Home Help: 4 January
African style has been brought up to date. We British used to love a stuffed tiger’s head. You can still find them but it would be wrong, not to mention illegal, to hang a real one. Instead, you can find them woven in steel, covered in sequins, or in papier mâché.
Indeed, representations of African animals are the ultimate in chic. A very good fake giraffe adorns the bar where Art Deco meets African at Robin Birley’s Loulou’s, one of London’s most exclusive clubs.
And it feels good to be buying from Africa. Much is recycled and made under the auspices of community projects to help relieve some of the poverty in the country. Simon Thomas of the London Garden Design Company buys his stock from Africa because, he says, ‘It is unique, crafted – not manufactured – and feels totally different from anything made in a factory in the Far East or India.’ He abides by fair trade standards for the recycled telephone-wire bowls and wirework springbok and beaded buffalo head he sells in his online shop, London Garden Trading – www.londongardentrading.com
Anthropologie, the American homeware and fashion store, prides itself on selling goods with a handmade feel. In its London stores, find chandeliers. Unique crafted items from South Africa are the ultimate in chic, says Hugh St Clair adorned with beads, buttons and glass droplets from the Magpie Art Collective, which works with the local community of the Western Cape, ‘a socially conscious art collective’; also look out for chopping boards made out of wine barrels from the Cape Wine region.
Colourful telephone-wire bowls, sold by The Conran Shop, are handcrafted by Zulu tribesmen and women. They are charming and each one is slightly different.
Fabric designer Melissa Kerkhoff of Lula Fabrics, based in Cape Town, now sells in Britain. Her collection of ‘African Mischief’ fabrics shows the skins of giraffe printed in pink, leopard in silver and zebra in gold. Her ‘Palm Frond’ and ‘Birds & Fruit’ in more subtle blues, greens and browns, are very attractive and original, too. Prices start at £71 per metre.
From left to right:
Indeed, representations of African animals are the ultimate in chic. A very good fake giraffe adorns the bar where Art Deco meets African at Robin Birley’s Loulou’s, one of London’s most exclusive clubs.
And it feels good to be buying from Africa. Much is recycled and made under the auspices of community projects to help relieve some of the poverty in the country. Simon Thomas of the London Garden Design Company buys his stock from Africa because, he says, ‘It is unique, crafted – not manufactured – and feels totally different from anything made in a factory in the Far East or India.’ He abides by fair trade standards for the recycled telephone-wire bowls and wirework springbok and beaded buffalo head he sells in his online shop, London Garden Trading – www.londongardentrading.com
Anthropologie, the American homeware and fashion store, prides itself on selling goods with a handmade feel. In its London stores, find chandeliers. Unique crafted items from South Africa are the ultimate in chic, says Hugh St Clair adorned with beads, buttons and glass droplets from the Magpie Art Collective, which works with the local community of the Western Cape, ‘a socially conscious art collective’; also look out for chopping boards made out of wine barrels from the Cape Wine region.
Colourful telephone-wire bowls, sold by The Conran Shop, are handcrafted by Zulu tribesmen and women. They are charming and each one is slightly different.
Fabric designer Melissa Kerkhoff of Lula Fabrics, based in Cape Town, now sells in Britain. Her collection of ‘African Mischief’ fabrics shows the skins of giraffe printed in pink, leopard in silver and zebra in gold. Her ‘Palm Frond’ and ‘Birds & Fruit’ in more subtle blues, greens and browns, are very attractive and original, too. Prices start at £71 per metre.
From left to right:
- Baguette board, £108, Anthropologie: 020-3119 2907, www.anthropologie.eu
- Telephone-wire bowls, from £25, The Conran Shop: 020-7589 7401, www.conranshop.co.uk
- Floral Burst Chandelier, £2,725, Anthropologie: as before
- (Main image above) Fabrics, from £71 per metre, Lula Fabrics at SGB Design: 01449-743654, www.lulafabrics.co.za