Our home goods this season come from small workshops across Gauteng. Each piece is made by hand, from oak, walnut, glass and felt, and chosen for how well it fits a city flat or a house with a stoep. We visited the makers, saw how the work is done and wrote down what they told us. Their craft is patient, practical and proudly local. Every item in the shop has a story behind it, and you can read it in our maker profiles. Take your time, and pick something you will use every day.
Home Goods
Our home goods this season come from small workshops across Gauteng. Each piece is made by hand, from oak, walnut, glass and felt, and chosen for how well it fits a city flat or a house with a stoep. We visited the makers, saw how the work is done and wrote down what they told us. Their craft is patient, practical and proudly local.
Every item in the shop has a story behind it, and you can read it in our maker profiles. The workshops are small, so stock moves quickly. If something catches your eye, it is worth ordering soon, because the makers work to order and do not rush their craft.
Good lighting changes a room. A warm amber pendant over the dining table, or a lantern on the stoep at dusk, makes an evening feel slower and kinder. Our writers tested several lights in real Joburg homes, including during load shedding, and chose the ones that worked best.
Furniture should earn its space. The chairs and tables we feature are light enough to move, strong enough to last and simple enough to suit most homes. Read the notes from each maker before you buy, and ask us if you have questions.
A home does not need to be large to feel generous. In a Braamfontein flat, a single good chair and a warm lamp can change how the whole space feels. Start small and add pieces slowly over time.
Buy fewer things and choose them with care. A well made chair will outlast three cheap ones, and it will look better every year.
That is the advice we hear again and again from the makers we visit. Pick one thing you love and build the room around it, one piece at a time.
Small spaces ask for clever choices. A folding stoep chair, a slim side table with a drawer and a pouffe that doubles as a seat can all earn their place in a city flat. Measure first, then choose pieces that do more than one job.
Keep the colours calm and the surfaces clear. Warm wood, soft felt and a little glass work well together. If you are not sure where to start, our Gauteng Living stories show real homes, real budgets and real ideas you can borrow this weekend.
Maker Profiles
Walk into any home in Johannesburg and you will find something made by a neighbour. A lamp from a Maboneng studio, a stool from a Braamfontein workshop, a bowl from a potter in Soweto.
We spent a month visiting these makers. Most work alone or in pairs, and many started in a garage after hours. Their prices are fair and their pieces last for years.
Read on to meet the people behind the work, and see where to buy.
Thandi Mokoena works out of a shared studio on Juta Street, a short walk from our office. She makes glass pendants from recycled bottles collected from restaurants in Braamfontein. Each light takes two days to shape and cool. She sells most of them at weekend markets and through small shops across Gauteng, and she still answers every message herself.
Her advice for anyone starting a craft business is simple. Make one thing well, show it to people, and listen to what they say. Price it so you can pay yourself, and do not apologise for it.
