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 Decorex SA
Mar 13-16, 2008, Durban, South Africa |
Detoxing the home is the next big thing
Do-good décor? Inventive re-use? No longer the domain of hippies on the fringe, décor with a conscience is becoming mainstream. Home fashionistas are downscaling rather than replacing last season’s scatter cushions for a more trendy hue.
“Detoxing the home is the next big thing,” says Cairey Slater, general manager: exhibitions for Decorex SA. “The wellness phenomenon not only impacts on the way we eat, but how we design and decorate our homes.”
Conspicuous consumption is being replaced with a new attitude – conscious consumption. “Consumers are more conscious of the environment, taking greater responsibility to protect it; and they are eager to find ways to make the home better, ecologically speaking”.
 Good design is driven as much by ethics as by aesthetics. Even when selecting functional ware such as a kettle or a vacuum cleaner, green aspects have joined functionality, good design and price as factors influencing our choice. Designers have a new responsibility and a new set of challenges, referred to a design’s life cycle analysis: how a product is made, how it will be used and where it will go at the end of its functioning life.
Switching to eco appliances when replacing defunct labour-saving devices is now about saving energy resources. Surprisingly, some of the top tips in using less energy in the kitchen are what Mom and Dad have been saying all along:
* When making a cuppa only boil enough water as much as you need
* Defrost fridges and freezes regularly.
* Fill the dishwasher and washing machine right up before washing - or use half-load setting.
* Save tumble dryer for wet weekends. The washing could do with fresh sunlight.
Second hand is turning sexy: Second hand furniture rather than antique gives ordinary people an opportunity to reduce the strain on the earth. Eclectic living has made a hodge podge of décor high fashion and not frowned upon as the poor sister of modern.
Materials that are recycled provide new design inspiration. Objects made from reconstituted wood, paper formed into seating, anything that began life as one substance and has been formed into gorgeous new shapes, passed from hand to hand and given a new lease on life.
Buy local, buy handmade: Anything made and bought close to home should be better. Buying locally manufactured products used to be in the category of ‘doing the right thing”, or even patriotic. Now it has a wider significance as it is an effective way of reducing the use of resources.
Buying local reduces your carbon foot print on the world. Homeware often travel vast distances to reach us. Transporting a table from across the world use up much more resources to get here, resulting in a larger carbon footprint than the locally made product. Buying locally also support the local economy and its crafters.
The South African Handmade Collection, a new initiative by the Department of Trade and Industry (the dti), is set to catapult the country’s craft to new heights by molding it into a contemporary form and introducing it to high design environments. Says Nadia Sujee, director: dti creative industries: “The South African Handmade Collection will be established as a brand representing the highest quality, design led, well manufactured, environmentally friendly South African craft products.”
Each work in this collection - whether it’s a basket expertly woven from grass or recylced or a quirky chandelier made from found objects - represents a strategic step taken by its creator towards becoming a successful local entrepreneur and exporter, according to Sujee.
To pass on crucial colour and trend information to the craft sector a series of workshops will be held in each province. Says Melanie Robinson, coordinator of the workshops: “the future looks bright for the colourful, creative craft industry.
“The demand for the handmade is not merely a fashionable trend, believes Robinson. “In the modern world we are exposed to frenzied consumerism; our planet is under siege, our lives ruled by technology. To balance out the throwaway mentality, consumers will continue to crave the handmade.”
Get a taste of eco-friendly handmade craft for the home at:
Decorex Durban incorporating Hirsch’s Kitchen and Bathroom Faire
13 – 16 March 2008, Albert Luthuli Convention Centre, Durban
Decorex Cape Town
25 – 28 April 2008, Cape Town International Convention Centre
Decorex Joburg
30 July - 03 August 2008
Gallagher Estate, Midrand
The first annual South African Handmade Collection debuts alongside Decorex Joburg, showcasing the country’s definitive collection to local and international buyers.
Decorex SA
www.decorex.co.za |
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