Africa is Now - Showcase by Design Indaba - EXPO 2014

With Cape Town receiving the title of the World Design Capital for 2014, the annual Design Indaba has shown exactly why we are on a whole other level in the world of design. Story by Leandri De Kock.

As usual, the Design Indaba expo, held at the CTICC in February, had all the things you would expect from the biggest design expo in the southern hemisphere – 
handmade items, home ware, architecture, furniture, jewellery and fashion, with everything manufactured locally. 

What makes DI different to other design expo’s is the quality of the exhibitors, their detail and the depth in their displays, and for the first time this year, the expo features designers from all over the continent, expanding the global impact our local designs currently make. DI features over 450 exhibitors all carefully chosen to represent South Africa, and specifically Cape Town for the World Design Capital title.. but it’s the general focus Design Indaba and their exhibitors have that makes this expo stand out...


Every item you see, from furniture to fashion, focuses on architecture, the use of textiles, sustainability, and making everything as environmentally friendly as possible.

At the moment, we live in a society where we are so used to everything being described as “green” or “eco-friendly”, and we can easily get tired of the redundancy, but what Design Indaba has done is make these old ideas refreshing and sustainable in an African context. The exhibitors use different ideas of modernity and bring it into a traditional African sense without making it the type of thing you see at every tourist curio shop.

"Design Indaba delivers every year, showing just how amazing and advanced South African designs can be."

The feature exhibit this year is the “Africa is Now” showcase, describing Africa as resourceful, sharp, transformed, tradition reinvented and urban, each with their own designs on how Africa is exactly that. 
The expo also has different platforms for young creatives, such as the “Emerging Creatives” project which is sponsored by the Department of Arts and Culture, who gives designers of the next generation the opportunity to get on the platform next to the established designers at Design Indaba.

The elaborate fashion shows, produced by the Cape Town Fashion Council, brings 20 shows to the expo, showcasing local fashion and couture by South Africa’s leading designers. Putting a “tribal glamour” twist on the fashion, it also focuses on the “green” idea and using sustainable and recyclable materials in their designs.

It can’t be said that the expo showcases everyday designs, or builds on ideas you’ve seen before. Design Indaba delivers every year, showing just how amazing and advanced South African designs can be. But it goes without saying, that with the title of World Design Capital for 2014 in Cape Town, Design Indaba obviously had to make it their best and most innovative year so far...and they most certainly did that!
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Illustrations and Art by Eric Sher

August month see's the launch of the Beyachad Center `group exhibition, featuring Tony Matthews, Ray Lipner and Eric Sher.  Here, we take a vivid look at the latest work by artist `Eric Sher` from Johannesburg, South Africa.

Studied in fine art and illustration. Eric has also done the only drawing of `Chancellor House` which has been endorsed by the Nelson Mandela Foundation and the JDA and has been displayed at Constitutional Hill, the Apartheid Museum, Robben Island and the Johannesburg Development Agency.

`Chancellor House`

Eric has also exhibited his work at galleries throughout South Africa in solo and group exhibitions, as well as having his work appear in publications and books locally and internationally. He lives and works in Johannesburg.

 Eric is currently exhibiting at the Mandela 94 exhibition in Johannesburg.
Join him on facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Eric-Sher-Art

Social & Industrial - Design Indabar

Design Indabar- Cape Town 2012

The display area and projection surface

This winter we're celebrating Design Indaba's unique perspective for displaying and showcasing the best in creativity.

I've had a great time hanging out with the crew from DI. 
They've always taken into consideration how appealing smart design is. How once it has been developed, the uses for which it was intended are beyond beneficial.

Design Indabar, a concept presented by Grolsch, to design and create two white hydraulic-controlled containers offering the most pleasant hospitality.

Bar area and upper deck for DJ

These containers are quite special, the first, contains a very sleek bar counter with basins, shelves and point-of-sale devices. Ceiling lighting and power distribution is included for 2 large refrigerators.

