When in Pretoria ..... Ginger and Fig

Our last stop on our Pretoria trip was lunch at a fairly new artisanal eatery called Ginger and Fig in the small Brooklyn Centre in Jan Shoba Avenue. I love the story of how the owner used to be in IT. After 10 years he decided to follow his passion and studied full time at the Prue Leith Chefs academy. He then worked for a year at the Test Kitchen and The Potluck club under one of South Africa’s best chefs, Chef Luke Dale-Roberts. He returned to Pretoria to open Ginger and Fig.

The restaurant’s décor is contemporary, very industrial and all in black and white. I loved the light fittings and the Pauchard chairs (Sorry for the tangent, but I think my house can do with a couple of the high chair versions in red!!)

Our food was great. We were super impressed with the amount of detail on every plate that came out of the kitchen. It seems that all their food is preservative free, free range and mostly organic.

  

   

  

  

 You can read more on their website or like their Facebook page.

Image credits: Elanie Fourie and Nani Kornelius

Marieke Prinsloo-Rowe at Linen & Stone / Garden Bleu

I couple of years ago I walked into Garden Bleu in Greenside. I was familiar with Marieke Prinsloo-Rowe’s series of cement sculptures of female figures, but on this particular day it was her beautiful Victory Angel that stopped me in my tracks. It reminded me of the Winged Victory of Samothrace, one of the most beautiful sculptures I’ve ever seen. I immediately fell in love with this sculpture that, for me, celebrates beauty and femininity. 

Marieke Prinsloo-Rowe is a South-African sculptor who studied at the University of Pretoria and then Wits. She’s received numerous awards over the years and many of her commissioned works are used as awards, such as the KKNK Kanna Awards. She is also the person behind those amazing sculptures of the little girl in a red and white bathing costume that used to be on the Seapoint Promenade in Cape Town (read more here). Today she works from her studio in the Elgin/Grabouw valley. Most of Marieke’s work is an exploration of the female form. They are primarily in polished concrete. She first sculpts in clay and then makes silicone moulds. She then casts the different mixes of reinforced concrete into these moulds. Sand and stone with different tones from different parts of South Africa are used to achieve colour and texture. 

Linen & Stone / Garden Bleu – both in Greenside and in Hatfield - stock a wide range of her works. Included in this are the ranges celebrating her first born, the little “ducky” toy range of her second child and the milk bottles for her third. These motherhood-inspired sculptures are really worth mentioning, even amongst the massive body of work she has built up regardless. Sometimes, I personally find it difficult to explain the wonder of motherhood without using the normal clichés. These figurines manage to convey a tenderness, a subtlety and a love that surpasses description through words, a three-dimensional essay that tells you at a glance that their creator has lived the emotions that she is capturing. 

You can read more about Marieke Prinsloo-Rowe here.

When in Pretoria ..... Linen & Stone / Garden Bleu

To me, the lovely Garden Bleu in Greenside (see my previous blog here) is one of those shops that just inspires me whenever I have the change to visit and browse their beautiful wares. It stimulates all those “I-want-to-revamp-my-garden” senses and it encourages the decorator in me to make my home prettier. 

So, when we decided to visit Pretoria, their Duncan Yard shop was an obvious destination for us. Rhoda Kruger, the owner of Garden Bleu, expanded their range of products under the Linen & Stone label and the shop stocks a beautiful selection of home décor, fabrics and accessories. So, we harnessed Rhoda into babysitting Emma for a bit while my sister and I took photos of her beautiful shop. I especially love the beautiful sculptures by Marieke Prinsloo, Carol Slabolepszy and Rohan Janse van Vuuren. Actually, I got so carried away with taking photos of their Marieke Prinsloo sculptures that I will have to share that in a separate blog tomorrow....

You can visit their website here or like their Facebook page.

Image credits: Elanie Fourie and Nani Kornelius

When in Pretoria ..... Moi Decor

Life has been very busy and I’ve been struggling to post my blogs about our Pretoria outing. However, it seems that today, the most frantic and chaotic day of them all, sitting in front of the computer gives me a wonderful quiet moment just to take a breath.

We stopped at Duncan Yard in Hatfield and one of the shops we visited was MOI, a French-inspired home and gift shop. They stock a variety of handpicked gifts, quaint home ware items and linen, ornate mirrors and dressers. The also offer a wedding or party hire service. 

You can visit their website here or like their Facebook page.

When in Pretoria ..... Lucky Bread Company

Our first stop on our Pretoria day-trip was a lovely artisan bread and coffee shop inside the Brooklyn Mall. It has a wonderful rustic retro feel to it. We immediately fell in love with the design, from the obvious amount of detail on every sign and on the counter displays to the bright colour coffee cups and the baseball t-shirts on the (very friendly) waiters.

We learnt that the Lucky Bread Company is collaboration between two companies. One is TriBeCa Coffee Company, quality coffee roasters with a few of their own shops in and around Pretoria. The other is The Bread Gypsy, winner of this year’s Eat Out DSTV Produce Award for the best bakery in South Africa. The handmade breads are first fermented for at least 18 hours before being baked in a wood fired oven, using only stone ground flour without any preservatives.

The shop does not have a kitchen, but you would never guess so when looking at the extensive menu. I ate a delicious Lucky Breakfast with pan fried mushrooms, avo, boiled and sliced egg with melted cheese on top of sour dough toast. My sister had to share her bacon with Daniel whose face was smeared with chocolate all over after his Pain Au Chocolat – the perfect testimony to a superb breakfast. It is a fantastic spot!

You can like their Facebook page here or read more about The Bread Gypsy and TriBeCa Coffee.

Image credits: Elanie Fourie