Condé Nast House & Garden

Welcome to the second women shaping design issue. The last time I introduced this issue, I prefaced it by saying that the objective was to start conversations around the intersections of gender identity, design and power – and to keep having them long after august. Well, very recently, I was having one of those conversations with another incredible woman, Boity – a self-made, one-woman empire in her own right – about the very thing that this issue is about: the machinations of power, who shares it and who holds onto it – guarding it – tightly. She told me how, even as a successful woman – and a woman of colour – having the power to speak freely, openly and to be heard was far from a given. That every moment…

The story of Water Dixon is a series of fortunate events, a happy collection of auspicious coincidences – you could even say it was written in the stars – that led to the founding of perhaps one of the most directional artisan studios to emerge in recent years. Co-owned by Cait Warther and Wendy Dixon, their eponymous-ish practice has brilliantly carved out a whole new niche in the collectable design space – that of mirror and light-based sculpture. Both Joburg raised, Cait, an English and Philosophy major at the University of Edinburgh before studying Architectural Lighting Design and Interior Design at Parsons, and Wendy, who has a background in brand communication and graphic design and holds a postgrad in business studies, met through a mutual friend. Though neither had a traditional…

NANA O FORIATTA AYIM CURATOR AND ART HISTORIAN Take us through your background. I grew up between ghana, germany and england, studied russian and politics and worked at the united nations before doing a master’s degree in african art history. I have always been interested in the intersection of arts and politics or society, i.e. the impact and resonance art can have, whether through my writing, films or art historical and curatorial work. You have made award-winning films that have been shown at Tate Modern, Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) and The New Museum. What inspired you to explore merging filmmaking with these noteworthy museums? I started making films after working with the legendary filmmaker chris Marker and was inspired by the poetic nature of his films – the way he could create…

fewer than 100 people a day are permitted to trek into the mountain gorilla habitat in Rwanda’s Volcanoes national Park. But for those who do, ‘it is the most life-changing experience,’ says Ellen Degeneres, who first visited the region in 2015. Visitors are not allowed to approach the animals, but a silverback (mature male) once bumped into her sister-in-law by accident. ‘I was so jealous,’ Ellen recalls. ‘It is thrilling to be that close to them but knowing they do not want to hurt you.’ Now a 60th-birthday present from her wife, Portia de Rossi, has helped underwrite the Ellen DeGeneres Campus of the Dian Fossey gorilla Fund: a 12-acre complex dedicated to gorilla conservation. It is named for the TV star and her idol, Dian Fossey, the self-taught naturalist, who…

Drawing Spaces, Designing Emotions (Rizzoli) Isabelle Stanislas’s interiors nod to historical sources while exuding a refreshing contemporary style. Known for her knack for subtly interweaving art, landscaping, architecture and materials, she has been regularly called upon by private homeowners and luxury brands, such as Cartier and Hermès, since establishing her firm in 2000. Most recently, the designer was tapped by the French president to breathe new life into the Élysée Palace, further elevating her stature. From architecture and construction to interior design and bespoke furniture, the renowned Paris-based architect and interior designer’s highly anticipated monograph explores the impressive breadth of her creative approach through twelve diverse properties. Defined by precision, minimalism and a unique take on French style, the designer’s modus operandi emerges from the pages of this dazzling volume. Specially commissioned photographs…

HERTEX Harlequin The latest from lauded house harlequin revisits the free-flowing Kineticism and abstract, graphic nature of traditional calligraphy in the ‘enigmatic’ range. Alive with movement, the large-scale brush strokes of ‘enigmatic’ twist and turn on a ground of embossed vinyl, making it both timeless yet undeniably contemporary. The design is available in two Colourways: the monochrome Japanese Ink/origami (pictured) and nectar/awakening, an ultra-luxe gold finish. 🖱 hertex.co.za HOME FABRICS Arte Each design in Arte’s décors & Panoramiques collection is as transporting as the next, immersing you in a fantastical landscape – maybe a scene from ancient mythology, a field of flamingoes or even the thick greenery of the amazon. Pictured above, ‘Terra Tropicana’ in golden sunset shows a fiery Brazilian dance, full of rhythm and connection with nature. And it is not…