It’s year end, I can feel the energy in the air - Summer has finally arrived in Cape Town, days are longer, yet heads are perhaps more fuzzy the next morning; until afternoon when the sun beckons you to join it and partake on more bubbly in its radiance.

Of course, it’s all manic times at work; getting in last minute deals, tying up last minute matters and ensuring that when we close all is done so that minds on holiday are at peace and not panicking about what was forgotten, a little too late if such be the case.

There are containers coming in, installations taking place, and ’til the end orders coming through - it has been quite a year for us at Twiice, the best year yet - something I am dearly grateful for during this time of ‘depression’ worldwide. Design is timeless, and slowly I can feel that the consumer is waking up; learning and understanding the value of what they buy - it’s not always about how many notes are relieved from ones wallet! I thank our clients that have stood by design, that have supported us in 2008, that of course have been the cause of it being a successful twelve months.

I am excited about the new year that waits, there are some truly wonderful products out there that shall be revealed - fun and most certainly not seen before! There are some great events lined up that should excite design aficionados - we shall thrill as at Twiice we do enjoy keeping you guessing - but what I can say, is that we have the best of the best, however I do not forget the value and importance of local design and the promotion and investment that should be put into it!

I have no doubt 2009 will be a year like no other, just as 2008 has been a year that has stood out as our best yet!

The year is almost over, 2008 gone and 2009 to be! I thought it would be good to have a look at what a couple of trends for 2009 may be - I say may, as I could be completely off the mark, but it is fun nonetheless; and it is the business of course that we are in!

First things; furniture is a gender; the chair will have an either masculine or feminine feel - as with the latest chairs from Kartell ; firstly the Frilly - she that is more definitely feminine in bright fun colours such as pinks and oranges; it is a chair that oozes female sexuality - if a chair can do thus! Designer of the Frilly, Patricia Urquiola has the female evident in all her designs; she is proudly woman and this comes out in her sofas, tables and chairs.

Then there is the Hi Cut chair, another Kartell chair that to me is the He of the Frilly - especially in the black, a chair that is the typical alpha male; quite hard to miss and it is more so as evident of Philippe Starck who I think designs such - the Louis Ghost for example is the patriarch of the Ghost family with Victoria the rather submissive Matriarch.

Colour will be evident I think next year; a mixing of the bright fun colours of our childhood - the grays and the monochromes are gone and we are walking in to fun times at home and at the office. Oranges, pinks, blues, yellows - all put together to bring playfulness back into our lives.

The office is the home, or will become so - we spend most of our hours there and so gone will be the purchasing of antiquated stiff looking desks and aesthetically unpleasing chairs but it will be considered that the more comfortable and plush looking your work place is the more you will want to go and work overtime - and comfort is of the essence. Closed offices and cubicles are also something of the past and so in and open planned office we need pause areas, comfortable couching for laid back meetings and so on.

So for now just a taste of what is to come - with more I assure in the next few weeks!

Enjoy.

I love my job and with that design has become and has stayed my passion; for those of us that are lucky to be immersed in such a great industry I find that the duty we have is to educate those that are not so design clued up.  This is my mission, this is what I hope to achieve; to make South African’s understand and grasp the value of design.

It is not their fault for not being design savvy; but if you are going to buy an item then stop and think about why you are buying it. Is it the aesthetic, are you looking for something not seen before, is it the cost, do you think that this is all you can get for the price so you stop the looking and purchase then and there? What are the reasons - think about this before you go out to buy and remember - never buy hungry! Hungry makes you less discerning, it makes you settle for less than you desire.

I don’t expect everyone to buy originals, however I do want for people to know the value of what they are electing to take into their home - remember designer furniture is like art - purchase it and take it into your home and there it shall remain. Like art, do not go out and buy on a whim, this is where the mistake is made of buying cheap knock offs that do not last for much over a year and so subsequently you have recurring costs. Think about it, know your materials - gone should the delusion be that plastic is cheap, polycarbonate is the most durable material, it will last you a life time, it will NOT snap or damage so then why don’t you save and purchase something that not only looks better but will last longer meaning money in essence is saved on what appears to be the more expensive item. Ok, perhaps someone does not want to buy modern or new or plastic for that matter, still - do not settle for that sofa that may look nice and is cheap in not only monies but in materials, why don’t you try vintage, re-upholster - make the item yours!

Basically, my job in educating is a process, and where do we start? Students, the youth - those that in ten years are the ones specifying, buying, selling; they are the ones with free and open minds. For now please what I ask is for you to heed the words I tell you - cheaper is down the line a lot more expensive and don’t we all in this present day want to know that we are saving - and doesn’t it give you a sense of something knowing that you have saved on something that is the highest quality!

