ELLE DECORATION
06 November 2009
It felt good to see our 'Africa' carpet sitting centerstage on page 32 of the latest ELLE DECORATION. It was with a sense of pride that we produced that one. The times that I call myself an African, I get an uncomfortable feeling that I don't quite deserve the title. Yet what am I? I know my Africa - it reverbs inside me and it is me. Yet I am not starving or fighting or in the middle of a coup. I don't need aid, I don't have Aids. I am not part of the many huge mind-blowing struggles that so often defines Africa. I am here, rooted and deeply in love with this land and I belong only here.
There was a man called Reg who drove a bus in LA. I was on that bus one day and when he heard that I was from SA he slammed on brakes shouting 'invader'! He tried to bring out a shame in me, whitey on black turf. I resisted that shame and handed him a wire flower ( I had a stack of them in my backpack) which he clutched against the steering wheel in his big hand and I saw him soften and we spoke and he told me that Jesus was a black man. He pulled out a photo album of his paintings, the black Jesus featured strongly. I stepped off the bus with a warmth inside and a compilation of love songs made by Reg. Gifts were obviously his love language and we had made a connection, an African one.
I know that beyond our pseudo designer walls looms an Africa bigger than our brains can fathom. This is an Africa with problems we cannot turn away from. Women are buying bling dummies for R400 and paying their domestics less than R100 a day. Our Africa carpet says that we love this continent. We acknowledge this Africa we live in. We know we need to bring solutions to it's brokeness, be it in small doses. To look up from the pedicure and know that it 'cures' nothing. My heart is telling me that we have MORE to DO, more to give, more to feel...
But I concur, this has nothing to do with the kindness shown us by Lauren Shantall of ELLE DECORATION. Jax and I thank her for the super editorial. PE is on the map - right there at the bottom of Africa, and it's a great place to be.
Warmest!
Tania
HOME/TUIS MAGAZINE
28 September 2009
We've always felt that when the Decor Editors and stylists of the various Decor mags on our shelves start to feature our carpets, that we'll have achieved a measure of success. There is an authenticity which decends onto a product when the media acknowledges it. We feel that that is beginning to happen with our Stencil Collection. Thank-you Amanda van Wyngaardt for being the first to give us a large editorial piece! The wheel is starting to turn. Visit HOME/TUIS at www.homemag.co.za or pick up their latest copy that recently hit the shelves.
Enjoy the pick-me-up of a really good mag.
Tania
xx
It will touch you
18 September 2009
Jacqui and I feel privileged to have been discovered by Nicolette Coetzee www.touchit-design.co.za of Touch It Designs. Please go to her site and view not just the beautiful products but also the heart and soul with which they are presented. Nicolette is tuned in to the stories behind all of us who grace her website. We all have a story to tell. We are all in the process of making our stories happen. We love the fact that Touch It is a part of our story.
Tania
xx
Just look at this
11 September 2009
Marimekko, a Finnish design company gives us an injection of inspiration!
Go on and take a look at www.marimekko.fi/eng
Let us know what you think.
Warmest!
Tania
Inspiration
13 March 2009
We are inspired by the aliveness of the global design engine. The carpets we create is but a globule of what is inside of us. We marvel at the ‘talentbank’ that is evident in our everyday. The man down the road who is baking his own bread, we feel it warm in our hands. The butchers’ daughter – who’s transformed the family business into a meat phenomena. The artist, who paints a bikini on a tree trunk and makes us feel a kind of glad everyday as we pass. Our ADSL lines that spew magnificent craft and architecture, art, design and of course food from afar. There is a sharp intake of breath as we realize that each of us (yes you) has our own specific design stamp. Our passion is to share who we are and what we do and to feed it to you.
Sites we love:
From Tania www.thecoolhunter.net
From Jacqui www.droog.com
I was going to write a paragraph on the latest in flooring trends but stopped myself. The latest can be whatever you want to walk on.