Creative Cape Town

Beloved Beadwork

A curated collection of some of the brightest and best Western Cape craft products – that stretch the boundaries of the handmade – promises to be a major draw card at this year’s iconic Design Indaba Expo (26-28 February).

The Exhibition Collection of the Cape Craft and Design Institute (CCDI) for the year 2010 features the work of 82 leading crafters in 91 displays. Outstanding work of 23 of these craft producers has been handpicked for the New Notions section.

The consistently beautiful and interesting items range from a copper wire lamp, incorporating negative film strips, to a wire truck modelled on international long-haul vehicles. A tiered floral chandelier is made from recycled milk bottles, an ostrich eggshell has evolved into a cosmetics dispenser and driftwood tables have built-in, eco-friendly ethanol fire.

The Exhibition Collection was selected by a panel consisting of Rayda Becker, art curator, Parliament; Lianne Burton, former House & Leisure décor editor and now destination marketing manager of Cape Town Tourism; retailer Margie Robertson of Africa Nova; Karen Stewart, creative workshop facilitator, CCDI; Bart Vervekken, Head: Industrial Design, Cape Peninsula University of Technology; and CCDI executive director Erica Elk, who chaired the panel.

This is the second CCDI Exhibition Collection – the first Collection was launched in 2009 in response to a stream of requests for quality craft items to display in prominent settings. It showcased the work of 63 Western Cape craft artists and received wide acclaim, while supporting the CCDI’s goal of ensuring regular exposure of fine handmade craft products – it was viewed by an estimated 140 000 people.

“The 2010 exhibition includes some of South Africa’s finest handmade products and we’re proud to introduce them to both local and international visitors.”