October 2011
34 posts
15 minutes with Philippe Grohe
Philippe Grohe is the man behind Axor, the designer brand of German bathroom specialists Hansgrohe.
What you should knowHe’s like the Alessi of bathroom fixtures, a modern-day mécène who taps architects and designers to create stylish, contemporary taps, mixers, basins, bathtubs and handles to jazz up your bathroom. In the last 20 years since he began Axor, he’s called upon Philippe Starck,...
Watch out!
WANTED’s special edition watch issue will be delivered to Business Day subscribers tomorrow. Keep an eye out for exclusive online content on all thing horological.
Cult shop: Graff Diamond Salon
Perched on the mountainside above the Helshoogte Pass between Stellenbosch and Franschhoek, Delaire Graff Estate is not merely home to some gorgeous wines (the estate’s Botmaskop 2008 is a particular Wanted favourite). Step inside its winery’s soaring David Collins-designed interior and you’ll discover that tucked away, there is quite literally a treasure trove: Africa’s first Graff Diamonds...
Gucci: the grand brand at 90
Luxury leather goods brands such as Hermès and Louis Vuitton have recently made a deliberate move into haute horlogerie after many years in the fashion watch category. By setting up their own dedicated workshops in Switzerland and bringing the watchmakers’ know-how in-house as opposed to licensing the task to a third party, they essentially committed to a high-stakes foray into uncharted...
Time for Hermes
The watch division of the world’s most valued luxury brand has been going through an exciting time since Luc Perramond joined Hermès Montres in 2009. As of this year the watches are available in SA via Architects of Time so we met the man himself in Switzerland to find out about Hermès’ enduring relationship with watches.
Mr Perramond, most people know of Hermès as a luxury accessories...
Gifted: William Yeoward
During his recent trip to SA for the launch of his fabric range at Home Fabrics, we spoke to UK interior decorator William Yeoward. This designer and author loves entertaining and he claims “people are the essence of my being”. He surrounds himself with interesting people, and finds an ideal dinner party will have no more than 10 guests, made up of 60% people you know well and 40%...
Powerdresser: Nozizwe Vundla
“Finally, women now have a place they can go to get bespoke clothing items that focus on fit and style for the South African body,” says Nozizwe Vundla, one of the founders of Epiphanae Bespoke Clothing for Women. The newly opened studio is for women who understand style, appreciate attention to detail, love classics and are not afraid to experiment with fabrics or their look. Owners...
Wanted Wine Offer: Winemaker Selection - Jeff...
Wade Bales’ constant search for the finest Cape wines has led to lasting relationships with many leading winemakers. These long-term partnerships enable him to bring you limited release wines from top cellars for your enjoyment.
Villiera is a family run winery, with Jeff Grier heading up the winemaking team. The family is committed to preserving the environment and to the education and...
Wine interview: Jeff Grier, Villiera
There are few winemakers who display the all-round flair of 54-year-old Jeff Grier, incumbent at family-owned winery Villiera in Stellenbosch since 1984 but probably best known as a maker of bottle-fermented sparkling wines. He’s made many special interest visits to Champagne and his bubblies have earned multiple accolades, most recently the Monro Brut 2005 rating five stars in the 2011 edition...
Travelogue: Elizabeth Hurley
Describing herself as “mum, model, actress, bikini designer, organic farmer” on Twitter, Elizabeth Hurley is best known for her roles in the Austin Powers (1997, 1999) films and as the face of Estée Lauder. Travelling is part of her job description, with trips around the globe for film shoots and as part of Estée Lauder Companies’ breast cancer awareness campaign. Hurley was in SA in...
Taking stock
Durban’s newest menswear boutique, The Stock Market, offers an impressive blend of contemporary, quality brands with an old-world shopping experience, emphasising the importance of one-on-one personal service.
In addition to the personal service, the visual aesthetic of the store’s branding and décor sets The Stock Market apart from most other menswear shops. Entering the store, by following the...
Carry it your way
If you attended the Autumn/Winter 2011 SA Fashion Week at Crowne Plaza in Rosebank, you would have undoubtedly spotted Suzaan Heyns’ True Colours collection sweeping the catwalk. WANTED picked out her stunning handbag range as worthy of special mention.
Produced in collaboration with Lorinda Roux of award-winning Leather Rose, these bags are produced from the finest quality leather, all of local...
