Grumpy Bear Arrives at KIN on Kloof

  For the month of July, KIN on Kloof's windows are home to Grumpy Bear and his pile of tempting hot-water bottles. Grumpy Bear is Kooky's creation and his hot-water water bottle covers are made from ultra cuddly, woven felt blankets and are lined with an assortment of colourful fabrics.

Each hot-water bottle comes with two of these cool badges!

Lise-Mari of Kooky getting Grumpy Bear comfortably settled

Grumpy Bear says, "I want to go home with your feet...to keep them warm of course."

Grumpy Bear sure knows how to get your attention! He has a glimmering gold hot-water bottle when viewed from the outside, and a nice cosy red bottle when viewed from inside.

So many colours and prints to choose from!

Kooky also makes the gorgeous blanket poncho's we were chatting about the other day which gives everyone a chance to help someone keep warm this winter.

who we are and what we do

One of the tasks that seemed to keep shifting about ever since we relaunched our website last year was the "About Us" page. We pondered how to best introduce and represent ourselves online...because we really wanted something to boast about, something which we look at and get that delicious chuffed feeling when we did. But this is an "About Us" page. It requires awkward portrait photo's that no one in the world wants to pose for (more awkward than your ID photograph when you were 16 years old)...so what to do? Chantal (being the idea-generator that she is) sighed aloud one day, "If only we could look as amazing as the characters in Jesse Breytenbach's graphic novel!" And then her eyes got that "Ooo-Ooo-this-is-a-good-idea!" look. It's one of the invaluable perks of working with over 100 talented designers, that with a phone call and a few emails, we now have the best "About Us" page that we've ever seen - with portraits of ourselves that we absolutely love. 
Thank you Jesse!


Chantal  is the proud owner of KIN. It's her eyes that have the creative vision to see all of who KIN is and what it can grow to become. Chantal's road to entrepreneurship was driven by her deep desire to do business differently. Combining her love of art, business and yogic philosophy, she believes in changing the world one connection and one sale at a time. She is a skilful multi-tasker, which allows her to support all aspects of the business and yet simultaneously see a panorama of KIN as a whole. Chantal also has an enviable knack to think up excellent concepts and ideas, and to see possibilities that ordinary eyes miss.

Eddie - Having spent his formative months in an art gallery, Eddie has a nose for great design. He’s the type of guy that knows your thoughts before you think them and, in truth, we actually all work for him. With just one of his big-eyed glances, he has us happily doing his bidding –  “A plate of bacon, Eddie? Why right away of course!” He has a heart even bigger than those big eyes, and if you ever need cuddles, Ed is always up for a tummy rub. Naturally, Ed is the Director of Loves and Licks.

Eliana - Although she has the style and street cred of the New Yorker that she is, E’s heart is definitely South African. She looks after all our precious products – from styling and merchandising in the stores, to handling all ordering and stock with our collective of over 100 designers. E dexterously manages the beasts that are Pastel accounting and monthly stock take, and ensures our stores are full to the brim of the things we all love so much. With her compassionate and no-nonsense attitude, E also organises our HR side making sure our KINfolk are healthy, happy and listening to good 80’s playlists.

Melany - Mel is that rare creature in which creativity and business is combined. A pinner of interests and avid online shopper, Mel uses her unique skill set to run KIN online and build her designer-maker company Font and Heart. Mel manages our social media calendar and gets a little over-enthusiastic when KIN followers comment, like and get involved. She also plans our window displays and regular photoshoots, enjoying choosing items from KIN’s vast array of goodies to style for our online store and monthly newsletter, or to suggest to our regular stylists and press.

Tasneem - Taz manages our Kloof Street store. Her bubbly nature and natural passion allow her to handle local and international visitors with ease. As she is a gifted fine artist herself, Taz has an innate love and understanding of KIN’s designer-made products. She is also involved with Kloof’s monthly window exhibitions and can often be seen in the window boxes drawing the most wonderful things on the glass. As KIN on Kloof is a neighbourhood store at heart, Taz our city bowl girl is a perfect fit.

