Strato
CCT: Strato? Like Tomato?
Maloti: The brand is called Strato and Strato is South African slang for ‘street’. I wanted to create a local streetwear label that people could identify with and relate to.
CCT: What product or service do you offer?
Maloti: It’s a dynamic clothing brand that offers a sporty streetwear line for trendy South-Africans.
CCT: Which field does your product or service fall under?
Maloti: Fashion Design
CCT: How is your work influenced by living in Cape Town?
Maloti: The diverse culture within the city inpires me to create colourful collections that have a distinct signature.
CCT: What can Cape Town design contribute to the world?
Maloti: We are well positioned to offer a unique design aesthetic as Cape Town is truly a very creative hub.
CCT: What will you be doing in 2014?
Maloti: I will be in Brazil for the FIFA World Cup.
CCT: Name a challenge you have faced, and how you solved it.
Maloti: Starting a business is a challenge for anyone. But by starting, I began to find solutions.
CCT: What or who inspires you?
Maloti: I’m inspired by people who get up every day to pursue their dreams by doing what they love.
CCT: If resources like time, money and materials were unlimited, what would you create next?
Maloti: I would brand absolutely everything I love Strato. The food I eat, drink, cars I drive, houses I live in, phones and electronic appliances I use. Everything!
CCT: Where would you like to see your work or company in five years time?
Maloti: I would to see my brand progress beyond Cape Town to a wider audience. I would love to work with other designers – be they shoe crafters or textile and accessories designers – in order to develop products that can be consumed by the world.
CCT: A creative capital is a city that encourages economic wellbeing through creating a more liveable, just and sustainable environment. What do you think Cape Town needs more (or less) of to become a true creative capital?
Maloti: Definitely more collaboration amongst creatives. We are a young but dynamic design nation and much can be achieved if energies are combined. We also need more government initiatives that are aimed at encouraging and developing entrepreneurship within the creative sector.
CCT: The Fringe is being developed as a design and informatics hub to become “the premier African environment for design, media and ICT innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship”. Does this appeal to you?
Maloti: So often businesses in the creative fields struggle because they do not co-exist. If resources can be combined to create sustainable design business then can we only move forward as creatives.
CCT: How do you support the Cape Town for World Design Capital 2014 bid?
Maloti: I support the bid by producing my products in Cape Town and by encouraging Capetonians to buy local.
Explore Strato
Jullard
CCT: Jullard Creations is Willard Kambeva and Juma Mkwela. Explain the name?
Willard: Jullard Creations was formed soon after 2008 xenophobia outbreak in Khayelitsha when we were leading a camp of victims. We spent a night trying to think what the cause of the xenophobia was, and later realized that maybe it was poverty, a lack of education or a lack of love, and decided to forgive, forget and give love even though our property and belongings were stolen, for we did not lose our skills and education, even though we kind of lost our dignity as human beings .
CCT: What product or service do you offer?
Willard: We make products out of recycled materials – ‘everything out of anything’ and we run creative art workshops through Write on Africa.
Jullard Creations is a collective that empowers people from marginalized communities to generate their own income by producing EVERYTHING OUT OF ANYTHING. This is a programme designed specifically to equip and enhance our communities with skills through developmental & creative workshops. It is our concern to help the communities realise their capabilities by inspiring integration and self-sustainability through creative expression and skills development. Africa is rooted in artistic expression and resourcefulness. We wish to harness these talents using creativity to unlock potential, drive and to develop our communities.
CCT: Which field does your product or service fall under?
Willard: Lighting design, education and design.
CCT: How is your work influenced by living in Cape Town?
Willard: Our work is mostly influenced through the environment and being inspired and motivated by ordinary people.
CCT: What can Cape Town design contribute to the world?
Willard: Its inspiration through creativity.
What will you be doing in 2014?
Willard: We haven’t planned anything yet, but “making anything out everything” is our manifesto. We are hoping to reach and inspire a lot of young people around South Africa and Southern Africa, bringing social change. We don’t look for treasure in the world, we are the treasure.
CCT: Name a challenge you have faced, and how you solved it.
Willard: The market. I can’t say we’ve solved it – we are still stuggling to network.
CCT: What or who inspires you?
Willard: We are driven, inspired and motivated by ordinary people, because we want to use our life experience and energy, to showcase practical community models as a learning centre for sustainable community development, to inspire and create an organised community where everyone is socially conscious and environmentally aware.
CCT: If resources like time, money and materials were unlimited, what would you create next? Why?
Willard: ANYTHING OUT EVERYTHING as I said above. We’ve become more aware, which is why we have chosen to work with recycled materials. You have to be scratch around for material but it can be used – you have just have to be creative.
