The other day when I popped in at Khayelitsha, Zanele's son, Lusa, and his friends were hard at work on their isilwayiwayi - or draadkarre, as we knew them when I was young. After much testing and debate, it was decided that the old inline skate wheels needed to be replaced with old snuff box wheels, eagerly collected from the old men of the neighbourhood.]]>http://fa.mielie.com/index.php?entry=entry120510-1659102012-05-10T00:00:00Z2012-05-10T00:00:00ZWhen you miss someone, show it
When I popped in at Khayelitsha the other day Zanele was wearing a very pretty necklace made of plaited grass and beads. When I asked her about it, she said that she wears it whenever she has a dream about her family or she just misses home and it always makes her feel better... What a lovely idea!]]>http://fa.mielie.com/index.php?entry=entry120502-1757512012-05-02T00:00:00Z2012-05-02T00:00:00ZAutumn sunset magic
The sunsets have recently been so magnificent, although I fear we won't see another for a little while. Today it's all Cape of Storms and no sun.]]>http://fa.mielie.com/index.php?entry=entry120430-1537352012-04-30T00:00:00Z2012-04-30T00:00:00ZTake a moment to look up
Autumn always brings the most spectacular clouds and skies. Today we had a fantastic thunderstorm that pushed Table Mountain's table cloth right over the back of the Twelve Apostles. It looked like a witch's cauldron that was boiling over. Then the heavens opened and the parched Earth had its first proper autumn drenching.]]>http://fa.mielie.com/index.php?entry=entry120426-1819302012-04-26T00:00:00Z2012-04-26T00:00:00Z...]]>http://fa.mielie.com/index.php?entry=entry120405-0941152012-04-05T00:00:00Z2012-04-05T00:00:00ZIf it ain't ugly, don't redesign it!
I collected these beauties in Khayelitsha yesterday. Some of our original Mielie bag designs and still so beautiful... in my humble opinion! Thank you Zanele, Cokile and Vuyelwa! All three are looking for a new home.]]>http://fa.mielie.com/index.php?entry=entry120403-1207492012-04-03T00:00:00Z2012-04-03T00:00:00ZThere's a Mielie in a Krimi!
If you grew up in the 70's and 80's in South Africa and understood just smattering of Afrikaans, chances are that you probably chewed your nails through a couple of episodes of Misdaad, a German cop-thriller series that was translated into Afrikaans for local TV. You'll be pleased to know that 40 years on, Tatort, as it is known in Germany, is still going strong, with 9 million viewers watching every Sunday night in Germany alone.
My good friend Birgit was the production designer for a couple of recent episodes and decided that one of the detectives - you know, the intelligent, artistic, more intuitive one - should have some Mielie magic in her house!
If, like everyone else, you want to know who dunnit, the answer is Nomfuneko done the cube, Sheila the floor cushion!]]>http://fa.mielie.com/index.php?entry=entry120319-1353502012-03-19T00:00:00Z2012-03-19T00:00:00Zb'At your service!
I just uploaded these beautiful Bat chairs onto the webshop. So simple, so comfortable.]]>http://fa.mielie.com/index.php?entry=entry120223-1131552012-02-23T00:00:00Z2012-02-23T00:00:00ZWell, well, well, look who's back!
It's been quite a while since my last blog entry - three months, in fact! Instead of excuses and apologies, please accept this photo of the Louis XV chair that we made last year. It is finally back with us in Cape Town after an extended trip to Joburg and beyond.
