BlackBook the smart
BlackBook the smart guide N o 1 Discover UPDATE CAPE TOWN Once a no-go area, Cape Town’s formally industrial Woodstock is now abuzz with in-the-know locals and visitors who come for the many new shops, galleries and restaurants. The Old Biscuit Mill (theoldbiscuitmill. co.za) is the main attraction: a 19thcentury edifice that now houses the city’s buzziest weekend market, with galleries ranging from up-and-coming What If the World (whatiftheworld. com) to international showcase Michael Stevenson (stevenson.info) and local crafts shops such as Imiso Ceramics (imisoceramics.co.za) and Heartworks (+27 21 424 8419). It is here, too, that leading Cape chef Luke Dale-Roberts – whose La Colombe was named twelfth in the San Pellegrino 50 Best Restaurants in the World in 2010 – has two eateries: Test Kitchen and his latest venture, The Pot Luck Club (thepotluckclub.co.za), a glass box on the rooftop, serving sharing platters of such unusual combinations as beef and chocolate. New energy has also been injected into the city centre, thanks to the emergence of a new financial district on the Foreshore. Long Street has a hip hotel, Daddy Longlegs (daddylonglegs. co.za), with silver Airstream caravan penthouses on its roof, and two notable boutiques – Merchants on Long owned by Hanneli Rupert, daughter of Richemonte CEO Johann Rupert, and Tribal Trends, a two-storey African interiors emporium. The Gold Museum (goldofafrica.com) has been revamped, to show off the largest collection of West African treasure on Earth, now alongside a shop selling pieces by five of the country’s most covetable goldsmiths. Parallel to Long Street, Bree Street is undergoing its own evolution: a stroll away from the new Paul Smith boutique are such local designers as Skinny laMinx ( $ skinnylaminx.com), jeweller Kirsten Goss ( $ kirstengoss.com) and bespoke bag designer Missibaba ( missibaba.com). The best of the new hotels to open is the ideally sited Cape View Clifton, with its pared-back whiteand-wood interiors and peerless views of Clifton beach ( $ capeviewclifton.co.za). Lisa Grainger N o 2 SHOP AFRICA NOVA From Africa Nova, a leopard and flower ceramic jug handmade by South African studio Ardmore Ceramic Art “Our source is Africa,” says Margie Murgatroyd of her retail gallery, which displays the diversity of the continent’s visual arts. Pliny the Elder made the prophetic comment that Africa always produces something new, and indeed South African design here is unusual in its combining of African and Western cultural forms to create new idioms. With works by Martine Jackson, Lisa Firer and Gemma Orkin, the store’s tableaux present ceramics alongside contemporary crafts, tribal artifacts, handwoven textiles and fine art. 72 Waterkant St, Cape Town; africanova.co.za Paul Duncan Photos from top: Hamish Niven, © africa Nova 32 CENTURION-Magazine.COM
Photos riana Vogel; Perfume: © Frazer Parfum Huguenot Street Located in Franschhoek (Cape Town’s answer to East Hampton, about an hour east of the city) is Huguenot Street, a major promenade often dotted with Benzes and BMWs that offers some of the Cape’s best locally inspired shopping. There, side by side, you’ll find Indian Summer ( $ 50 Huguenot St; +27 21876 2992) and Peacock Blue (50 Huguenot St; peacockblue. co.za). The former is a women’s boutique carrying necklaces made in the area, studded with sapphire, topaz and citrine; the latter is a menswear shop selling sturdy safari bags by South African supplier Melvill & Moon. At Karoo Classics (58 Huguenot St; karooclassics.co.za), ostrich wallets and crocodile belts sourced from the nearby Karoo make stylish souvenirs. Up the street, Tallulah’s (21 Huguenot St; +27 21876 2819) attracts a loyal clientele with printed frocks by Mastik, while all the leather goods at Tsonga (40 Huguenot St; tsonga.com) are handstitched in South Africa – try a pair of the store’s signature shoes. SARAH KHAN R o b E R T Sherwood Design Robert Sherwood’s studio shop on Cape Town’s Bree Street strip is curated by the designer himself, with one-of-a-kind artworks, furniture and objets d’art such as gold leaf bowls by Bronze Age (above). It’s a charming space to discover established and upcoming talent. 173 Bree St; robertsherwooddesign.com Kerryn Fischer Merchants on long Pan-African artisanal labels are the stockin-trade of Hanneli Rupert’s Long Street concept store, which brings to the market made-in-Africa brands like Cape Town’s Frazer Parfum; bottled in local handblown glass (above); Lalesso, the womenswear label produced in Kenya; and Rupert’s own Okapi leather handbags, which sport an instantly recognisable springbok-horn talisman. 34 Long St; merchantsonlong.com PD A dress by Mastik, with a distinctly African print, available at Tallulah’s CéCIle & Boyd’s Set in a restored Arts and Crafts villa with artworks, artifacts and furniture (such as the Jaco high-back chair, left), the four-storey shop in Cape Town mixes European and African influences with aplomb. It’s headed up by Boyd Ferguson, who revolutionised the bushlodge aesthetic in the 1990s with his properties for Singita Game Reserves. $ 26 Kloof Nek Rd; cecileandboyds. co.za KF CONTACT CENTURION SERVICE FOR BOOKINGS CENTURION-Magazine.COM 33
