WORDS: Remy Raitt
With a whole lot of love and passion, the self-professed new kids on the block, TLC or Tammy Lauren Collective, are turning hidden South African gems into accessible pieces of vintage furniture.
Run by Tammy Foote and Lauren Terras, the brand new interior decor boutique “aims to provide the public with something unique, something that hasn't recently been whisked off a mass production line and something that may have its roots (or at least a previous life) in South Africa,” says Tammy.
“We source, and revamp where necessary, classic pieces of furniture and decor items.”
The two are currently focusing on retro, Mid-century pieces and old South African farm type furniture. “We are also in the process of creating a design range that embodies 'South Africanism' in a subtle yet quirky manner by developing skills and empowering those less fortunate along the way.”
VISI spoke to TLC to find out more about the new venture.
Who is TLC?
We are old friends – we celebrated our first birthdays together – but lost contact over the years. We recently reconnected only to discover that we share a plethora of passions; interior decor and basset hounds in particular.
The business evolved very organically as we both have different yet vital skills. We share similar ideas for the business and both have experience in the decor industry. One of us (Tammy) is based in the Eastern Cape and one in Cape Town (Lauren), which has proved to be very beneficial in terms of buying, selling and marketing.
Why unique decor items as opposed to mass-produced goods?
Anyone with a bit of money can go into a furniture chain store and recreate a catalogue room with pieces off an assembly line. It will probably look fabulous. But how much personality will that room exude? How many other rooms will look very similar and how does it reflect the personality of its inhabitants? It's bit like being on the red carpet with someone in the exact same dress as you. Decorating your home is like finding your own style and any style guru will tell you that it’s better to have an understated look with one eye-catching accessory than looking like a Christmas tree.
You can create a beautiful space with one show-stopping piece while saving your bank account. Revived pieces will always be a conversation piece and they will always add an element of finesse to a room. Old furniture is so special in that, unlike other items, it increases in value, so it is something worth saving for and collecting. Older pieces also have a history that gives them depth; they are a bit like models who have a nice personality too.
Where do you source your furniture and decor items?
Ah, now that would be telling. Honestly we have become like second-hand store scavengers. We scour some really unlikely places and find absolute gems; we go to the occasional auction and generally keep a perpetual eye open.
Who upcycles the pieces?
This has been one of our bigger challenges, as we both decided that we wanted to draw in the community. South Africa is brimming with very skilled yet unemployed folk. We have tried to source people who can apply a specific skill to any particular piece that requires attention. We have someone who paints, another who has carpentry abilities etc. We are in the process of creating a group from a local charity who will be doing work on our decor range, which we hope to launch in the near future.
Why is upcycling important to you?
One of our favourite trends at the moment is 'green design'. The reasons are obvious, but we are always blown away with the ingenuity that pours from South African minds in this regard. We hope that this evolves from a trend to a lifestyle, as there is no denying that we live in a consumerist era and mass production is the fuel behind this. When you scratch beneath the surface, you start to notice that a great deal of what is being made in large factories is simply cheap replicas of pieces that belong to a different decade. Most of these pieces were handcrafted, are better quality (hence their survival) and are sitting under a ton of other furniture and dust in someone's garage or a second-hand store.
By creating a desire for revamped pieces, we hope to create an awareness that 'newer' is not necessarily better or more modern. There is definitely a place for your Scandinavian 'out the box' designer furniture, but there is no reason why it can't sit aside a piece with history, that hasn't further contributed to environmental damage.
How does TLC embody South Africanism?
Besides sourcing our pieces locally and using local craftsmen, we are also working hard at establishing affiliations with local artists and venues to build a platform from which to showcase design and decor both locally and internationally. In our upcoming range we really highlight themes prevalent in our country through imagery and the products themselves, to the extent that we hope they create a sense of nostalgia but offer something quirky, useful and timeless for the future too.
More information and shop online: www.tlcollective.blogspot.com, Twitter: @tlcollective1
http://www.visi.co.za/content/article/909/curated-with-carehttp://www.visi.co.za/content/article/909/curated-with-carehttp://www.visi.co.za/
No comments:
Post a Comment