On Saturday 27 Oct 2012, a few specials guests joined our Secret dinner held on the stage at the Amphitheater, Spier. Our theme for food & styling was based on “Die Kaap is weer Hollands”. Cara made Starch, Preserves, Dressings and Salads to be enjoined with Simonsberg Cheese at our dinner table. The table complimented the Dutch Cape with delft patterns and screen printed tea towels “die kaap is weer Holland’s” folded old books, paper flowers, paper-mache bowls finished off with gold foil, animals dipped in gold leaf powder, battery candles, menu book and woven paper runner with delft print. The stage was closed off from the from with floating white balloons on gold strings which just added to that intimate dinner we wanted.

Creative culinary collaboration Cara Brink & Elsje Burger with Simonsberg

Cara Brink Food/ Elsje Burger Stylist

Photos by Roxy Laker

Styling for Naspers event by Cornelia Bardenhorst from De Liefde in colaboration with stylist Elsje Burger & stylist Hendrik Coetzee from Elle Decoration. 

The event was created by Cornelia while Hendrik created the handcrafted vessels & Elsje created the paper runners, name cards, table numbers, rosette and menu books. Cornelia used old wood turned candle holders dipped in bright neon pink & orange, paper table cloths, book pages with a touch of pink bunting and Kaalkop laser cut butterflies & birds to finish it off.  This was an amazing event!

Inyathelo event, The Green House

The Inyathelo event was held at the Day Light Studio in New Church Street, Cape Town. This is my favourite space; it is light, open, peaceful and white, white & white!

This space is so incredible with an view over Cape Town and an amazing portrait in the background, Table Mountain. This space does not need a lot to make it incredible, which makes it perfect for a daytime event. I decided on “The Green House” theme for this event to compliment the peaceful space.

I used glassware in all shapes and sizes on these incredible white tables. Placing leaves and plants in them and exposing their roots. Perspex clear Ghost Chair as main seating, because it almost feels like there is no chairs in the space and because they are just so beautiful. 

I played with height, by sourcing tables at different heights, to give the space a more informal atmosphere. We had Banquet tables, bar tables and low, almost coffee tables. Mixing ghost chairs, Yorkshire chairs, dumpling chairs and white Ottomans.

My favourite thing for 2012/2013 is the String Gardens, they are just amazing!!! So these string gardens where my final touch to the space to make it feel like a green house. You can buy them from Opus in Cape Town.

I also had the company logo painted on the stage just to bring in that personal touch and a splash of colour.

Ceramic heart plate design by Elsje Burger

kamers vol geskenke, Bloemfontein

Kamers vol Geskenke, Bloemfotein

So we made it to Bloemfontein and back! I missed Cape Town this week, but I should give Bloemfontein credit for their warmth & welcoming attitude. People were interactive, friendly and supportive. At Bloemfontein, Cara and I decided to make rosette for our shop and I must say our guests enjoyed the paper deco. Some of our products did well, while others still needs to grow on Bloemfontein. Looking forward to doing business in Bloemfontein again and selling products to shops in the area! Now it is time to get ready and prepare ourselves for Kamers Cape Town.

Enamel paint dipped wooden spoons

One of my latest styling jobs, creating gigantic flowers in different styles, sizes and colours. Mixing it with garlands and Chinese lanterns to match. I was very pleased with the results!

Next week Cara will start a week long pop-up restaurant inspired by Epping market with Hannerie Visser. So this week I helped Cara style the space for their dinner celebration! Cara declared her love for the Epping Market before but this time she can act on that love and you can join her and experience a bit of Epping Market, without having to wake up at 4am. Please join them for a unusual evening filled with creative quirks and great food. 

