100% design South Africa: our top 10 show unmissables

Part of the special feature We are Joburg, Houtlander’s Coronation Bench caught our eye for its elegant, spindle-back design and playful curved lines. Striking in its appearance, the bench easily finds its place within We Are Joburg’s Afro-Urban aesthetic. If you like what you see, check out Houtlander’s stand-alone feature too, with the same honest lines but all in a natural timber palette.

Handre de la Rey of Studio 20 Eight’s CS Project sunglasses challenge expectation with their stylish cement frames, inspired by the work of architect Tadao Ando. The challenge of designing in cement was taken on for PPC’s Imaginarium, and ultimately won Handre the finalist award for the Industrial Design category. 

Tracking the environmental impact of a chair from seed to completion, AHEC’S Seed to Seat project challenges seven leading local designers to make a chair using a sustainable hardwood. Of particular interest is Laurie Wiid van Heerden’s Senufo inspired Meraki Daybed, which teams cork and American soft maple, as well as James Mudge’s Hardwood Chair with its honest jointing and minimalist lines.

Young design graduate Nkuli Mlangeni of The Ninevites and her range of karakul and mohair rugs is causing quite a stir. The bold Ndebele inspired motifs and punchy palettes present in the bespoke rug collection are the result of her exploration of the heritage of weaving both here and abroad. While looking back, Nkuli’s rugs have a firm foot in the here and now. It’s no surprise that her Sankara rug won this year’s Most Beautiful Object in South Africa at Design Indaba.

For its unexpected use of Caesarstone, Weylandts Spaces’ Anna and Chris created the clean and contemporary Luna Drinks Cabinet as part of the all new Caesarstone Concepts bespoke furniture collection. Using Caesarstone’s Rugged Concrete quartz for the cabinet doors together with brass and steel, the results are unexpected, daring and sexy.  

Hidden beyond black drapes, The Light Tank is a moving and all-encompassing light show. Thanks to a vast number of LED bulbs on strings, all of which light up and ‘dance’ in an array of colours that move to the beat, it has quite an impact. This exploration in immersive lighting is the result of a collaboration between a host of creatives in the design, art, sound and cinematography fields.

Spotted on the Crema stand, Tom Dixon’s MELT Surface Light is an all-out glamorous wall light that tricks the eye thanks to the use of one way mirror. When switched off the light appears like a molten blob of metal akin to sculpture, but once switched on it radiates, now see through, with a visible light source within.

This year’s feature designer Gregor Jenkin with Still Things Move. The aptly named collection of products and prototypes in his signature steel has an almost animated quality, each one a strange sculpture in its own right.

The bold monochrome appeal of fabric house T & Co’s latest collab with local designer Colette Angelucci will surely catch your eye. Entitled Play on Shadows, the range is fresh and playful with a painterly quality. Think brush strokes and daubs in black and white. 

100% Design South Africa is on until Sunday 13 August between 10am and 6pm, be sure to check their website to view public and trade only days.