If Chairs Could Talk by Yinka Ilori.
If Chairs Could Talk by Yinka Ilori.
Image: Veerle Evens

Design Joburg, featuring Rooms on View, is always a stellar display of décor and design — and is the place where the city’s creative crowd gathers. This year it’s under the guidance of Tonic Design duo Philippe van der Merwe and Greg Gamble, and so promises to be unimaginably chic. These are Wanted’s must-sees for the weekend:

THE SPEAKER TO CATCH:

YINKA ILORI

Internationally acclaimed Yinka Ilori won this year’s Elle Decoration British Design Awards and will be presenting at the show. We nabbed a five-minute chat with him.

Yinka Ilori.
Yinka Ilori.
Image: Veerle Evens

The last thing you ate? A tangerine.

One designer whose shoes you’d love to walk in? My grandmother’s. She is no longer alive, but her love for colour and her positive energy towards life inspired me.

Some of the daily happenings on your street? People singing out loud. I hear them going past — it seems to be the road for singing!

The best design you’ve ever produced? Happy Street at the Thessaly Road Railway Bridge, because it celebrates 16 types of happiness in a public space. It’s also my first public-realm commission, so it means a lot to me.

What’s on the studio floor right now? Splatters of paint and spillages from past projects. It’s nice, because they create memories and stories.

Being of Nigerian heritage means? Being expressive.

The thing you want to be remembered for? My love of colour and culture.

And the last? Arrogance.

What informs your work? Things happening in society today and how I can change them.

What did nobody tell you about your profession? You never stop working!

THE STANDS TO VISIT:

1. SPA ZAR

This feature, presented in conjunction with South African Tourism, rounds up an expertly curated selection of established and up-and-coming creatives from across disciplines. They’ll exhibit their products in cubes curated and designed by Source Interior Brand Architects’ gifted creative director Mardre Meyer. Expect to see brands including Mash-T, Urbanative, Ninevites, Sifiso Shange, Zizipo Poswa, Duma Mthimkulu, and Pinda Furniture.

Mash T.
Mash T.
Image: Supplied
Nineveties.
Nineveties.
Image: Supplied
Houtlander Interdependence.
Houtlander Interdependence.
Image: Hayden Phipps

2. COLABS

The CoLabs are at the core of Design Joburg, and what sets this show apart from the rest. These meticulously crafted and fully realised room sets are the aspect of the show that visitors remember. This year’s CoLabs will see a cast of designers using the wares of some of South Africa’s most-coveted brands, artisans, and suppliers. Look out for work by Dylan Thomaz, Fanie van Zyl, Tuami Zulu, Nelson Kubheka, Julia Day and Wendy-Lee Douglas.

Tristan du PlessisCoLab.
Tristan du PlessisCoLab.
Image: Supplied
Tristan du PlessisCoLab.
Tristan du PlessisCoLab.
Image: Supplied

WHERE TO EAT:

LES CRÉATIFS

If you’ve not yet heard of Sowetan-born chef Wandile Mabaso, you can thank us for the intro. The South African star is taking the world by storm with his combination of local training and New York nous. Mabaso will bring his expertise to the show’s “food-design” table under the banner of his new Joburg restaurant, les créatifs. You can look forward to a menu that celebrates a Franco-African union — served in a space conjured up by designer Donald Nxumalo, who also designed the new restaurant.

• Design Joburg takes place on 24 May 2019 – Sun, 26 May 2019.

From the May edition of Wanted 2019.

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