 A set of stairs then lifts down and is used to walk safely up to the balcony area, which is perfect for DJs, musicians and other entertainment.

The second container is slightly different. The hydraulic technology is used to raise the side doors rather than extend and lower them.

The main sliding door is lifted to create a perfect screen for films, while the interior serves as a versatile mobile gallery.

"Designed by Fly Pitcher in collaboration with Ravi Naidoo of Design Indaba, the interior and exterior surfaces of the Design Indabar can be used to project art, film, design and the like." 

Grolsch marketing manager, Mashinka Fourie said the Design Indabar was created by the perfect synergy between Grolsch and the Design Indaba.

Visual Purity by Nadine Friedman

Nadine Friedman is a wonderful photographer from Gordons Bay, South Africa. Her company, Mik & Drik Photography, thrives on expressing views through powerful and striking pictures.

This year Nadine, has assembled a stunning collection of photographs, with a thought provoking insight into nature and culture across Southern Africa and Bali. She now looks to head on to the Americas and abroad to capture the world. Blessed with adventure, drive and the spirit to capture amazing photographs.

Please have a look at more of her photo's by clicking on the link below;

www.facebook.com/pages/Mik-n-Drik-Photography

Beholding Bugatti - The Veyron EB 16.4

A Deeper look into the Car of the Decade 2000 - 2009

This sensational vehicle has been perfected over time, along the beautiful landscapes that have changed the lives of so many.

The car...Bugatti!

The Founder... Ettore Bugatti,  was born in Milan, Italy, and his automobile company was founded in 1909 in Molsheim, Alsace.  

The company, known both for the level of detail of its engineering, and for the artistic way in which the designs were executed, enjoyed great success in early Grand Prix Motor Racing, winning the first ever Monaco Grand Prixx. The company's success culminated with driver Jean-Pierre Wimille winning the 24 hours of Le Mans twice (in 1937 with Robert Benoist and 1939 with Pierre Veyron).

Given the artistic nature of Ettore's family (his father, Carlo Bugatti (1856–1940), was a devoted art, nouveau decoration, furniture, and jewelry tradesman).

In 1999, the Bugatti EB 218 concept was introduced at the Geneva Auto Show; later that year the Bugatti 18/3 Chiron was introduced at the Frankfurt Motor Show (IAA). At theTokyo Motor Show, the EB 218 reappeared, and theBugatti EB 16.4 Veyron was presented as the first incarnation of what was to be a production road car.

Bugatti's cars noticeably focused on design. Engine Blocks were hand scraped to ensure that the surfaces were so flat that gaskets were not required for sealing, many of the exposed surfaces of the engine compartment featured Guilloche (engine turned) finishes on them, and safety wires threaded through almost every fastener in intricately laced patterns. Rather than bolt the springs to the axles as most manufacturers did, Bugatti's axles were forged such that the spring passed though a carefully sized opening in the axle, a much more elegant solution requiring fewer parts. He famously described his arch competitorentley's cars as "the world's fastest lorries" for focusing on durability. According to Bugatti, "weight was the enemy".

The Bugatti Veyron EB 16.4 is a mid-engine grand touring car. The Super Sport version is the fastest road-legal manufactured car in the world, with a top speed of 431 km/h (268 mph). The original type has a high-speed of 408.00 km/h (253.52 mph). 

It was named Car of the Decade (2000–2009) by the BBC television programme Top Gear.

Designed and developed by Volkswagen Group and produced by Bugatti Automobiles SAS at their HQ in Château Saint Jean inMolsheim (Alsace, France), the Veyron's chief designer was Hartmut Warkuss, and the exterior was finished by Jozef Kaban of Volkswagen, with much of the engineering supervised by the former Peterbilt Trucks engineer and now Bugatti Engineering chief, Wolfgang Schreiber. 

 Though commissioned by Volkswagen, this car is only sold through the Bugatti manufacturers and cannot be found at any Volkswagen dealer.