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Design of the week

Russell Hobbs is giving away a limited edition A3 artist print by either Karabo Poppy Moletsane, Sindiso Nyoni and Kisua Africa, and a fully automatic Russell Hobbs Cafe Barista Coffee Machine worth almost R3 000 to one lucky reader.

You’ll need to go to russellhobbs.co.za/artofliving and see the gorgeous prints for yourself, then SMS your name, surname, email address and delivery address to 34217 and tweet @RussellHobbsSA to tell them which print you would like the most. SMSes cost R1.50. Free SMSes do not apply.

sindiso nyoni Graphic designer Sindiso Nyoni was also recently commissioned to create artwork for the film Get Out

At #Trending there is nothing we love more than a stylish collaboration, and this week’s Design of the Week is an exceptional project. Home electronics brand Russell Hobbs has joined forces with Karabo Poppy Moletsane, Sindiso Nyoni and Kisua Africa – three of our favourite African designers – for their new Art of Living range, and it’s a winner.

The brainchild of digital agency Retroviral and trend analyst Nicola Cooper, the one-of-a-kind range of appliances features bold graphic coverings that bring warmth to the industrial objects. Surprisingly, their forms become the perfect canvas for the illustrations of these formidable design forces.

We caught up with 25-year-old Moletsane, who started Mother Tongue, “a creative agency dedicated to the preservation of the African aesthetic”, and is responsible for the range’s gorgeous coffee machine.

karabo poppy This coffee machine is decorated by 25-year-old illustrator Karabo Poppy

Moletsane is excited about the forthcoming window installations, which she is hard at work on: “It’s really exciting to see a company venture into taking window displays to the next level. I think we’re going to be in the forefront of the window display game in the world.”

Her process, she tells us, comes from observations of South African cities. “I like going into the Pretoria and Johannesburg CBDs to photograph things that I think are uniquely South African, like hairstyles and fashion. I then stylise the images and create illustrations from that.”

The result is a very pattern-based approach to illustration. “As an illustrator I work with patterns a lot, particularly on the people that I draw. Being a South African, we have a lot of pattern in our culture, which I think comes from the diversity of our lives here. We have 11 official languages, and in our cultures patterns have always been popular. I’m seeing that now patterns are entering international markets that they haven’t entered before, which I like.”

Moletsane’s and the rest of the team’s work will be displayed in installations at key Boardmans stores around the country from July 11.

While the creative customised appliances themselves can’t be bought, you have a chance of winning them. Shoppers who purchase any Russell Hobbs appliance from any retailer nationwide will be eligible to win R100 000 or one of three exclusive Art of Living appliance collections styled in collaboration with the creatives. To find out more, visit russellhobbs.co.za/artofliving

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