Dear Friends, over a quarter of the year has passed and I thought it would be an opportune time to share with you the fruits of our hard work at our Studio before I leave for the spring planting season in Spain.
It is always difficult to leave Cape Town, particularly at this time of the year as we ease gently into autumn. With the turning of the seasons a wonderful calmness seems to descend upon Cape Town. The wind drops completely, the light takes on a magical luminous quality.
I am fortunate to drive daily over beautiful Ou Kaapse Weg mountain pass to work through Silvermine Nature Reserve and I am sure that I am not alone in feeling an enormous sense of peace and awe as I look out over the landscape and marvel at our indigenous flora and fauna, the grasses, proteas and all the varieties and colours with their myriad shapes and patterns.
It is impossible not to be aware of the vast blue skies with its ever changing clouds, sometimes wispy but of late they are billowing like large balls of cotton wool heralding in the new season. As I reach the peak and start descending, my eyes can move further into the horizon and take in the coastline with the sea and the white of the sand and the Hottentots-Holland mountain range across the bay so clear in the autumn light. I know I am not alone in taking a deep sigh of wonder and appreciation for this beautiful land.
My garden at home is also in bloom, in autumn many of our indigenous plants flower, which always comes as a surprise as it is so unexpected: spring is afterall the time gardens come to life, but this is Cape Town. Happily we have had some rain and the fear of our taps being turned off has receded, but we have all learnt the importance of treading lightly on the earth and using our precious resources carefully, so please don’t be put-off visiting Cape Town.
As you know I decided last year that it was time to take the company in a slightly different direction – to rebrand and to place our company where it belongs alongside the best local and international design. It has been an interesting exercise, when one is caught up in the daily doing you can lose sight of who you really are, this seems a strange thing to say as it should be obvious, but by sitting down with an outsider and looking deeply at who we really are and what our brand values are, we were pleasantly surprised that we weren’t far off track.
Words like vibrant, passionate, joyful South African colours, the human touch, ethical practice, environmentally responsible are some of the qualities that came up and then we looked at where we see ourselves going. It became clear that colour is definitely a big one for us. We have a library of a few thousand colours and our colour kitchen mixes and measures from morning to night searching for that perfect hue that sings. This is one of our great offerings – you can visit our factory choose a pattern and a colour for your next makeover!
I have spent the last four months creating new products, upgrading old, creating new designs and putting them into colour collections. I share with you here some of the mood boards which we will be bringing your way over the year. Keep your eyes posted our way on social media and on our website as we share with you these new offerings.