While on the topic of chairs, I will be updating the Mielie webshop with some beautiful bat chairs later today - feel free to have a look on our webshop - just click on Buy! ]]>http://fa.mielie.com/index.php?entry=entry120220-1213252012-02-20T00:00:00Z2012-02-20T00:00:00ZGran's chair has a revamp
Zanele's looking mighty pleased with herself, and so she should be! She made this beautiful cover for a chair that belonged to one of our customers, Helen's Granny. We'll be posting it to Durban where Helen will have the chair upholstered, but Zanele can already imagine exactly what it will look like. Hope you love it, Helen!]]>http://fa.mielie.com/index.php?entry=entry111123-1504032011-11-23T00:00:00Z2011-11-23T00:00:00ZA great commission for a wonderful client
We made this magnificent Nguni-inspired headboard for fashion diva Marianne Fassler's Cape Town exquisite apartment at the deliciously seventies Disa Towers. Marianne managed to capture the essence of the cool seventies - down to the crazy paving and give it it a contemporary twist. She has furnished the whole apartment with furniture from local designers. She was delighted with her headboard... and I was delighted too! Thanks Zanele and Vuyelwa for the huge effort, and if you are ever looking for a good upholsterer, speak to Quality Upholsterers in the BoKaap.]]>http://fa.mielie.com/index.php?entry=entry111119-1602532011-11-19T00:00:00Z2011-11-19T00:00:00ZHome, sweet BEAUTIFUL NEW home!
We have finally moved in to our new premises at Fairweather House, Woodstock. Our new address is:
3rd floor Fairweather House 176 Sir Lowry Rd Cape Town.
The Mielie weavers came in with their work today and saw our new home for the first time. They loved it!
Cokile and Nomalizo take a moment to enjoy the beautiful surroundings. ]]>http://fa.mielie.com/index.php?entry=entry111017-1537582011-10-17T00:00:00Z2011-10-17T00:00:00ZMielie in Sarie
Thank you to Sarie for featuring our the Red leather fringe bag and also an article about Mielie!]]>http://fa.mielie.com/index.php?entry=entry111004-1627082011-10-04T00:00:00Z2011-10-04T00:00:00ZT-shirt wool
Our t-shirt yarn is becoming increasingly popular with people who like to go home and knit, crochet and knot their own. Each skein is 55m long and since it's recycled, you get what is available at the moment, or, as a little friend recently said: "you get what you get, so don't get upset"!]]>http://fa.mielie.com/index.php?entry=entry110929-1101162011-09-29T00:00:00Z2011-09-29T00:00:00ZCan it possibly be that time again?
These beauties are about to embark on a looong journey on a ship to Finland, where they will arrive just in time to spread a bit of love and cheer on some lucky Finnish Christmas trees!]]>http://fa.mielie.com/index.php?entry=entry110921-1641532011-09-21T00:00:00Z2011-09-21T00:00:00ZNew in the webshop
We've just stocked up the Mielie webshop with beautiful new bags and pencil cases. At the moment our webshop is only available for Mielie peeps in South Africa.
Great news! We are moving to the beautiful and lofty Fairweather House in Woodstock! I love the walls, the roof trusses, the concrete, the ceiling beams. But most of all I like the quality of the light. I can't wait to photograph Mielie products in the space! Mausie the red bicycle will keep the Mielie flag flying until we move in... but first there is lots of packing to do.]]>http://fa.mielie.com/index.php?entry=entry110906-1713512011-09-06T00:00:00Z2011-09-06T00:00:00ZDecorex impressions
Our Nguni and Bubble wrap handbags spent most of the time at Decorex chatting to felter extraordinaire Ronel Jordaan's beautiful felt cushions. Meantime everyone had fun chillaxing in the Bat chair...]]>http://fa.mielie.com/index.php?entry=entry110818-2224082011-08-18T00:00:00Z2011-08-18T00:00:00ZWhen the going gets tough...
... the tough get braiding. We were privileged to be invited to be part of the Textile Showcase of the South African Handmade collection at Decorex in Joburg last week. Sheila and I went up to fly the Mielie flag, and it was great to connect with Mielie fans and all the creative people who were showing their newest collections.
My last word on Jozie? Dang, those girls (and boys!) sure know how to braid!]]>http://fa.mielie.com/index.php?entry=entry110817-2257072011-08-17T00:00:00Z2011-08-17T00:00:00ZMeet the creators
Nomfuneko, Nomelikhaya and Ntsaphokazi (not pictured) were the genii who created the new design Mielie bags. Nomalizo has been one of the driving forces behind the new Mielie crochet project. She has been using Mielie strips to crochet our beautiful new SitIn crate seats (more here).]]>http://fa.mielie.com/index.php?entry=entry110726-0024042011-07-25T00:00:00Z2011-07-25T00:00:00Z