East side story
Dwarfed by a monolithic Telkom office, Barrack Street in Cape Town’s East City Precinct was previously known merely for endless queues outside its Home Affairs branch and that certain strip club. Since September 2010, however, its eastern end has been home to Field Office, the showroom for Pedersen + Lennard.
The space is not merely an excuse to flaunt the design partnership’s furniture,...
A perfect arrangement
David Smit’s La Fleur de l’Homme Emporium has literally blossomed since he set up shop in the Birdhaven Shopping Centre a year ago. This floral boutique gets Wanted’s nod of approval for truly inspired floral designs. Whatever the occasion, Smit’s elegant creations will delight and impress. We have him on speed dial and his creations on weekly order. La Fleur de l’Homme Emporium also sells...
The find: the Qalakabusha couch
This Qalakabusha couch turned heads at the Milan Furniture Fair in April. Ardmore Design Collection and Mavromac have collaborated on this unique and fun piece of furniture, which we spotted at the Food Wine Design Fair last year. Now in production, it heralds an exciting development in functional design for Ardmore, just as the name suggests (qalakabusha means “new beginnings”...
Blue sky cooking
Henrico Grobbelaar’s sublime pork belly. View more of his creations here.
Pork belly. Despite it being a blazing spring day – and despite the dish’s appearance on practically every menu I see these days – I didn’t regret my choice. The eight-hour confit version at Azure, the Twelve Apostle Hotel’s fine dining restaurant, was melt-in-mouth – the decadently smoky flavours complimented by a fruity...
Blank is beautiful
While Blank Project’s passing trade appears to include a car guard sauntering in to use the toilet and a homeless drunk in the mood for a chat, gallerist Jonathan Garnham is unflappable.
The non-profit gallery he founded in 2005 made the move from a tiny space in Cape Town’s Bo Kaap to gritty Woodstock a year and a half ago where lower rents meant it could get a decently sized space.
...
Loom loves the Lama
Parkhurst menswear store LOOM weighs in on the Dalai Lama visa saga with two cheeky t-shirts conveying outrage at the SA government’s snubbing of the spiritual leader.
Retailing at R680 each, it’s clear there’s no such thing as a Free Tibet. The store says it plans to plough all profits from the sale of the t-shirts back into a travel fund for the Dalai Lama’s next visit...
Wanted Wine Offer: Mulderbosch Barrel Fermented...
In partnership with the Wade Bales Wine Society, WANTED is offering readers the opportunity to purchase Mulderbosch Barrel Fermented Chardonnay 2007, which was recently included in the Top 100 South African Wines and awarded 4½ stars in John Platter’s Wine Guide 2011. This is a lively wine which shows green and gold hues, as well as tones of vanilla, English country garden herbs, chestnut,...
October uncovered
WANTED’s October issue will be delivered to subscribers in tomorrow’s edition of Business Day. We take a sneak peak at what’s behind the covers.
For service, our local hospitality industry gets WANTED’s nod of approval. But in the midst of market turmoil, high-end hotels and lodges are feeling the bite of lower occupancy rates. We take a very hard look at the way forward.
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Travelogue: Sean O'Toole
Sean O’Toole spends a lot of time changing his voicemail. “I’m away, please email me at…” Formerly the editor of Art South Africa magazine, he writes about art and “lots of other stuff that mostly flies under the radar” for a number of local and international publications. He is co-editor, with Tau Tavengwa, of new magazine CityScapes, and writes a regular art column for...
The find: the Jawbone Jambox
Yeah, yeah. Headphones are all good and well if you want to keep your tunes to yourself but sometimes you’re in the mood for sharing, want to stage an impromptu party or need to have a conference call when you’re on the go.
Enter the Jambox. This beautiful little box, from the San Francisco-based Jawbone, is a speaker that pumps out up to 85 decibels of sound. Available in four...
Gifted: Laurenz Schaffer
As president of BMW Group DesignworksUSA, Laurenz Schaffer leads the global design consultancy’s strategy, design management and operations including all three DesignworksUSA studios located in Munich, Singapore and, the headquarters, Los Angeles.
Appointed in December 2009, Schaffer brings more than 18 years of experience across diverse functions and industries to his position. Schaffer’s...
Quality time: Chopard Mille Miglia
Chopard has an entire division devoted to racing-inspired sports watches and has been a primary sponsor of the Mille Miglia classic car race from Rome to Brescia and back for over 20 years now. Each year sees a new Chopard Mille Miglia watch release, adding another iteration to a growing dynasty of models united by distinctive design traits such as the 1960s Dunlop-inspired racing tyre-tread...
