Klooftique Blog

A couple of years ago I had the privilege of hearing the impressive Leatrice Eiseman speak at a design seminar in Cape Town. Eiseman is an amazing, inspiring American colour trend forecaster and design consultant, and is also the executive director of the Pantone Colour Institute. Like many, I have a bit of a fetish for the Pantone colour matching system; those iconic fan decks of luscious colour and all the merchandise spin offs such as the printed cups, the iPhone covers, the fold-out chairs, the storage boxes… hoo boy, I’ll stop there.

Love these iPhone covers.

A morning perk.

Houston, I have a problem.

Anyway, each year the Pantone Institute reveals a Colour of the Year chosen to resonate with the universal mood of the time, and 2012s colour is Tangerine Tango (Pantone 17-1463). ‘There’s the element of encouragement with orange,’ Eiseman says (she’s got a background in psychology, by the way). ‘It’s building on the ideas of courage and action, that we want to move on to better things. Tango in particular is hopeful and optimistic, marrying the vivaciousness and adrenaline rush of red with the friendliness and warmth of yellow while maintaining a quality of sophistication’ says Eiseman.

Well, I love orange – it’s a strong, vibrant colour which makes me feel upbeat and happy – but I haven’t quite recovered from my mother’s 1970s orange kitchen (sorry, no pic of that horror to post!) so it’s the one colour I’ve always been a little shy about using in my home. I’m never sure how to incorporate it into an interior, to be dead honest, and so have been recently looking to the interwebs for a little inspiration…

I like the eclectic feel of the mismatched chairs (via Living Etc)

Such a great little space to have breakfast in, and a touch of black & white always works for me. (via Living Etc)

I love the way this stylist has used orange as an accent. Would work beautifully in my home (also via Living Etc)

Strong, but I could live with this appetite-stimulating hue.

Gutsy mix of pink and orange. Works for me.

Works well as an upholstery colour *hint, hint Marianna...

For now I’ll go with using it as an accent colour (there’s a vivid orange cabinet that has my name on it) but I’m blown away by the styling in some of the pics above, especially where the stylist has used pattern and colour with such confidence. Hope you are too. Enjoy!

Julia

Solid kiaat cut out dining table | 2200 x 1200 | @ ZAR  13 500 incl VAT

Kiaat sideboard @ ZAR  12 500  incl VAT

Marianna and Luca with the bracelets.

We are so happy to announce that Klooftique are now the proud stockists of Cruciani Bracelets!
For those of you who don’t know what these beautiful creations are, here is an excerpt from their website :

“All over the world a symbol of hope, unexpected joy and good luck, the four-leaf clover is associated with new and happy events. Given its rarity, many people consider the plant a sacred specie and a powerful good luck charm.

Bringing luck for both those who find it and those who receive it as a gift. According to tradition, each leaf represents a particular quality: the first being reputation, the second wealth, the third health and the fourth true love.

An amulet for you or for your loved ones?

The quadrifoglio bracelet is a veritable jewel of needlework, original also as a gift and accompanied by good luck wording in nine languages!

The quadrifoglio bracelet is available in 28 vibrant colours that can be worn with a T-shirt or an elegant suit, and will always be admired by all!”

Bracelets are also available in the following designs:

Hearts – Celebrating “love forever”.

Ponte Milvio – dedicated to declarations of love on Rome’s famous bridge, these bracelets are made up of a heart shaped locket & a key, one to be worn by the man, the other the woman.

Dragons – celebrating the Chinese year that’s just started.

What are you waiting for? Come get yours now

Next week is Valentines day, and so in lieu of this, we have created an ad for Die Burger, which is in today’s newspaper.

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If you are wondering why the advert looks so “faded” – it’s because the ad is printed on the newspaper which tends to go darker, so the prepared files need to be sent as less saturated, so the images don’t become dark splodges on the page.

We know you will “love our new sofa’s” – check them out below!

Solo Daybed – Beach White Leather – 2500 x 1500 – R 14995.00 on promo

Nu York Sofa – Zambezi Copper Leather – 2500 wide – R 12700.00 on promo

Cubist IV Chair – Cherry Red Leather – R 7200.00

Whilst paging through the latest garden & home, I happened upon this very stylish & very African, mounted animal head.
If you scroll back a blog post or two (I have inserted it into the photo below as well) – we have a very similar one in our shop… (ours is the one on the very right).

We call it the “Cow Head” – I agree, it is not an extremely inspired name, but at least we save you from confusion, it’s going for R1 600. But wait, there’s more!

We have also recently brought these sexy beasts into our shop… the distressed wooden ones are my favourite, but there is a choice of three colours to suit any room decor, the below, distressed as well as white & natural wood.

I hope everyone had a fantastic Monday!

I’ve spent the past few days prepping for my monthly food shoot with the lovely Phillippa Cheifitz, one of my favourite food writers and long-time contributing editor at Taste Magazine. I really look forward to this shoot; what’s not to love about working with talented, generous people, eating wonderful food plus spending a couple of days of pre-production (ie. shopping) in pursuit of the perfect bowl, plate, napkin etc?

I love raw, organic tableware with an unfinished feel (hope that makes sense) and am so inspired by Elephant Ceramics, Michele Michael’s range of exquisite hand-made tableware. She’s a design editor and prop stylist based in New York – oh boy, would I love to have access to her prop house – and I urge you to head over to the website showcasing her work, www.elephantceramics.com.

I imagined a roasted pumpkin soup in these

How delectable would already-delectable cheese look on this?

Another ceramicist who I admire is Montreal-based Basma Osama, who makes porcelain ware that I love for its simplicity and minimalism. How amazing is her work?

These plates, these plates. Oy.

Perfect serving pieces

You can see more of Osama’s work at www.ceramikb.com.

So, as you can see, I’m always looking for unusual, contemporary crockery and fortunately it’s not that hard to find closer to home. Along with Marianna (who gave me my first Shapiro pieces, two perfectly pale pink bowls), I’ve been a big fan of master-potter Anthony Shapiro’s eggshell-light vessels and his work always seems to find its way into one of Phillippa’s shoots. Her food and his bowls are a fine pairing.

Based in Cape Town? Anthony is offering ceramic classes this month (from beginners to advanced) at Art in the Forest in Constantia. For more information about the classes, visit www.lightfromafricafoundation.co.za or call them on 021 794 0291.

Cheers, Julia

Nu York Sofa – 2,5m @ R12 800.oo on selected leather

Solo Daybed @ R14 995.00 on selected leather

Check out our latest mention in your latest Elle Decoration magazine, page 91!
The article is on Modern Family & features an amazing apartment in Copenhagen – our star this month is a Black & White Multi-Division TV Cabinet (see image below) from R8 500

Inspired? Click here to view more : TV Units

Love the latest edition, so many beautiful rooms. Take a squiz at page 100 – 103, some fabulous ideas on bookshelves. Don’t forget about our “Step” Bookshelf – from R5 800 featured in our “Hot in the Shop” Blog

Happy Reading!