CCT: Where would you like to see your work or company in five years time?
Willard: To be able to part of international markets, to be able to employ more people and to help people create an organised community where everyone is engaged with our ethos; a community that people feel empowered by, one enabling practical competency and social responsibility.
CCT: A creative capital is a city that encourages economic wellbeing through creating a more liveable, just and sustainable environment. What do you think Cape Town needs more (or less) of to become a true creative capital?
Willard: I think it needs to engage with everyone, to create a platform where people can come and share ideas which leads to unity so that we can inspire one another. A centre for sustainable community development.
CCT: The Fringe is being developed as a design and informatics hub to become “the premier African environment for design, media and ICT innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship”. Does this appeal to you?
Willard: It does appeal! We work with The Fringe, and being involved as entrepreneurs, we believe in it.
Explore Jullard
‘The WREN Design’
CCT: What product or service do you offer?
Wendren: I design bags out of different materials and fabrics. They all have a story to them. I work with a great team of seamstresses who run the production side.
CCT: How is your work influenced by living in Cape Town?
Wendren: In Cape Town there are a lot of creative networks, or ‘hubs’, if you will. For example, by being a part of the Biscuit Mill/Neighbourgoods Market I have met many other creative people who are starting out and I have learnt a lot from them. I also find Cape Town has a lot of smaller industries that are very keen to experiment with new things, which is great.
CCT: Name a challenge you have faced and how you solved it.
Wendren: There have been many challenges. Starting a business means that you have to learn to handle all areas (including finances). On a creative front, making paper durable and waterproof was a challenge that was overcome by experimenting with coatings. I visited several companies to find a way to work with the paper and am still investigating ways to make it even stronger. A year and a half ago I discovered the most beautiful heavy-duty antique linen and only a month ago, did I find somebody who was skilled enough and able to thread this material through their machine with leather, to make a bag. This person works in a tiny studio and I am really excited about working with him in the future. WREN has connected me with people I would never have met otherwise and I love this element.
CCT: What or who inspires you?
Wendren: This is a difficult answer because it changes constantly. New designers come into the picture all the time as do new designs. I am inspired by different things and people, at different times. It all depends where I am but in general, I am inspired by surfaces. I fall in love with the feel of a fabric and cannot wait to develop it into a usable product.
CCT: If resources like time, money and materials were unlimited, what would you create next? Why?
Wendren: If I had no limitations on money I would travel to India. If I had no limitations on time I would spend a year learning how to dye cloth using natural dyes, and if I had no limits on materials I would dye until my hands turned all sorts of amazing colours. The unfortunate part is that although I absolutely adore colour and natural indigo in particular, I am a terrible dyer as I do not follow recipes exactly.
CCT: Where would you like to see your work or company in five years time?
Wendren: Five years ago I would not have thought I would own my own company (that was profitable) so to imagine where I will be, where WREN will be, in five years time is a shot in the dark. Even from where I started three years ago, WREN has grown to be something completely different (in a very good way) to what I imagined it to be. I do hope that it will challenge and positively change the public’s idea of what design is – it is not just pretty pictures – WREN is concept, an innovation and can make a difference to how we live.
CCT: A creative capital is a city that encourages economic wellbeing through creating a more liveable, just and sustainable environment. What do you think Cape Town needs more (or less) of to become a true Creative Capital?
Wendren: I would love to see Cape Town businesses involve designers more as opposed to viewing design as a marketing tool only – I find too many companies are close-minded. I would also love Cape Town to be safer so that areas that small designers can emerge from are more accessible.
CCT: The Fringe is being developed as a design and informatics hub to become “the premier African environment for design, media and ICT innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship”. Does this appeal to you?
Wendren: Definitely. It is exactly what I believe a Creative Capital should be – a safe environment of designers cross-pollinating ideas and sharing success. The Fringe is an integral part of this as it isn’t the bustling CBD where rents are high and space is limited, but rather it is an area for studio spaces, boutique shops and restaurants where space can be used creatively and developed as needed.
CCT:How do you show support for the World Design Capital 2014 bid?
Wendren: The button is on my website and last month the ‘WREN PPC Cement Laptop Bags’ was used as the VIP gift at the ICSID conference in Nairobi. Recently ‘WREN PPC Cement Laptop Bags were presented, with the WDC2014 bid book to Premier Helen Zille and Major Patricia De Lille. I also really love the pins for the bid and am going to be using them with all my products.
Explore The Wren Design
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credits
Maloti’s portrait photo by Simon Deiner/SDRimages
Jullard’s portrait image by Adam Letch
The Wren Design PPC images by Ricardo Van Lingen
