Month: February 2016

Words from Martin Magner. 

I could spend the duration of this post breaking down each film like a proper film critic but that would be a waste of time seeing as I’m just a boy from Cape Town with a Macbook pro.

So, here is my opinion of the 3 stand outs in no particular order.

[B-MOVIE: Lust & Sound in West Berlin 1979-1989]

After watching this film I’ve realised the West Berlin electronic music scene feels a lot like many a late Friday night I’ve experienced in Hope Street. ‘Decadent & Chaotic’ were used to describe the entirety of it all – undoubtably mirrors the scene, sound and energy of the youth of Cape Town today. The rawness of the documentary was comforting. A nice break from the glitz and glamour I find myself trolling through on a daily basis on Twitter. The hunger to live for the moment rather than plan for the future very yolo and I appreciate that.

See more here.

[THE WOLFPACK]

5 stars for the 6 siblings who spent 17 years in 1 Manhattan flat. The confinement of these kids forced them to explore their creativity to the nth degree. Create masterpieces including an entire Batman costume out of cereal boxes and yoga mats, recite films back to front and walk out as a group with an image that could pretty much trump Yeezy season 3. I’ve already seen a few of them making appearances in music videos, obviously by Grimes, soon to be seen in global fashion campaigns and hopefully some Wolfpack work to hit our screens soon. Watch this one!

See more here.

[A BALLERINA’S TALE]

YAS QUEEN!

Move over Natalie Portman, I’ve found the original Black Swan. Dance does something to me. People getting thrown across room to a SIA song, leopard crawling to the some Genuwine, or a stunning whip nae nae in the bar on a Friday. I’M HOOKED. Misty Copeland however, takes dance to the next level. Technically flawless, physically ridiculous. This woman triumphed & rose to the hight as the first black woman to be promoted to principal dancer in the American Ballet Theatre’s 75-year history. Cue Beyoncé’s Formation track. Watch this and regret all the dance classes you failed to go to a child.

See more here.

Thanks to the Design Indaba for the incredible variety of films this year.

Hopefully we’ll start seeing some more local motion pictures getting featured too.

 

 

 

If you haven’t yet made your way to see the Design Indaba Emerging Creatives Expo at the V&A Watershed, we suggest you get down there, like…now. This week we’ve been catching up with a few rad Cape Town based designers showcasing their work.

Meet Nondwe Nyathi from Indwe Designs:

Q: You’re a self-taught designer, what motivated you to do this?

A: My late Brother played a big role my journey of creativity. Assisting him in his recycling business  and him exposing me to the world of Art and Creativity, led me to witness off cuts of leather being thrown away and a new spark of creativity went off and fired up the origins of Indwe Designs.

Q: Where do you draw inspiration from?

A: I’m inspired by our rich and diverse cultures we have in Africa. How people(Women) in the olden days used to adorn themselves with what they had and made themselves look beautiful. So my brand is mainly taking what other people would ignore because they think it can’t be used and create high end Authentic and modern pieces that reflect sentiments when worn, for the intrepid and adventurous.

Q: What are some of your favourite piece?

Find out more here:

Facebook: Indwe Desings
Instagram: indwe_ewdni
Email: [email protected]

Meet another incredible talent at the Design Indaba Emerging Creatives Expo!

GISELE HUMAN [WAIF]

“WAIF is a jewellery label with a distinct affinity for utter simplicity.”

Q: Why jewellery? How did it all begin for you?

A: I wound up making jewellery and accessories in a roundabout way. I studied English and Film at UCT, worked in advertising as a copywriter for 5 years which was great, but found that the visual side of me wasn’t being satisfied. I also wanted to run around sourcing materials, find creative solutions to things, be challenged, and call all the shots. My mother is a jewellery designer so I’ve always known my way around the tools of the trade, but last year I decided to build a brand and start a company that I could build up and call my own. Jewellery isn’t the end goal for me – I aim to expand.

Q: Your designs are beautifully simplistic, where do you draw inspiration from?

A: The barrette hair piece was a starting point, I was inspired by something I’d been given at a very young age. I noticed that hair pieces weren’t being made locally, and I wanted to create something that nobody else was making. I’ve always been fond of the elegance with which french women dress, and the hair pin and clip are both classically French. The shapes are organic and are inspired by nature, pebbles, succulents, seed pods, the shapes of ears, body parts, but also Matisse, Picasso, Ellsworth Kelly. I like playing with negative space, texture and in the future, I’d like to master enameling so that I can introduce some colour.

Q: You were part of the SAMW16, tell us a bit about the experience and what you took away from it.