The showroom at 1 Jellicoe Avenue charms the eyes with the space seeming as though it was made for the products - the best designs from our suppliers Vitra, Moroso, Kartell, B&B Italia and Gandia Blasco. As many of the guests did mention, it is impossible not to notice the showroom when driving past for the building stands out proud with the furniture by no means getting lost in the gorgeous space but rather flourishing.

The evening was convivial with over two hundred of our clients enjoying Johannesburg’s mild weather (away from the fierce Cape storms), drinking the fantastic cocktails by Liquid chefs that I suppose led to tipsy feet dancing along to the great music by DJ Rene.

Thanks for all the support - and finally the Twiice Johannesburg showroom at 1 Jellicoe Avenue is now open to the public!

They are at it again - there is another fake, a copy, a want-to-be so very much out there from the ubiquitous copiers of note, @Home Livingspace!

They have copied the Prince Aha stool by Philippe Starck for Kartell.  Of course, they have not learnt and at this point I realise they never will.  @Home Livingspace will continue to copy and I will continue to review their attempts at duplicating with disdain.

They probably say such things as, “He is sendiing people to us by protesting the copy - free publicity!”, and in return I say, “But then they must go to you if this is what they want.” Because - and I am frankly amazed at how repetitive I have to be - I would like to think that Twiice International caters for the discerning client and not he or she that is after a cheap buy that will last for a few months and wait until the next best (copied) item comes out.

If you are looking for a cheap rip-off that costs R300, then please do be my guest and go to this store - with pleasure!

What happens from here; it is the same old story I contact Kartell so that it is reported and necessary actions are made!

“Good Artists Copy, Great Artists Steal” so said Pablo Picasso; but he was an artist and he was original so I suppose he could say as such, my opinion on this however is as such, “If you are going to copy then you may as well steal.” Verner Panton was an original, he was an artist a creator a thinker – he was a master of fluid, futuristic style of 1960s – he had a truly distinctive style and he will be remembered, the cone chair brought to him attention of which the heart cone was derived from– it was his design, he was the original and with it he had a story – he will be remembered, right now he IS remembered but then you get @home living space, and they or the person or whomever - how can they be remembered; for designing a bad copy of the heart cone chair (amongst others), for taking someone’s story and their history and twisting it into a carnage of a copy!

@home Living Space do well don’t they – they are expanding, they seem to be more and more ubiquitous so I don’t understand, why don’t they design something local that is lekker, why don’t they invest money in students and their design, or do they not trust that something they invest in will do well – is it that they must ride on the tails of design such as the heart cone chair which has already proved successful?

As said the Heart Cone chair was designed after the Cone Chair – and it was this chair, the cone that gave fame to Verner Panton, and it was this chair that gave him his truly distinctive style, where he came into his own - it was this chair, the cone, that attracted controversy in New York, after the police ordered that it be removed from a shop window where large crowds had gathered to see it.

We held a fantastic event at our Twiice Cape Town showroom on Thursday 3rd April - fifteen second year designers from the Cape Peninsula University of Technology exhibited miniatures of iconic designer products, and prizes for the three best were handed out!

It was an unenviable task of choosing a winner as the talent was more than impressive - every single piece was overwhelmingly impressive, and to think that these students were only second year! It makes me more excited to know that this is the future of design in South Africa, that these New Kids on the Block have so much to offer!

Third place went to Cara Brink for the Rietveld Red & Blue chair, second to Craig van de Ruit for his Noguchi Rocking Stool and the winner was Kieran Mans for his perfectly crafted miniature of the “Hill House” - the original designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh.

The passion of students was evident and the excitement of both the young upcoming designers and our Twiice clients was one that re-affirms my belief that this is the way to go - lets focus on design in South Africa, because the potential is palpable - put the investment in and what will come back is only reward - of this I am convinced!

It seems as though local designs may have been influenced by the fact that our fragmented past has, perhaps, disallowed us the opportunity to create a unique visual language – but wait – isn’t it because of such a history, one so diverse, so full of “culture” that each South African should have their own sense of self.

Until recently it seemed that a wooden hippopotamus, elephant or lion were the best sellers, nothing wrong with them, I must add- but it is time now to express the diverse landscape and use archetypes, myths and traditions and create functional design one would like in their kitchen, lounge, on their patio – design unique, design South African but design that would suit any place; from Cape Town to Paris to Dubai and so on.

Realise that the reason Italy and France lead the way in certain creative industries is because of their long history of driving quality and investing in good design. For SA it is a history imbued with other things away from design, South Africans act ashamed and embarrassed of their past, but forget  - it sometimes seems – that the past is not only one of apartheid but much more.

