Fresh Starts & Blank Pages

We've once again hit that strange little bump of time; Christmas passed in a quick dream of fairylights and warm, buttery scents; New Years eve swung by in its usual glamour and merrily-slurred toasts to the year's end; and now Here We Are. The beginning of a new year. Twelve months sit patiently waiting for us to gather our plans, appointments, important dates and celebrations. If you are like us, you haven't let go of the ritual of Annual Diary Buying. Make no mistake - it's a tricky business - this book is going to be your constant ally for the next 365 days so you've really got to get along. With so many options to consider on the shelves, you're bound to feel the pressure of the decision. It can't be too small (you've got to actually write all the goings on in there and be able to read them) or to big (it's got to be comfortable to carry around because it's going to go everywhere), and then there's its personality: you want it to be stylish and friendly but not generic. No matter how pretty the cover, a diary full of the same re-used quotes year after year is not going to crack it. We want something fresh and engaging - a brand new year is, of course, a big deal.

 

When the lovely Schwarzie sisters Karen and Astrid, first mentioned that they would be designing a 2014 diary, we were more than a little excited. Simply put, we love their work. Their designs are beautiful, clean and playful. We knew their diaries would be no exception and that our choice this year had already been smoothly, happily made.

2014 Diary by Schwarzie, available at KIN, R220

The books have A5 pages with broad spacing and lots lines, and a jumbo spiral spine for smooth writing on alternate pages (and it also allows you to stick/staple/cram notes, post-it's and ticket-ends in to your heart's content).

Zesty 2014 Diary by Schwarzie, available at KIN, R220

There are two cover designs, Delta and Zesty, to choose from and each book comes with four colourful 2014 stickers for you to position where and how you like, and a black & white Schwarzie pen which can clip neatly into the spine.

Delta 2014 Diary by Schwarzie, available at KIN, R220

And that's just the outside. Inside, each month has it's own gorgeous title page design with a useful monthly calendar. It's a comfortable page-a-day (with weekends sharing a page) and there are eccentric little anecdotes for interest and cheer at the bottom of the pages - just a quick browse of these had us nodding, pondering, and giggling.

2014 Diary by Schwarzie, available at KIN, R220

There will be no to-ing and fro-ing from different stores as we debate options this year - a Schwarzie diary is everything that we want in our bookish companion for the months ahead and we can't wait to use, love and explore ours!

1000 New Year Wishes

To welcome in the New Year, we are hanging one thousand origami cranes in our Kloof Street store’s windows. Each ethereal little bird is a wish in paper form, and we would like to encourage all our designers, customers and friends to pop by, cut a crane free and make a wish for your year ahead. If you’d like to take your wish home for a friend or loved one, well, that’s even better.

KIN on Kloof

This exquisite installation is a collaboration with paper artist Keri Muller who is well-known for her artworks made from old books destined for the recycling pile, abstract paper artworks, and enviable origami skills. The exhibition’s concept is loosely based on an ancient Japanese promise that in folding one thousand origami cranes, one evokes a powerful wish. We would like to set a thousand good wishes free into the world, and it's our New Year's gift to all our KIN to take a small piece of art home with you. We also love the idea that origami cranes are thought to be a compelling lucky charm when hung – so get yours up as soon as you get home :)

Our happy flock of cranes will live in KIN on Kloof’s windows from Boxing Day (Thursday the 26^th December 2013) until the middle of January 2014.

Looking Back on Glorious 2013

With only a few days left of this year, we've become a tad nostalgic thinking over all the exciting happenings of 2013. We thought we'd share our top three press articles published on our stores, and the happy moments that went with them.

UK Homes&Antiques

We were pleasantly surprised to find our stores featured in the gorgeous UK Homes & Antiques magazine. Living in the creative capital of South Africa, it's easy to take the marvellous array of daily creativity for granted, but luckily our international customers often remind us how fortunate we are to live in country so alive with vibrant design.

Plenty of love and lollipops in our stores

As this article in The CapeTowner describes, June was a month brim-full of beautiful moments as designers, visitors and customers spent time writing thank you cards as a part of our Lollipop campaign to celebrate our Kloof Street store’s second anniversary. We were profoundly inspired by a man named Drew Dudley, who spoke at TEDx about how he connected two strangers with a lollipop and, without knowing it, changed their lives forever. Everybody has a powerful, life-defining moment that came about as a result of someone doing something really tiny. Sometimes that person might not even know the effect of that one little thing that they did, and we wanted to offer everyone who has contact with our stores the chance to thank the people who, through small moments on their part, helped make a huge difference. We also thoroughly enjoyed giving out bags and bags of lollipops :)

The interactive window display at our Kloof Street store by TouchFoundry, featuring pieces by Smith Jewellery

In September we were featured in The Weekend Argus for our collaboration with Smith Jewellery to present the first interactive window display of its kind at our Kloof Street shop. Developed by Cape Town company TouchFoundry, this software allows potential customers to browse the goods inside a store from the window in a cool, interactive and intuitive way that delights and draws them inside. We all had great fun waving our arms about until we got the hang of virtual browsing, and spending time looking at all Smith’s gorgeous silver, brass and copper pieces was a daily treat.

Growing a Creative Seed

After introducing Jay and Warren from the Fort Hartley School for Betterment, we wanted to offer a closer look at the beautiful growing visuals they created as we counted down together online to the launch of KIN. We enjoyed the playful suspense that each image created until our complete logo and tag line sat proudly in full bloom.

Who Contributed & Why We Love Them!

It's been a few months of solid hard work but there were huge smiles all round as we watched the lovely new KIN signs being fitted to the stores. There has been such positive feedback from our designers & customers, and in wanting to pass on the compliment, we would like to introduce our key behind-the-scene crew who contributed to the hugely successful launch our new name, feel and website.

Four and Twenty Blackbirds Baked in a Pie

Michael Chandler of Chandler House has made his birds from his iconic four-and-twenty pie dish spread their wings. Catch these one-off beauties in the windows of KIN on Kloof before they fly away... 

Each of the twenty four birds is hand-painted and incised on a dinner plate which Michael designed himself. The plates are not only beautiful, but also hard-wearing as they are dishwasher and microwave safe.

There are twelve side plates and twelve dinner plates, that are sure to turn any meal into an artistic feast. 

Let Font and Heart Capture Yours

Our very own Melany Jane Hodgson, who until recently managed our Kloof Street shop, is currently celebrating the launch of her brand Font and Heart. Which you can now find in KIN on Kloof Street and KIN at V&A.

Each of these A6 notebooks has a cover that has been stitched, drawn or collaged by hand. Within are 100 blank white pages just waiting to be filled with elegant prose, unfathomable haikus and sketches of absurd objects.

Luckily, they are just as interested in grocery lists, measurements of the hallstand and random telephone numbers scrawled without names. 

Above all they want to be light-hearted and used without deliberation – the most important thing is that they get used! Get yours from KIN now.