Durban - Bringing nature into the home is a trend that is here stay.
This is according to friends and business partners Manoushka Kraal and Laurien Murphy, who said using decorative woven local crafts was a great option for any home decorator to achieve a natural, modern African look in the home.
These are just two interior designers who will be showcasing at this year’s East Coast Radio House & Garden Show from June 29 to July 8, with this year’s focus on local talent and products.
The two entrepreneurs who have backgrounds in product development and are driven by their passion for African craft and decor, said the trend when it came to interior accessories was to put a modern twist to traditional craft in the home.
“The wonderful thing about the ilala palm is that it can’t break,” said Kraal, when asked about tips on how to incorporate African decor into the home with children around.
When baskets were developing as a global trend, she and Murphy sought out a group of weavers and started to develop new designs, giving birth to their brand Perfect Imperfect.
“Our products get used in kids’ rooms a lot: as storage baskets, laundry baskets.
“Our Moses baskets for babies are very popular and we also customise baskets with names or words. Those are very popular among children.
“Both our girls love to use they own little baskets for ballet,” said Kraal.
When it came to the ilala palm, they knew they had a strong material and looked to creating new trends around the existing products made from the palm.
“We added pom-poms, tassels, embroidery and leather handles. Ilala palm is an amazing material which has been used for centuries. It is sustainable and environmentally renewable. In the hands of our skilled weavers it becomes beautiful, useful and desirable products.”
The Perfect Imperfect studio in Glenwood has the full range, which can be viewed by appointment and includes fashion baskets and homeware such as planters and storage baskets, lights and the baby Moses baskets, which were developed together with design studio Douglas & Douglas.
The theme for this year’s ECR House and Garden Show is “Home Is Where The Heart Is”, with a focus on family living with “convenient comfort aimed at styling a distinctive space”.
There will be locally curated products, furniture and fashion highlighting local design talent, as well as the Discover Durban Cuisine Kitchen, which will celebrate local cooking talent.The Green Fingers section will showcase the world of plants, garden care and food gardening, while the new Gin Garden Bar will offer some tempting botanical combinations.
There will also be a Builders DIY Pavilion, which will have all the latest tech and DIY techniques for the man or woman about the house.
One-off pop-ups will include Geekville and the Durban Gaming Expo, which is bound to be a favourite with gaming fans, while the Home Grown Design Fair promises to have some fabulous artisanal design and decor products.
There will also be the KZN Travel & Adventure Show from July 5 to 8, aimed at creating memory-making experiences for the whole family.
Tickets are available now at iTickets. For more information, visit housegardenshow.co.za