Lauren Fowler at The Fringe

Last night I trundled down the hill for the media unveiling of Lauren Fowler‘s window displays at The Fringe on Kloof. If you’re a Gardens or Tamboerskloof native you may have noticed Lauren being super industrious in the window over the last little while. Every day for the last week I have wondered what she was busying herself with, and when I received the invite (social media VIP, hey shoo wow) I was excited to go and check out The Fringe’s new permanent home.

The result of Thessa Bos and Chantelle Louw‘s series of pop-up shops featuring some of the country’s best design and art, The Fringe is overflowing with locally made beauties, from Skinny Laminx textiles, to Shirley Fintz ceramics and Metaxia jools. Magpie that I am, I was particularly drawn to the jewellery, but I also have a soft spot for quirky ceramics, and The Fringe has lots of both. Of late I have become a lot more conscious about supporting local design, and I would recommend The Fringe as a real treasury of South African products, as well as a surefire choice if you’re on the hunt for a thoughtful, unusual gift.

Lauren’s windows are a great visual summary of her keen eye for the unusual, and for combining newschool wit with oldschool practice. Her much-loved wall hoops, prints and originals are all for sale at The Fringe, and I loved the way she transformed her hoops into a family of makeshift dreamcatchers – kind of like a collection of strange, floating halos. She was wearing – and I say this with a bitter heart – a vintage dress made from black velvet, vintage lace and what looked like a gloriously sculptural taffeta skirt. The tight bodice, cap sleeves and lush velvet had me admiring it through narrowed eyes (sorry, Lauren).

Here are some of my favourite pieces from the wares on display:

Metaxia jewellery.

Sessi Bee ‘man bowls’ (featuring all manner of cool dudes, from sailors, to bikers, to wizards and shamans!) and ceramic lorry necklaces (I’d like a man in one of these).