Bookings can be made: hannerie@thepresident.co.za

Milla's Batmitzvah

 

This was the delightful celebration of a young girl turning 13 years old. The theme for the event was Rock Chic with a palette of cerise, soft pink and punk black with a touch of sparkle. We transformed the family home into a party venue with hot pink tent as focal point, shabby chic comfy lounge spaces, piñatas filled with sweets and gifts for the girls, pompoms, origami chandelier, butterflies and pink orchids. I decided to give this girl a wishing balloon tree (3m high) that was displayed in the garden. She wrote her wishes onto her wishing notes, attached them to the balloons and let them disappear into the sky! The dessert table, which was to die for, was styled as a tiered skirt, with customised sweets, designer cake pops and pink lemonade by Cara.

baby on board

Baby on Board {baby shower}

Cornelia hosted the stylish affair on their farm, Kalmoesfontein, just outside Malmesbury. A few of us worked together to create the perfect event for this special babyshower. It was very warm and loving with a cosy farm theme, complete with freshly laid fortune eggs as gifts for the guests. Oh, and the food made by my partner, Cara was a mouth full of delight! A very big thank you to Cornelia for letting us be part of this amazing event. Another gigantic thank you to Maree form Natural Light Photography http://naturallightphotography.co.za/for the amazing photos, like always!

DIY headboard

This is one of the easiest & inexpensive items you can make yourself to uplift and change a bedroom! I just love these upholstered headboards and cannot wait to make my own one.

All you need is a sheet of press wood, foam, good quality upholstery material, buttons, staple gun, pair of scissors, paper, pencil and a ruler.

If the room is quite small, it is best to elevate the headboard to create height in the room. It is also a nice feature & showpiece in the room when it is quite high, so do not be scared of playing with it! Use a colour for the headboard that will not overwhelm the space and rather play with colour when choosing bed linen. A nice colour to use for the headboard would be ash grey or ivory white.

TIP: Add some bedside lights that will compliment the high headboard. So one of my favourite ideas is to hang bedside tables from the ceiling above bedside table, instead of using standing bedside lamps. This also creates more space on your bedside table for books, clocks and some flowers! 

DIY mobile

Great styling item for a baby’s room, styling for a special event or as a gift to a friend. You can play with any colour, texture and decorating items such as birds, butterflies and flowers or just keep it simplistic by mixing satin ribbons, cotton ribbon and lace is fantastic!

You will need:

1.     Rope

2.     Hula-hoop

3.     Glue

4.     Gut

5.     Decorating goodies 

Start by wrapping your naked hula-hoop in a pretty ribbon and clueing the ends neatly.

Cut nice long strings of gut and tie the decorating goodies to the gut.

When you have a selection of decorated strings it is best to hang your hula- hoop from the ceiling first and then start adding the strings to get the right balance.

 

ἄνθρωπος μέτρον

 OPA!!! lets celebrate greece and brake some plates

Greece is a country with a particularly rich and ancient history. 

The Classical Period of Greece History (6th -4th centuries BC) was the Golden Age and the most famous world wide; during this period lived the greatest philosophers and mathematicians.

Greeks are particularly proud of their culture and stick to it with particular passion, feeling that their culture is a definition of their national and ethnic belonging. Traditions, religion, music, language, food and wines are the major composants of Greece Culture and constitute.

The cuisine of has influences from Italian, Balkan and Middle Eastern cuisine. Greek cuisine incorporates fresh ingredients into a variety of local dishes such as moussaka, stifado and spanakopita. Throughout people often enjoy eating from small dishes.  Too much elaboration is generally considered to be against the hearty spirit of the Greek cuisine.

Greeks do not brake plates to release their frustration from work. It is a celebration tradition in Greece. Whenever something or someone is celebrated they will have a feast and brake some plates. They normally gather in a circle and brake some plates in a very elegant and subtle way while shouting OPA! 

The food, beautiful people and their inspiring traditions, I just love greece! 

Decorex's Inspirational Theatre 

What a pleasure it was to present at the Decorex show this year! Reworking the Sunday lunch by creating wonderful food with Simonsberg cheese and styling the table in a effortless and affordable manner. I showed the audience how to wow your guests with easy and affordable decor.

Although this was very stressful, as we have never done something like this before, we enjoyed it very much! It was great that the audience came and spoke to us afterwards. It seems like people liked what we did!

Errieda du Tiot wrote a very flattering article about us at Decorex, which was published in Burger. Other than that, here are some beautiful photo's, taking by the very talented Roxy, of our Decorex presentation. The food was beautifully prepared and demonstrated by Cara, while I did the table styling for our Modern Sunday lunch!