This is a history full of culture, tradition, languages and ideas – what other country has so much to play with – and this is exactly what South African’s need to start doing, play with what you have, what you know and conjure up unique functional design.

Putting South African design on the world map will benefit this country tremendously from an economic, social and technological point of view. There needs to be a bigger platform for bringing producers and buyers together; whether this consists of manufacturers, larger retailers, universities and so on.

There are designers that have taken the leap forward with success; there is Haldane Martin with his Zulu Mama chair, the name itself expressing the inspiration - and it’s a gorgeous chair in its identity and aesthetics (see image); there is also Gregor Jenkins who has creatively refigured the Cape Regency turned leg in stinkwood and yellowwood tables into a stylish profile-cut steel table, the Van di Stel table!

Slowly South Africans are beginning to find confidence in themselves. All one needs is a little help, a little push. The inferiority complex means that one does not believe they are talented and equate to international standards until they are told so. When repeating the words Proudly South African don’t just say it – be it!

It alarms me amuses me and of course at times angers me when I think about design integrity or at times the lack of it. I came to South Africa 13 years ago to start up a business I could be proud of – and subsequently I am, but I do wonder why it is that the client is willing to compromise quality by negotiating on the interior designers’ fee and thus loosing out at the end of the deal.
 
Interior Design is a profession which requires knowledge and expertise; good taste, shopping and bargaining are not the requirements in order to be an Interior Designer. There is an eye – yes – but there is beside the obvious aesthetics – space planning (including functionality) and (most importantly in corporate business) health and safety to consider, as well as knowing your materials, your design, long term benefits and much, much more. There are things to know and things to learn and this is why the client pays an Interior Designer - to help them with what they do not know.

So it is that there are some Interior Designers that are getting by, not by insisting that their fee reflects the value of their expertise and the quality and standard of their service offered – because of course one must make a living – but instead they settle on a 2% or 3% fee and I wonder and I ask, if you are willing to forfeit your standard and deserved fee and rather find it elsewhere, are you confident in your work, your merit – is it not in effect selling out on the talent that you may have?

Then there is the old ubiquitous club – “The Old Boys Network” where pricing is discussed and it becomes a matter of what can YOU offer ME and then we will see where business goes. Design integrity becomes defunct in this club. The client is oblivious to this and the “designer” instead of doing their job is leading them into the throes of a clique and the best solution for the client is not offered.

Whose fault is this?

The client really should realize that if you want a designer with talents and the studies and knowledge, then paying a fee of 2% or 3% is not viable – they need to acknowledge reputable Interior Designers’ expertise and be willing to pay for the quality of service which they no doubt want to receive. By offering a fraction of a reasonable going rate the Interior Designer thus elects to give the preference to the supplier offering the largest discount. The designer really should be more confident with their ability, more assertive with clients and the supplier really should be stronger and swim through the murk of the “Old Boys”, we should say no to these request of “I will throw business your way BUT you will give me this…”

My back is fine I do not need you to scratch it, but thank you very much!

There needs to be a Designer Code of Conduct as with Architects, the client can go to reputable Interior Designers, it will help all. It will help the client, interior designers and suppliers resulting in an open, transparent and ethical environment enabling in the long run a winning situation for the whole industry.

Copying! I think most that know me realise that what riles me is copying of design, I have written about it in our external newsletter quite a few times and of course a list of those that copy is on our website www.twiice.com! It would then be quite suspect, I would think, if I kept my rant of intense dislike of what copying stands for and what copying is and what copying does to the industry away from the blog!

Yes, ‘they’ say that Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but think of the research, the labour, the passion that is put into design – when it is copied and someone makes a quick buck on a popular item, it is ridicule in my opinion. A design is something that is perfected over the years, it is a process of perfection. Copies cannot be made to the same specification because they are made with cheaper labour and materials but yet in some circumstances sell for only a fraction less than the real thing. It is a chair, yes, but this chair has to be light, strong, ergonomic and aesthetically pleasing.

A designer will not just sketch a pretty image and then down the line watch as their piece of creativity dawns to life – there is research involved, quality tests and so on. I cannot just rewrite Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations and rename it Wonderful Prospects, but yet for some reason it is okay that a Verner Panton chair can have its name subtly changed and then it is all okay.

The argument: - we cannot all afford design and if the consumer wants to adorn their house with fakes it is because the “originals” are so expensive. Point taken, but if there were less copies there would surely be more room in the industry for “original” products and we would be able to spend more money and effort promoting local design.

Design is inspiration, our ideas are not completely ours and perhaps no design is 100% original but it is to evolve from what has inspired you, to keep going so that it is you that will be the next inspiration – and where are we going if we remain stagnant and continue producing and purchasing copies?