Fazlin manages our V&A store and looks after our Angels who work the night shifts (did you know KIN at V&A is open from 9am – 9pm everyday?!). She speaks several languages and often has us enthral to the wonderful tales of her international travels and adventures. Her effortless warmth and openness ensure she is an instant favourite with even the most hard-to-please international guest. Ever since The Great Flood of 2014, we are in awe of her well-structured thinking and smooth organisation, and know that Fazlin is definitely the right sort of lady to look to in a crisis.

Thessa - A non-native to these lands, arriving in Cape Town eight years ago, it only took four years for The Mountain to imbue the entrepreneurial spirit to Thessa’s love of design. Thessa co-founded and managed KIN with Chantal, constructing our signature visual merchandising style and heading up many of the exciting projects with which KIN has been involved - such our mentorship program and various expos. In 2013, Thessa was offered the irresistible opportunity to coordinate the Dutch Embassy's World Design Capital 2014 programme, and build relationships between Dutch and South African design and innovation. Although off on a new adventure, Thessa remains an integral a part of the KIN family and we love our catch-ups over coffee more than ever.

Studio Sneak Peek : MOKO

A Sneak Peek? What's this? Chatting over tea at HQ one day, we were marvelling at how lucky we are to work with such an array of wonderful designers, and in doing so get to know them, their spaces, people and pets. Suddenly we thought, "We should share them!" and voila! we now have a spot on the blog for Studio Sneak Peeks.

Dagmar Grimmelikhuysen, owner and sole designer of Moko has always been inspired by the beauty of Mother Nature and all things earthy. She enjoys working with wood and natural mediums and loves the variety of textures, patterns and smells she deals with on a daily basis.

MOKO began with a range of children’s toys and has now taken a turn into homeware and decor design which is Dagmar’s latest passion. All pieces are made using recycled wood or wood from sustainable forestry.

Although her main medium is wood, Dagmar also incorporates bits of leather, water-based paints, and varnishes into her work. She often experiments with other mediums as a way to spark creativity and growth.

Visit MOKO's website

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Kooky's Inspiring Ponchos

Although Kooky is best known for the bright, word-focused perspex bangles and cuffs we love so much, we would like to introduce you to the special winter project that Kooky has initiated.

Lise Mari, the creative mind and hands behind Kooky, began sourcing thick, strong, woven felt blankets with Cape Town's homeless in mind. Instead of giving away a blanket, which can be awkward to carry around, she designed a pattern that makes the blankets wearable as incredibly warm and durable ponchos.

Wanting a clever way to involve the community in her project, she now stocks sets of 2 ponchos in our Kloof Street store - each set is for sale for R300.00, and one of the ponchos the customer keeps and the other we donate to one of Cape Town's homeless. The price covers the costs of making, selling and distributing the ponchos without a mark-up for profit.

In a season so cold and harsh, Kooky's blanket ponchos are an easy way to give responsible help where it's really needed. Pairing your give-away poncho with the one you are keeping also connects you to the person you are helping, whenever you wear your own and feel its warmth.

Father's Day Windows at Kloof

No more sock or jocks! Window drawings by Tasneem Kamies

For this year's Father's Day window, we have decided to showcase all the goodies that make stylish (and useful!) gifts for the wonderful dads in our lives that so deserve a special thank you.

An awesome selection including beer glasses, wooden boards, (manly) ceramics, illustrations and jewellery. 

So many options for a guy with excellent taste :)

Laptop & tablet sleeves, leather journals, ceramics and brass cufflinks, silver tiepins and awesome wooden animals.

Balaclava Bears & Angry Bees by Sootcookie and The Troll

Studio Sneak Peek - A Bird Named Frank

A Sneak Peek? What's this? Chatting over tea at HQ one day, we were marvelling at how lucky we are to work with such an array of wonderful designers, and in doing so get to know them, their spaces, people and pets. Suddenly we thought, "We should share them!" and voila! we now have a spot on the blog for Studio Sneak Peeks.

Caryn Fourie and Peter Campbell are the complimentary creative forces behind A Bird Named Frank. With backgrounds in fashion design and fine art respectively; together they produce a jewellery range that has become known for its minimalist aesthetic and clean geometric focus.

Their designs have always been refreshingly simple, and A Bird Named Frank is characterised by subtlety, muted tones, fine detail and quality in craftsmanship. Each item is made with a determined focus on creating wearable pieces and to a standard bordering on perfectionism.

Visit A Bird Named Frank's blog
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