On Our Feature Wall: Arkivio

Along with spring, September brings something else that is very close to South African hearts: Heritage Day. So while everyone is lighting their braais, doing rain dances and complaining about hay fever, we thought that we should show OUR heritage. For the rest of September, we want to use our blog to showcase some local designers and products that we are obsessed with.

I visited Kamers vol Gesenke last December in Pretoria, where I met Lance – half of the force behind Arkivio . Ever since then we have pretty much been groupies to anything they touch! We are firm believers that design is where form and function meet. Nobody executes that statement quite as well as this Durban based duo.

We asked them what inspires them, and how they approach design. “We’re inspired by what we believe is good design. Our tastes tend towards minimal, clean objects where, generally, a 'less is more’ principle drives the design process. The objects we create are inspired by artisans from all around the world, appreciating the incredible works of others drives us to mix and innovate using what materials we have available to us and to create our interpretation of that style of design.”

Their growth in the market has been organic, as they have experimented people have naturally been drawn to their exciting concepts, they believe that their brand speaks to a niche in the market. People want products that remain true to the impression created by the brand and this has enabled them to establish a firm footing in the South African design scene. Lance thinks that it would have been much more challenging to make any kind of impression if they had not created such a congruent image with their offerings.