Cape Town was recently named World Design Capital for 2014, beating Dublin and Bilbao which were also shortlisted. Couple this with the recent recognition of Nature’s own design skills – Table Mountain being named as one of the Seven Wonders of the World – and it has certainly been a celebratory period for this city.

A new unknown price endorsed by an obscure South African lobbying, wouldn’t you think?

The World Design Capital bid has received widespread public and private sector support and, while I am not South African, I joined the Capetonians in celebrating this amazing honour, which is given biennially by the International Council of Societies of Industrial Design (ICSID).

While the trends of “design king”, Ikea, certainly haven’t reached South African shopping malls yet, the creativity and artistic vibe of Capetonians is far-reaching. History, culture and environmental influences have had a powerful impact on fashion and design, placing this vibrant city among the most influential in the world. Cape Town joins previous winners Turino, Seoul and Helsinki on the prestigious winners list.

Here in cape Town we like to keep things interesting with a colourful array of mixed styles; you can visit the historical Malay Quarter, with it’s stylish bursts of random colour and just a stones-throw away you’ll find revival eco-friendly hotels with sleek lines and innovative architectural ideas.

A walk down Cape Town’s city streets and you’ll have yet a further array of interesting design ideas of a different sort; miniature works of art fashioned out of Coke cans, old tyres, beads and feathers line the sidewalks right outside shops displaying Italian design furniture and home ware – it’s all so fresh and inspiring! The trends are sometimes eccentric; sometimes provacative – we either like it or we don’t!

This newsletter exposes just the tip of the design iceberg for you, revealing just how complex and diverse the new World Design Capital is...

And we like it!

S.C.