Cape Town’s South African Market, a reservoir for trendy local labels, is enjoying huge popularity and plans to expand online and northwards.
On trendy Bree Street in Cape Town above the popular La Parada restaurant and tapas bar is the South African Market, a designer emporium known by the acronym SAM.
The loft like space is filled with ranges from a variety of local designers: fashion ranges from brands such as Celeste Arendse’s Selfi, Margot Molyneux and Shana; stationery, illustrations and accessories from Lauren Fowler, Soet and Essie Letterpress; furniture by Xandre Kriel, Jakob Basson, Piers Mansfield-Scaddan, Cameron Barnes; and homeware from Skermunkil, Handmade By Me, Love Milo, Ivy White and much more.
The shop stocks more than 100 local designers – almost double the number of brands in stock when the store first opened its doors here.
The store is an idea entrepreneur and designer Berlinda White had had for a long time – though it originally started as a website concept. Frustrated with having to visit different shops in her search for unique South African products, White sought to create a one-stop shop offering a variety of locally made design products.
Unprecedented popularity
After White met Dutch expatriate Naomi Bossert and discussed the idea with her, the two sought to make this vision a reality in late 2013.
“We sought to create an online platform for designers where we would do everything for them from admin to postage, because designers generally don’t like dealing with admin,” White explains, but they soon found the space on Bree Street and opened in December 2013.
SAM’s positive results, and other similar boutiques such as Egality in Parkhurst, Johannesburg, shine a spotlight on what is evidently a challenge faced by the local design industry.
Consumers are exposed to events such as Fashion Week, in the clothing sector specifically, but few know how to get their hands on the product. Market interest is certainly there.
The challenge is in making sure businesses are able to meet those demands while maintaining the kind of growth that will allow them to absorb more designers and make them available both on the shop floor and through virtual portals.
Visit ilovesam.co.za for more information
