CHANGES - Our Workshop

We are busy planning some awesome changes around here. As you might know, my hubby Ryan runs Steelinc, a metals furniture and fabrication business. I run ilovebokkie (kids furniture brand) and Sketch bok/dbn (interior design and decor studio) and together we create our own line of furniture too (Sketch bok/dbn furniture collection. All these brands can be quite confusing, so we have decided to bring all 3 brands together, seeing that we work under one roof anyways!

To kick start these exciting changes, we were super fortunate enough to have the insanely talented couple Michelle Hankinson and Jimmy Reynolds in our factory last friday to photograph our workshop and some of the homes we have completed.
I'm so in love with these photos that these two magically created! I just have to share a few with you:

Cant wait to share more with you, so stay tuned to our CHANGES series, where we will be sharing snippets of the new branding process with you lovelies.

Locals Supporting Locals

We are so chuffed to have constant support from local interior designers and decorators and other local creatives with our furniture collection. It makes me so happy to see our creations in awesome interiors like these;

These amazing interiors are by Durban based decorator, Ruth Duke:

Sketch bok/dbn furniture pieces featured in these interiors above are the stitched ash standing light, (top left), copper plated kitchen splash back custom made and installed by hubby (Steel inc), brushed stainless steel side table (bottom left) and copper side table with mirror top (bottom right).


These glamorous interiors are by talented interior designer Michele Throssell Interiors:

Sketch bok/dbn furniture pieces featured in these interiors above are:  1st photo, is our stitched ash standing lamp in white, 2nd photo is our warped copper coffee table with mirror top, 3rd photo is our polished stainless steel side table and the coffee table was custom made by my hubby (Steel inc.) 4th photo shows our drummin zulu stool/ottoman.

Thanks lovely ladies for the constant support!

Copper Hex Table

We recently custom made this copper hexagon table for one of our good clients. We are so happy with the way it turned out and have decided to add it to our Sketch bok/dbn furniture collection. Check out the details on the Sketch bok/dbn Shop page.

How awesome does it look in Yanni's office, and how amazing is his office space?! Swooning!

Pictures via @yannivosloo on instagram

Workshop Works

We've been hard at work creating and making furniture pieces in the workshop. . .

This copper plated faceted side table we made as a custom piece for a good client of ours and made a stainless steel polished version for home too:

These simple and elegant brass standing lamps are exclusively available at Plumbago store in Florida Rd:

This smooth copper drum side table is still one of our popular pieces. The pic on the right is a sneak peek of a brass and stainless steel table we busy with. Very excited about this table . . .

This warped copper side table was an order for a stand at Durban Decorex and this sweet little shelving unit I designed for a doctors waiting rooms to house magazines. It's in a cool antique copper finish:

Hubby has recently aced the art of brazing brass, so we in the midst of creating some amazing brass pieces, so stay tuned . . .

Urban Lace @ Decorex Durban 2014

Hello lovelies! Hope you all had a lovely weekend. My baby boy and I travelled up to Joburg to visit my sister, this past weekend. Had such a lovely time with her!

So, because I was in Joburg, I unfortunately missed the Durban Decorex 2014. I did get to see a few of the stands on social media, and I really loved Urban Lace's stand.
Ok, so maybe I'm a little bias cos they did showcase our Sketch Bok/dbn warped copper drum side table (which looked amazing), but their stand was so fresh and exciting and I absolutely loved the colour scheme too. They rocked the geometric trend so well, and not to mention the uber cool pineapple accents. Such fun! Well done ladies!!!

My Trend Forecast for 2014 - Trend #8

Trend #8 - HANDMADE & HAND-DYEING

Traditional techniques in fabric staining and dyeing using natural plant dyes are a major trend this year. You will see this technique used on fabrics for cushions, rugs, curtains and throws. There is a high appreciation for traditionl hand-dyeing, especially as the world is looking to Africa and focussing on their craftsman.

Image above of Boubacar Doumbia from Mali. He is the creator of amazing Bogolon mud cloth available at Habitat.

ilovebokkie SALE

Hello lovelies, hope you all had a fab Xmas and New Year! We had a wonderful break with the family and are looking forward to a good year ahead.

So, to get this year off to a rockin start, we are having a little ilovebokkie sale on our stock items:

Ellie Drawing Table with pink edge :
Normal Price R1385
Sale Price R990
( 1 available)

Gerry the Giraffe Kiddies Coat Hangers:
Normal Price R29
Sale Price R18
(15 available)

Cork Placemats:
Normal Price R90
Sale Price R60
(9 max the monkey
3 leo the lion
3 ellie the elephant)

Bokkie Wall Hooks
Normal Price R425
Sale Price R355
(2 yellow
5 white)

Free delivery in the durban area, delivery charge not included for other cities

Email me to place your order wendy@ilovebokkie.co.za

Sale ends at the end of January!

miss+meisie Durban pop-up

We had just a fantastic response to our first Durban showcase for miss+meisie! A big big thank-you to all you lovely durbanites for your amazing support, and to all those that spread the word on instagram, thank-you!
For those of you that couldn't make it, here are some pics of our pop-up held at The Factory Cafe this past weekend:

Images via Andie Carrie and my instagram @ilovebokkie_sketchbokdbn

Thanks to all the local Durban creatives: Ashley Viljoen, Olivia Villet, Denise Kiggan, Terry Angelos, Christy and Sarah Gillmer, for being part of our showcase. You guys rock!

Dont forget to 'like' our miss+meisie facebook page, to keep updated on the launch of our online shop and our next showcase!

Q & A with Sarah Gillmer of Elli & Munkel

Today Jess and I have been hard at work setting up at The Factory Cafe for the opening of our miss+meisie durban showcase tomorrow. The space is looking amazing and we cannot wait for you all to see!

We have set up a dedicated space for kiddos lovelies which include some of my ilovebokkie product and the very cool babies clothing line, Elli & Munkel.
I'm in love with this range of babies clothes. There is nothing local in durban like it. Just too super awesome. My little baba will be getting a few new additions to his wardrobe, thats for sure!

The brain child of Elli & Munkel, Sarah Gillmer:

My life right now is . . .unpredictable, full of new experiences and challenges but oh so exciting.

What makes you tick? . . .Lindt dark chocolate.

Favourite thing about spring? Watching my bulbs shoot up new leaves and flower.

Being a designer/artist/creative allows me to . . .make my own rules, push creative and self-boundaries.

I am good at . . .understanding fabrics and how they react and influence the final design.

Something i really wish i was good at . . .playing the piano.

How would you describe yourself? Always looking for the beauty in the world around me.

How would others describe you? A perfectionist who works to hard.

What inspires you? The people around me and their passion for life, architecture and the spaces we live in, amazing fabrics and the sun rise over the city for my kitchen window


Check out their latest spring collection being launched this weekend at the miss+meisie showcase:

How cool will these graphic harlem pants look under one of their tutus?! Too damn cute.
Hope to see you lovelies this weekend at our showcase at The Factory Cafe!