This year the theme of the HomeMakers Expo is InHabit. InHabit is about improving the way people live in their homes and how they connect with everything around them. This includes environmental sustainability, story sharing, supporting local businesses and being better informed about product origins.
The theme comes through strongly as you walk through the expo which is filled with bright greenery and a host of exhibitors with an eco-conscious message. In fact, out of the 10 brands we feature below, 8 have a green or eco conscious message/offering.
1. The Garden Table
What stood out: Their stunning display of fresh produce and enormous silver tanks filled with growing greenery
What they Do: The Garden Table is a collobrative space in the expo which consists of 6 different companies coming together to create the feature space of the expo – The Garden Table, which is also where you can find numerous demos and talks about gardening, creating your own edible garden, eating from the garden, worm farming and more.
The companies involved are the DIY gardener, RainQueen, Malanseuns, Bark Unlimited, Lighuis and Fern-Lily Design and Landscaping. The offer complimentary services from metal planters, to landscaping and lessons in plating your own edible garden.
We chatted to the DIY Gardener, Tasha Tollman who calls herself a joy creator, who is passionate about gardening. She believes in teaching people to plant and nurture their own edible gardens and offers courses which you can find here.
2. The Green Cabin
What stood out: Their colourful array of refillable household cleaning items.
What they do: The Green Cabin provides Luxury, non-toxic and biodegradable detergents in refillable packaging, delivered to your door. On your second order, they collect your empties and send you a promo code which you use for a packaging discount.
Their products not only reduce your chemical exposure but also your use of single use plastic. They have everything from washing powder, to all-purpose cleaner to body wash! At the expo you can either bring your own old jars, bottles and containers for them to fill up or purchase one of their refillable bottles. They also put a huge emphasis on education around eco-friendly products, plastic waste and aim to offer an affordable solution.
Visit them at: Stand 12
Learn more here
3. Sooth
What stood out: The most artistic and beautiful hand-crafted soaps
What they do: They farm rosemary and lavender in the Free State and produce their own locally made organic oils and related products, like soap bars, linen sprays, confetti bags and dried bunches of lavender. They’re a family run business and you see that passion and love when you visit their stand.
Visit them at: TRULY ARTISAN 26
Learn more here
4. Stasher
What stood out: Their colourful range of the best plastic free storage bags ever.
What they do: We introduced you to stasher bags over here, but to give you a refresher, Stasher is a Plastic Free storage and cooking bag, made from Platinum Food Grade Silicone. With Stasher you can Cook, Freeze and Store just about anything. With its Air-tight Pinch Lock system, Stasher keep produce fresher for up to 3 times longer. We’re big Stasher fans and you’ll almost never find an empty Stasher bag – they’re always in rotation! The quality of the product is amazing, it cleans well, works brilliantly as storage and let’s not kid, looks great too.
Visit them at: Stand D23 & Take advantage of their expo bundle of 1 gallon sized stasher bag, 2 sandwich sized stasher bags and 1 snack sized stasher bag for R600 (a pack that usually retails for +R800).
Learn more here
5. Concrete Jungle
What stood out: Rustic home décor products that don’t weigh a ton
What they do: Innovative Concrete Design handmade in South Africa by Deon de Lange. They create high quality, affordable, cutting edge designs using a technically refined lightweight concrete. At the expo you can shop their range of décor items that include lamps, coasters, soap dishes, planters, cannisters and more. They have a rustic charm and are beautiful in their simplicity. And while it may be made of concrete, the items are incredibly lightweight!
Visit them at: TRULY ARTISAN 28
Learn more here
7. Vinostein
What stood out: The most beautiful hardwood furniture.
What they do: Vinostein is a young designer brand specialising in decorative wooden products and wooden furniture made from reclaimed wine barrel oak, the stain of the wine on the wood remains after their fabrication process, leaving unique colour combinations.
Founders, Charl and Jean van Wyk Ubbink, have a background in Architectural Design and Structural Engineering which comes through magnificently in their pieces.
They make a range of home items including tables, lamps, wine glass holders (you’ll need to ask them to explain them to you!), wine racks and more. They’re big on creating sustainably and this came through in one of our favourite pieces they had at the expo – a striking coffee table which was created using offcuts that would normally be tossed.
Visit them at: Stand A23A
Learn more here
7. Jana Nel Design
What stood out: Gorgeous ceramic bowls, vases and tabletop items with gold accents.
What they do: Jana Nel Designs is a ceramic studio that creates ceramic tabletop pieces. Each piece is lovingly made by hand and starts off as a raw ball of earthenware clay, that’s then moulded and formed by hand to produce their novel ceramic pieces. Other than a kiln that’s used to fire their ceramics, no other forms of machinery are used in the production process.
This means they craft boutique, small-batch ceramic pieces. Each and every piece is an artwork in itself, never ever will one piece be exactly the same. It’s a ceramic range unlike any other and includes budvases, stem bowls, mugs, seasoning bowls and more. The color pallet is earthy with tones of cream and sand with golden accents.
They also offer ceramic workshops.
Learn more here
8. The Garden Shop
What stood out: Spekboom planted into wood branch planters.
What they Do: The Garden Shop is a Nursery and gardening shop. At the Home Makers Expo however, they’re focusing on Spekbooms. Spekboom are an air-purifying plant that is hectare for hectare, Spekboom thicket is ten times more effective than the Amazon rainforest at removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. They’re sharing environmentally sustainable ideas on how to enhance your living space and have partnered with the Owl Rescue Centre who will be receiving proceeds from all Spekboom purchased.
Find out more here
9. Sun Garden
What stood out: Their beautiful tall trees displayed in a magical garden like setup
What they do: They are tree architects and suppliers of mature, advanced, large, shady, deciduous, flowering and evergreen trees. They grow the trees and plant them for you. They also do landscaping. They have more than 300 tree species and 270 of them are indigenous.
Learn more here
10. Dream art design studio
What stood out: The wackiest sculptural designed dining table we have ever seen.
What they do: Stainless steel sculptural art and décor. Designer Jaccques van zen’s business card says “Weird Wizard” which sums up the sculptures on display. He doesn’t just create weird though and told us he works with clients to create pieces they want. On display they have an ode to creepy crawlies! There’s a dining room table which glass top is sitting on the body of an enormous ant, which was created for a client and called the bread carrier. Aside from furniture and life size sculptors, they also make doors and gates out of steel.
Learn more here
This year’s HomeMakers expo which runs from the 27 February – 1 March at the Dome at Northgate gives visitors a chance to chance to see, touch, feel and compare the latest home products and services. You can purchase tickets here.
