Five of Cape Town’s Most Promising Creatives Land at the Design Lab

A new group of rising creative entrepreneurs has been hand-selected by the Craft and Design Institute (CDI) and V&A Waterfront to join the next iteration of the Design Lab, a retail incubator run as a collaboration between CDI and the V&A Watershed in Cape Town. The latest cohort comprises five emerging brands spanning babies’ sensory toys and decor, womenswear, bags and accessories.

The 2024 cohort includes Tiger Lily Tots, Thabo Makhetha, Lindo Leather, Meraki Accessories and Shumba Bags and Accessories. Along with passion and dedication to their craft, these candidates have demonstrated a strong drive to succeed in the retail space, which is why the CDI – with its focus on uplifting business owners by developing their businesses and nurturing their entrepreneurial skills – and the V&A selected them for the Design Lab.

This incoming group will replace outgoing brands that have since graduated from the Design Lab space after concluding the extensive training and real-time store experience the new collective is now due to receive. The total value of sales generated by the previous cohort while stationed in the Design Lab was over R1,24 million.

A further indicator of success is that two of the entrepreneurs from the 2022 Design Lab cohort are set to open their own independent stores at the V&A Watershed in the same month. Limpopo artist Diana Seboke Zitha will sell her innovative crochet pieces, while Tavengwa Dahwa will showcase his functional wire sculptures through Rainbow Artz.

Led by Group CEO Erica Elk, the CDI has been developing creative careers and supporting Small and Medium Size Enterprises for more than 20 years. The Design Lab is among the CDI’s most successful initiatives, due in no small part to its location at the V&A Watershed, a leading tourist destination and retail space in one of the most visited neighbourhoods in Africa.

“There is something really fresh, authentic and honest about the products that are coming out of South Africa today. We are particularly excited to help a new cohort of local entrepreneurs to leverage their incredible artistry into commercial success,” says Elk.

More than just a place for top emerging talents to sell their beautiful products, the Design Lab was created to facilitate a real-world retail experience in a supported environment. The five new designer brands to participate in the incubator will spend 16 months in the training programme – also described as a living retail ‘laboratory’. They are taken through a process of refining their products, and equipped with the business savvy necessary to succeed in a retail environment before occupying store space for a year.

Since welcoming its inaugural cohort in 2021, the Design Lab has nurtured a growing number of small business owners, with four to eight individuals occupying the space each year. The programme receives ongoing support from Business and Arts South Africa (BASA) to market and raise awareness to drive traffic to the store.

Says Alex Kabalin, Executive Manager of Retail at the V&A Waterfront, “Showcasing the best local creative and artisanal products is built into the design of the V&A Watershed and the Design Lab programme has become an integral part of our DNA. We’re so excited to welcome a new cohort of promising entrepreneurs, as they embark on a journey of real-world skill-building and retail experience. We’re also pleased to have successfully incubated new fully-fledged V&A Watershed tenants as a result of the Design Lab programme as it is our intention to support and grow local design businesses.”

Design Lab’s fresh new cohort and their exciting products are ready to be discovered. Don’t miss the opportunity to shop these entrepreneurs at the forefront of South Africa’s creative future!

For more information visit https://www.thecdi.org.za/ and https://www.waterfront.co.za/area/watershed/

Follow the CDI on Facebook: @TheCraftDesignInstitute and Instagram: @craft_and_design_institute

Author: Nokuphila Ndzimande