Parting Gifts from Cape Town 🙏✨

March 5, 2018

Listen to ALL OF THIS

YOOOOOOO. So I’m back from South Africa now, enjoying March in New York (whaa?), and wanted to wrap up the trip with a few parting gifts to you. First is a playlist of every song I Shazammed in Cape Town, plus a few tracks from South African and South-African-Adjacent artists you should know. Tell your ass I said you’re welcome.

Next: The coolest South African brands I know, starting with Mami Wata

Mami Wata is new African surf brand (sorry– the *only* African surf brand) that has some of the most beautiful branding I’ve ever seen. So good that it feels too natural to have come from a decorated ad man named Nick– but it did. From splashy paint to a typeface borrowed from South African butcher boards to beautiful surfers in immaculately produced surf videos, they’ve got their thing on lock. When you walk into the store on Rose Street, you read on the wall that ‘Mami Wata is an African water spirit. It is said that those who she takes to be her lovers return with a new spirit and become more successful and good looking.’ Which is pretty much what advertising does in the first place, right? ‘Get this thing and immediately improve!’ But walk into their store and you really do feel that way– if you could only be as attractive as their space, their march, and the people who live the lifestyle, you’d be way better off. And, surprise, here’s a GORGEOUS surfboard to get you there. Or some sick board shorts. Or– my fave– a cheeky banana logo tee. Free shipping to America on orders over $150; you’re feeling more attractive already.

Ukhamba Beerworx

March 5, 2018
YOOOOOOO. So I’m back from South Africa now, enjoying March in New York (whaa?), and wanted to wrap up the trip with a few parting gifts to you. First is a playlist of every song I Shazammed in Cape Town, plus a few tracks from South African and South-African-Adjacent artists you should know. Tell your ass I said you’re welcome.
Mami Wata is new African surf brand (sorry– the *only* African surf brand) that has some of the most beautiful branding I’ve ever seen. So good that it feels too natural to have come from a decorated ad man named Nick– but it did. From splashy paint to a typeface borrowed from South African butcher boards to beautiful surfers in immaculately produced surf videos, they’ve got their thing on lock. When you walk into the store on Rose Street, you read on the wall that ‘Mami Wata is an African water spirit. It is said that those who she takes to be her lovers return with a new spirit and become more successful and good looking.’ Which is pretty much what advertising does in the first place, right? ‘Get this thing and immediately improve!’ But walk into their store and you really do feel that way– if you could only be as attractive as their space, their march, and the people who live the lifestyle, you’d be way better off. And, surprise, here’s a GORGEOUS surfboard to get you there. Or some sick board shorts. Or– my fave– a cheeky banana logo tee. Free shipping to America on orders over $150; you’re feeling more attractive already.
One of the few black-owned breweries in Cape Town, Ukhamba Beerworx makes a solid IPA and is inexplicably open only Fridays 4:30-9, and Saturday 10:30 AM to 2. But they occasionally have v chill Sunday roof parties, and you know they’re bumping the tunes. Scheduling specificities in mind, I can’t tell if they would ship to you if you placed an international order, but I think you should try. order@ukhambabeerworx.co.za

Chapel Goods

Beautiful leather bags, for less than the bullshit prices you pay stateside. Founded by this guy Caleb, they’ve blown up and now have a store in practically every area of Cape Town, including their home base in Woodstock, where they employ people from the neighborhood who used to work in manufacturing until that industry virtually disappeared from the city. And given SA’s crazy human relocation decisions as places gentrify, it is SUPER AWESOME for working-class folks to be able to work near where they live. This is one place where buying things has a direct relationship to job creation; and with that in mind, you get free international shipping over about $300, which, if I’m right about anything, will go real fast.

Hope on Hopkins

Cape Town’s first craft distillery, founded by Leigh and Lucy, former fancy professionals who quit the office life to do something different and incidentally settled on craft gin, also incidentally igniting a city-wide liquor trend. I don’t know how much you think about gin flavors but they sure do– after a thorough tasting at Hope, I’d be glad to consider myself a gin person and sip juniper/fynbos/whatever notes through tonic on the reg. This one’s only available in South Africa, so flag it for when you go.

The Lake

A really cool magazine that you can find in every cool coffee shop in Cape Town. (They also have a website.) Read to learn stylish things about stylish people.

Rosetta Roastery

Rosetta is SA’s premiere coffee spot– a sweet designation for a spot in a scene that’s fully blowing up right now (craft coffee is relatively new to the formerly tea-focused country). These are the only people in Cape Town who will make you a pour-over, and they will do it with such pleasure and knowledge– never mind what a funny name Rosetta is for a pour-over place. They sell beans and gold-flecked date truffles; they also carry free copies of The Lake.

Rich Mnisi

Rich Mnisi is a delightful guy who also happens to be a very fancy fashion designer. At a gallery opening at The Guild, SA’s fanciest design outpost, he walked up as I was looking at a piece, said, ‘what do you think of this one,’ and I said, ‘it’s my favorite so far,’ and he erupted laughing and said ‘GREAT cause it’s mine!!’ Cue laughy conversation with tall-but-impish 25-year-old (I’m guessing). Sweet chat notwithstanding, turns out his other designs are my favorites too. I’m not actually clear on how to buy them, but figured you should know in case you figure it out.

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Margot