Cape Town report: Design Indaba 2013 and highlights from Woodstock

As Cape Town prepares to succeed Helsinki in 2014 as the World Design Capital, the international design community are already locking down sunny soirées in their calendars. For many, though, this won’t be their first pilgrimage to the city: Design Indaba has been pulling in devotees for the past 18 years.
The expo is more an international TED-style talking shop than product showcase and this year’s conference was a graphic, design-centric affair. A double billing of heavyweight husband-and-wife teams - Seymour Chwast and Paula Scher as well as Steven Heller and Louise Fili - headlined a programme that included the likes of David Adjaye, John Maeda and Alex Atala.
Trend forecaster Lidewij Edelkoort curated a key exhibition at the fair, ‘Totemism: Memphis meets Africa’, exploring the aesthetic overlaps between the Italian pop-coloured counterblast to dour modernism and contemporary South African design. Edelkoort tapped 53 local designers to run with the idea, among them established names like Porky Hefer, Ardmore Ceramics, Dokter & Misses and Liam Mooney alongside up-and-comers such as Isabeau Joubert, Werner Venter and Warno Rüde.
The main hub at Design Indaba may have hosted the lion’s share of big names, but the rest of the city was equally beset by design fever – most noticeably in Woodstock, which pulses as the undisputed creative heart of Cape Town. The Woodstock Foundry, a mix of stores, galleries, restaurants and workshops, was the venue for some of the most interesting offsite events. 'Heavy Metal', for example, was curated by the excellent Southern Guild gallery and featured the work of many Edelkoort recruits.
Down the road lies the latest creative complex to open in the area. The Woodstock Exchange has been developed by the team behind the nearby Old Biscuit Mill and houses a similar mix of independent retailers and restaurants. Anchored by the Superette café, it's also home to Lise du Plessis’ bags-to-furniture Dark Horse; design duo Pedersen and Lennard; and Saks Corner’s mix of vintage and contemporary design.
The Old Biscuit Mill has gotten a shake-up with the arrival of The Pot Luck Club & Gallery, an eatery perched atop the new Cape Town Creative Academy. There is more development to the west of Woodstock in The Fringe, Cape Town’s self-styled ‘innovation district’. Fanning out from Buitenkant Street, the Fringe has been designated ground zero for next year’s World Design Capital events.
It can seem almost too perfect in this pocket of world-class flat whites, design workshops and artisan chocolatiers, but Woodstock is still a little rough around the edges and home to real factories and manufacturers making real things. That contrast makes it one of the world’s more fascinating and vibrant creative quarters.
'Entertained', by Gregor Jenkin (left) and 'Haywire Black', by David Krynauw (right)
From left: 'Pipe planter'; 'Trellis' and 'La La Drinks Cabinet', all by Dokter & Misses
'Samoosa table', by Xandre Kriel
'Talk Bench', by Joe Paine
'Black Hole', by Porky Hefer
'Love Me, Love Me Not' table, by John Vogel and Justin Plunkett
'Leaf', by Sibusiso Mthembu
'Hex' nesting tables, by Haldane Martin
From left: 'A very Cheeky Gentlemen's table' and 'Jodi', both by James B. Hannah
Lidewij Edelkoort curated ‘Totemism: Memphis meets Africa’, a key exhibition at Design Indaba 2013
Rudolf Jordaan and Micah Chisolm's totem
'Curious Still Life Landscape', by Anja de Klerk
Lidded nesting bowls, by Diana Ferreira (left) and crochet vases, by Peta Becker and Margaret Woermann (right)
Clemetina van der Walt's ceramic totems
'Zizag Mandala', by Marisa Fick-Jordaan
'Chopstix' lamp, by Warno Rude and Werner Venter
'The Hybrid Totem', by Nawaaz
'Ceramic Kit', by Renne Rossouw
From left: Pleated vessels in black porcelain, by Lisa Firer, Rebecca Khusu and Hilda Njokwana; and 'Shona' lamp, by Liam Mooney
The Woodstock Exchange is the latest addition to the city's growing creative hub - its façade is emblazoned with this simple ethos
Bold, graphic shapes at the Woodstock Exchange
Fire-engine red piping caught our eye on the streets of Cape Town
A giant chandelier sculpture composed of scrap bicycle frames hangs in the foyer of the Woodstock Exchange
'Sleeping dog', by Frank, 2012
Vintage design at Saks Corner in the Woodstock Exchange
'Ingvar' chair, by Pedersen and Lennard, at their Field Office café and showroom in the Woodstock Exchange
'Tall Credenza', by Pedersen and Lennard
The workshop space at Cape Town Creative Academy, where tutors are encouraged to build their own office furniture
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