for use in the interiors of the much-anticipated new Xigera Safari Lodge in the Okavango. africanjacquard.com

TOP Christine Daron, founder of African Jacquard, which weaves exquisite throws and home linen, all locally made. BOVE The Julie Juu tea towel at top right, depicting the Ghanaian actress on a bicycle, was designed by Heidi Chisholm for Cape Town brand Shine Shine.