Decorex Joburg 2012

Decorex Joburg is South-Africa´s largest décor and design exhibition. It is held annually at Gallagher Estate in Midrand and yesterday, on the first day of the show, I spent the morning browsing the stalls.

We all go to these types of shows with different objectives. If you are building or renovating, then the floors, bathrooms and kitchens stalls are all in one hall ready to provide you with a list of possible suppliers. Another section has beautifully designed room settings, enough to inspire all of us to rush home and rearrange all our furniture. My favourite section was the Décor/Furniture/Art/Accessories hall that also showcased South African handmade products. So today’s blog shows you some of the things that caught my attention at the show.

I loved Yda Walt’s colourful mugs and linens. (Actually, I liked it so much it will be available in my shop soon!)

My Rhino is a project by a ceramic company that attempts to raise awareness of the rhino poaching problem in South Africa by selling their little works of art. They donate a percentage of each sale to The Kariega Foundation.

Aren’t these ceramic chandeliers just beautiful? HelloOow is a community upliftment project in Natal where a group of women make a range of jewellery and chandeliers from hand rolled ceramic beads.

Meeting Amanda du Plessis from Evolution was the biggest treat of the day. She told, with lots of passion, all the stories behind her cushions, throws and schoolroom chairs.

I found the hanging sky planters from l’Emile et Son very eye-catching. My friend Mary-Ann made an passionate plea for negative geotropism, and that hanging plants upside down amounts to cruelty, but the effect in this setting is just quite striking!

My favourite item at the show was these gorgeous hanging lampshades by Con Amore.

You can visit the Decorex website here or like their Facebook page. (PS. Note the stunning vase on the table at Mongoose's stall!)

Sci-Bono

If you are a parent living in Johannesburg , ideas for how to entertain the kids are always welcome. During the school holidays a couple of weeks ago, I ended up taking Daniel not once, but twice in one week, to what is now my favourite recommendation for a kids-friendly outing in Johannesburg.

The Sci-Bono Discovery Centre is located in Newtown, in the Johannesburg City Centre. It is a giant warehouse filled with all kinds of scientific hands-on exhibits and games. Pressing buttons, pulling levers and flipping switches were never this much fun when I was a kid! I hated science, but this centre, the largest of its type in Southern Africa, is just the place to show the kids how much fun it can be. And let it be known, this mom loved the outing as much as the kid!!

One of the trips was with a group of friends, eight kids in tow. The highlight for them was the Murray and Roberts construction site where they could operate conveyor belts, push wheelbarrows around, lift buckets with pulleys and build with foam ‘bricks’ and ‘mortar’ blocks. The older kids loved sitting inside the cockpit of a fighter jet and Daniel only moved away from the virtual soccer game when bribed with sweeties from the cafeteria!

I cannot recommend this place enough. They do holiday programmes and even kids birthday parties. It is a world-class centre, and an incredible amount of fun to visit. So, GO! You can even take your kid along if you want.

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

PS. Thanks to "the crew"!

Joburg Tap

Love Jozi, a South African t-shirt company that has also designed a few super funky accessories, came up with this Joburg Tap bottle. Because, as it says on the bottle, here in Johannesburg we have some of the best drinking tap water in the world! Plain and unfiltered.

You can buy it here on Love Jozi's website or like their Facebook page.

The Olympic spirit

You’ve got to love the Olympic Games! My little boy now knows who Michael Phelps is, sings God saves the Queen, and has declared beach volleyball his favourite. (I suspect beach volleyball is a favourite of my husband’s too, given all the remarks…) Nevertheless, in between all the hours of TV watching, one has to work from time to time :-) So, on Saturday when I spent the day working in my shop, my husband and Daniel came to meet me for lunch. We went to the Vovo Telo in Cresta (see my previous blog about this great eatery here). I love their cute coasters! Now, any ideas on how to convince the IOC to make coffee drinking an Olympic sport?

Paris Postcard: Christian Louboutin

Today's weekly Friday Paris Postcard is a photo I took at the Christian Louboutin shop in Rue Jean-Jacques Rousseau. I’ve tried on a pair of his iconic super high heeled shoes with the red soles to see just how comfortable they are and can report that although it fits my style, is does not fit my lifestyle. A pair of Converse sneakers seems to be just a tad more practical for the soccer mum in me :-)!

PS. I read on Wikipidia that Christian Louboutin’s single biggest client is the romance novelist, Danielle Steel. She is reputed to own over 6,000 pairs and they say that she is also known to have purchased up to 80 pairs at a time when shopping at his stores!!!

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

Gourmet Burgers

I bought the new Taste magazine yesterday. On the front page was a picture of a burger and inside an article on how to “beef up an old favourite”. Well, we are on trend, it seems! Over the weekend at Daniel’s birthday party, my sister spent some time in the kitchen to whip up gourmet burgers for lunch. (Yes, I am still talking about the same sister. The one who took the photos, poured every one’s drinks, made lunch, kept the conversation flowing even more than the pink wine, and helped to clean up afterwards! Her reward: a nasty cold to take back to Cape Town!)

Her version is made with:

• Ciabatta buns 
• a pesto mayo 
• caramelised onions 
• guacamole 
• tomatoes with rocket leaves 
• and camembert cheese. 

You can give it a try. It is delicious!!

PS. Thanks Gus for the "styling" :-)

Market on Main

Market on Main is a Food and Design market that runs every Sunday morning (and the first Thursday night of every month) in one of the old industrial buildings at Arts on Main (see here). I love the décor, the clever light covers, the food (lots of ethnic options) and the vibe. It is the perfect spot for a bit of people watching, and if you like vintage, retro clothing, the upstairs area of Market on Main has fantastic stalls with beautiful jewellery, handbags, shoes and clothes.

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

Image credits: Elanie Fourie