The Master Designers

From beautiful chandeliers to handpainted graphic patterns that take inspiration from the African landscape, Xigera’s designers are working closely with the Lodge to create hand-crafted, one-off pieces to tell our story…

David Krynauw

Driven by the desire for a fresh approach, David experiments with different shapes and forms to produce unconventional and inspiring pieces. His Haywire chandelier, produced for Southern Guild, is an international best-seller that sold at London Christie’s and won the Object that Moves Award at the 2016 Design Foundation Awards. 

Exclusively for Xigera, the Roundwire chandelier is an interpretation of the Haywire piece, created in copper and wenge timber. 

Dokter and Misses

Husband-and-wife team Adriaan Hugo and Katy Taplin are Dokter and Misses, a multi-disciplinary product design company. Their respective industrial and graphic design skills combine to create work described as “modernist, where strong construction lines and a bold use of colour create graphic shapes and spaces”.

Handpainted in graphic patterns inspired by the mud houses in Burkina Faso, 12 bespoke Kassena servers have been crafted by Dokter and Misses for Xigera. 

 

Dylan Lewis

Dylan Lewis is widely recognised as one of the world’s foremost sculptors of the animal form. He began his career as a painter, but later turned to sculpture. Dylan initially focused on the big cats (cheetahs, leopards and lions) as symbols of wilderness, then moved into the human figure to explore the forgotten inner wild spaces of the human psyche. His primary inspiration is the wilderness. At one level his bronze sculptures celebrate the power and movement of Africa´s life forms; at another the textures he creates speak of the continent´s primeval, rugged landscapes and their ancient rhythms. 

Dylan’s console server in bronze, inspired by the mountainous terrain in his sculpture park at the foothills of the Stellenbosch mountain range, will be proudly displayed at Xigera.

Porky Hefer

Fascinated by the reactions and energy a piece can generate in a space, Porky embraces Africa and the skills and processes that are readily available indigenously, rather than trying to emulate foreign processes. Making use of traditional techniques and crafts that focus on the hand rather than machinery, his work ensures that age-old skills are preserved and kept relevant in a modern age.

Porky’s Fallen Nest will gaze out over the Okavango Delta at Xigera. Inspired by African weaver nests, the piece seems to have tumbled from the tree and landed to create a beautiful lounger for guests, woven from Kooboo cane with a plush leather seat. 

Xandre Kriel

Cape Town designer Xandre Kriel creates limited-edition furniture through the use of simple geometry. The aesthetic appeal of shapes is his motivating force, and for nearly 11 years he has found a balance between working with the tactile properties of wood and the technological processes involved in steelwork. 

Xandre’s Techno Loafer is an angular, sculptural seating piece in repurposed conveyor belt and steel, that we are proud to showcase at Xigera.