2020 | Saint d’Ici

Saint d’Ici is a botanical perfumery based in Cape Town, South Africa. In 2020, I worked with the owner to redesign their packaging to align better with the sustainable aspirations of the brand. Overview: The perfume industry is one of excess. Saint d'Ici as a natural perfume brand wanted to move in the opposite direction whilst still retaining a luxury customer experience. The main flacon needed to be crafted to reflect the spirit of this artisinal natural perfume brand, and hence ceramics were explored. The owner of Saint d'Ici wanted to source locally and to streamline production - minimising the production steps, the number of suppliers and the variety of packaging that she needed to store. We seperated out the functional and the aesthetic. The functional is a standard amber bottle that serves as the refill and is easy to recycle and ship. The spray pump is a screw-on and ... Read More

2009-2011 | Jacqueline Rabun Jewellery

"Illustrating human experience through the medium of jewellery." Jacqueline Rabun Jacqueline Rabun is an internationally renowned American designer who has run her jewellery design studio out of London since 1990. Her signature is described as "fluid conceptual forms" and a "poetic approach to design." Overview: In 2009 Jacqueline employed me as an industrial designer at her studio in order for me to streamline the production of her pieces. My role focused on using my industrial design expertise to convert her existing collection into CAD enabling a better means for their rapid production. I was only based in London for a few months, but continued to remotely work with Jacqueline on a range of other custom jewellery projects until 2011. Jacqueline's full jewellery range and online store can be accessed here. Selected Outcomes: Jacqueline Rabun's Alphabet Collection Jacqueline Rabun's We Rings 'A Line of Love' in collaboration with Jacqueline Rabun and ... Read More

2008 | Phumani Pet Hippo

In 2008 I was employed as a industrial designer to add to the existing range of Phumani Pets produced by Phumani Paper. Phumani Paper was established in 1999, as a partnership between South Africa's Department of Science and Technology and the University of Johannesburg. The driver behind the project was Prof Kim Berman from the Department of Visual Art at UJ, whose vision for Phumani was to create a series of hand-papermaking manufacturing units in extreme, rural poverty nodes in seven of South Africa's provinces. Phumani assisted in the creation of more than 250 jobs and the implementation and mentoring of 15 small hand-papermaking enterprises in communities severely affected by unemployment and HIV/Aids. It is unfortunately not longer operational. Overview: Phumani's handmade paper was crafted from locally available, natural resources and waste products. These include the bi-products from sugar-cane harvesting in KwaZulu-Natal, agri-waste produced from Free State mielie husks, invasive ... Read More

2002-2004 | Espresso Cup, Saucer & Spoons

From 2002 until 2004 I worked with cermic artist Eugene Hön to help realise his concept for an Afrikan inspired espresso cup, saucer and spoon set. Overview: During a visit to the Wits Art Gallery Eugene was inspired by the beautiful forms of Zulu spoons and hats. As a means to explore Afrikan style, he reiterperate these objects into an expresso cup, saucer and spoon set intended for a Western market. I was employed by Eugene to reinterpret his sketches into the CAD environment, which enabled us to 3D print and investment cast the spoons in silver (intended to be produced in stainless steel for production), and 3D print the espresso cup and saucer for their ceramic production. Eugene Hön's personal website can be visited at https://eugenehon.com/ Outcomes: A ceramic expresso cup and saucer, two versions of espresso spoons and a sugar spoon.

2001-2003 | African Style in Product Design

After completing my Bachelors in Industrial Design, from 2000-2003 I undertook a research Masters in Industrial Design titled "Developing New Stylistic Possibilities for African Product Design Inspired by African Cultural Heritage." It was the first Masters study in Industrial Design in South Africa, and was undertaken at the Technikon Witwatersrand under the supervision of the late Phil Oosthuizen, Department of Industrial Design, and co-supervison of Phil du Plessis, Department of Industrial Design and late Marialda Marais, Department of Fine Arts. Overview: The research project endeavoured to explore and develop notions of ‘contemporary African design’. The project focused on chair design with particular reference to the Senufo articulated chair from the Ivory Coast. In order to frame the practical research the separate histories of Western chairs and African chairs were examined for common ground. Ideas of cultural identity and style as a means of communicating an African identity to the West ... Read More