subject: Th latest trend [print this page] The recession, the dirty word that has defined our era and is associated with a loss of jobs and a loss of expendable income, while technically out of the recession, most South Africans are still feeling its effects. While we still shudder at the mere mention of the word, there may be a brighter side to the credit crunch in that frugality may have tested and stretched our local designers' creativity.
Recently there has been a trend towards re-working the objects that already exist rather than creating completely new ones. This perhaps has been influenced by other trends of recycling, it is easy to reduce our carbon footprint by re-using found materials. It has inspired designers to look at what was previously considered scrap and waste and to see the value in the old and once used.
Now Cape Town apartments are decorated with one off, original pieces that cannot be remade as their materials are no longer manufactured. Dcor businesses such as Casamento and Vamp collect second hand furniture and give it a new contemporary lease on life. Katie Thompson's Recreate stand at the Design Indaba this year was very popular and her comfy chair made from an old suitcase, the lid open and acting as a back rest, will no doubt be found in the trendiest Cape Town luxury villas, she has also made use of other undesirable items such as milk bottles and old kitchen scales and turned them into furniture.
But surely this trend has been around for some time, for the last ten years at least, much African craft has been created from throw away materials, such as old sweet wrappers, cooldrink cans and bottle tops. Although never seen in luxury Cape Town holiday villas, perhaps what was dismissed as curios for tourists will be given its due as original dcor items.
