SIMPLY SOUTH
play play
Play Play is a result of a close collaboration between De Steyl – the South African furniture makers, based in Garden Route lead by Deanne Viljoen, and RR Studio a pattern development studio – lead by Renée Rossouw, together with local artisans and apprentices from the community.
Aiming for simplicity in the manufacturing process, they have suppressed unnecessary and damaging chemicals on the way, leaving room for beautiful, sustainable materials. Birch Plywood play was a saying in this conversation, sanded and finished by hand, and a new way for Deanne of opening up questions surrounding manufacturing processes, as she is moving towards a more sustainable signature in her practice.
“It was important for me to create a proudly South African range that has environmental integrity, is playful and fun to use and which you can relate to from childhood into adulthood. ” Deanne Viljoen
Both Viljoen and Rossouw are designers trained in architecture, and this made it an easy task to find a common ground of interaction and communication, making shapes, materials and colors an economy of transcend, since it is also about investigating dimensions between object and space.
The patterns are closely linked to painting techniques used by the Ndebele women, often prepared in strong bold colors to decorate walls. In fact, this technique is embedded into the South African painting traditions passed down from generations. Yet, here they are, translated into semi-abstract graphic patterns for the eye to devour.
“It becomes apparent in the process that certain patterns work better on certain objects or surfaces. At the moment I’m very interested in exploring different processes with a multitude of steps to make new art. My patterns are usually a step beyond the final artwork. But as Deanne mentioned earlier, as architects we are also interested in how people use objects or space. For me it is a natural inclination to want to use these patterns on various products, and not keep them on paper only.” Renée Rossouw.
Text Rosewood Magazine
Photo Courtesy of De Steyl
Rosewood Magazine, a proud narrator of stories that matter, connecting singular subjects to a global audience. This young magazine focus on creativity on the African continent and trends in general.