A: I’ve always had this awful preconceived notion that the fashion industry was superficial and sleezy, but I’ve found it to be the opposite. The people who create fashion, who design in, shoot it, style it, model it, these people are some of the best people I’ve ever met. There’s an amazing culture of supporting each other, sharing information, buying local only. Models are intelligent, stylists have an important role to play, photographers aren’t sleeve bags, designers celebrate other designers’ success. My experience of SAMW was amazing. I produced a small collection of earrings for the AKJP show and a collection of conceptual face plates for BLANC, both were well received, I’ve had some great press from it, so I’m glad I did it.

Find out more about Gisele and her work on Instagram: @waif_things.

 

The Design Indaba Conference is in full swing, and along with it the Emerging Creatives programme at the V&A Watershed. Keep up to date with news, interviews and what we’re up to by following us on Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat: ogilvyct.

We caught up with a few of the Cape Town based designers. Yesterday we featured, Lynne Avis – see the article here.

Next up, Megan Smith…

MEGAN SMITH [CLOTH & PRINT]

“Cloth and Print is a small textile studio based in Cape Town. Original designs are hand screen printed onto natural fabrics and made into beautiful accessories and home wear. Small runs keep things special and individual. Where CLOTH meets PRINT…one repeat at a time.”

Q: How did you get into textile design?

A: I adore the texture of fabrics. I remember visiting fabric stores when I was young and running my hands across the rolls and rolls of different cloth and relishing the sensation of the various textures. I have always drawn and invariably the drawings become patterns. Textile Design was a natural choice for a girl who loves cloth with a bit of print!

Q: Which things in your environment are you inspired by?

A: I feel inspired by the natural beauty we find around us. Flowers in particular are a beautiful source of inspiration for my work. I also find that travel opens up my eyes to new cultures and I get a real sense of joy when I learn about people across the globe and the creativity process they follow.

Q: What has been the most exciting piece you have created? .

A: The story behind the design, is for me, the most exciting part of a print. It gives a real sense of depth to a pattern and tells a tale beyond the surface of a textile print. My design called Granny’s Beads is one of those patterns that began from a memory of when I was a little girl…my granny would let me rummage through her dressing-table drawers, that packed with her sparkly brooches & colourful beaded necklaces. I loved the feel of the smooth, cool beads sliding through my fingers. This print is a nostalgic memory of my Granny and her beads, captured on cloth in a simple and graphic way.

Find out more about Megan and her work here: http://clothandprint.com/; Instagram @cloth_and_print; Facebook https://www.facebook.com/clothandprint/; email [email protected]

 

We look forward to the Design Indaba Festival each year, and 2016 is no different. The festival draws people from near & far and showcases some of the greatest minds in the creative industry.

Ogilvy Cape Town will be covering the Conference from Wednesday 17 Feb to Friday 19 Feb. Keep up to date with news, interviews and what we’re up to by following us on Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat: ogilvyct.

One of the Design Indaba offerings that we love is the Emerging Creatives programme. The 42 talented designers will be showcasing their work at the V&A Watershed this week. Find out more here.

We caught up with a few of the Cape Town based designers to find out a bit more about their story and their work. First up, Lynne Avis.

LYNNE AVIS [OBTUSE JEWELLERY] 

“Obtuse Jewellery is a contemporary, creative adornment brand which focuses on creating playful and challenging, hand-crafted pieces.”

Q: What is your most popular style?

A: I am currently working on the Kinetic Collection. A collection, ‘Designed for the fiddler, for the hands that cannot be kept still, to be spun, shaken and played with against all good manners’. This collection was inspired by my fiddling at the dinner table and the subsequent scolding’s; it is an act of validation.

Q: What has been the highlight of your career so far?

A: Definitely being selected as an Emerging Creative! It’s a wonderful opportunity. Aside from that myself and a few others started a jewellery collective, ‘& Ampersand Collective SA’  in which we explore, without searching for answers, the landscape of Contemporary Jewellery.

Q: Where do you hope to see your brand in 5 years?

A: I would love to have read a Masters in Jewellery Design and to be interacting with the academic jewellery world. As a business I hope this to influence my work, enabling me to create more thought provoking and yet playful jewellery which the public will enjoy.  It is my sincere wish that the South African jewellery scene develops and allows itself more freedom of material, subject and placement.

Find out more about Lynne and her collection here: www.obtusejewellery.com , @obtusejewellery on Instagram or www.facebook.com/obtusejewellery and www.facebook.com/Ampersand-Collective-SA