August 2015
Shoppe: an emporium of covetable curiosities
A special place for special pieces
As the name suggests, Shoppe is a shop with a difference – opening off Durban’s quaint Market restaurant courtyard with its tree-ringed fountain and packed with covetable curiosities selected by owner Sonia Vosloo from creatives across the country.
The entrance is guarded by a cheeky yellow plastic “daxie” bench piled with cushions by Sam Cross; and quirky Black Cat peanut butter and Marmite jar seats by Cape couple Bruce Goodall and Jeanne van den Heever, delicate glass gardens by Lance Surgeson and Paul Rabinowitz, and wire proteas by Babette Noble spill out on to the cobble-stones.
locally made gifts "
She also loves the laser cuts by Louise Spamer that mix board with fabric and hand-painted detail: “They have strong personal signatures.” Vosloo’s closest competition, she says, is the internet: “But I’ve had disappointments buying online – things don’t always live up to their illustrations. I like to see and touch pieces, and my customers do too.”
So much so that she has now opened a satellite Shoppe further across the Berea, in a sari-papered room off Antique Café in Churchill House. “The atmosphere is great,” she says happily. “It’s another fun place to Shoppe!”.
91-93 Churchill Rd, Morningside, Durban
083 626 6088.