Design in Focus: Bofred’s Striking Furniture + Lighting

Beyond its practical use, furniture is what gives a space its character. It’s what tells the story, and this is what the design duo behind Bofred Feature Furniture have harnessed. Inspired by travel, life experiences and beauty, they infuse storytelling and memories into their designs, which they describe as “sculptural, feminine and timeless, with a Brutalist twist”.

For their furniture collections, which you’ll find on display in their East City showroom, they work with local master crafters – carpenters, upholsterers, ceramicists, metalsmiths, weavers – as well as collaborating with other artists and designers. The result is high-end, carefully considered functional objects in natural hues that take a fresh approach to conventional materials – wood, clay, stone and metals (all sustainably sourced).

The spark of connection

Christa Botha and Carla Erasmus met at a party in 2014 and discovered they had both studied fine art, had an interest in decor and interiors, and a shared wanderlust. It made sense to join forces. For their new business venture, they combined their family names (Botha and Frederika), and started out restoring vintage furniture as well as designing some of their own pieces, which they sold online.

Being part of Design Indaba’s Emerging Creatives programme in 2015 was a boost. They spent a few years researching materials and fine-tuning their aesthetic before launching their first “official” collection in 2020. Until recently they had an appointment-only studio in Vredehoek, but last year they moved to a gorgeous showroom in Harrington Street in the East City – Cape Town’s burgeoning creative quarter.

Tradition with a twist

Their design methodology is fluid, collaborative (they must “both love the final result”) and collection-based, with the titles of pieces giving hints of the inspiration behind them. They often transpose their inspiration – for example, using the shape of pottery to inspire not a ceramic piece but a wooden item (as in the Bahla Chair based on traditional Omani pottery), or using architectural features in an upholstered piece (as in the Poolhouse Chair, with its arch detail).

They also like to trick the eye with the materials they use: high-gloss wood that looks like ceramics, as in the Resort Table Lamp and the Shell-F Wall Sconce light (handpainted by Lucie De Moyencourt), or the Moonrise Mirror that looks carved but is made with hand-cast recycled aluminium. The pleated dome pendant lights have the appearance of finely folded paper but are made of sand and plaster composite.

The collections

The Bask Collection (from 2020) is Durban-meets-Muscat, inspired by the concept of home. “It was a significant milestone, which defined our aesthetic and capabilities,” they say. It includes the Wadi tables, made of limestone, travertine or wood, and inspired by rugged desert ravines and architectural arches; the Pier Coffee Table in mahogany wood (evoking the fishing piers that jut out into the sea on the KZN coast) and the Natal Floor Lamp, reminiscent of a cycad.

Post-Covid, 2022’s Villa Collection was a “quiet call to adventure”, inspired by travel, meandering and evocative places. It includes the dhow-inspired Portside Sofa (complete with a striped bolster cushion and wave-like upholstery) and the Palm Side Table and Console.

The Clay Collection is a bold, modern celebration of nature and the handmade – and the unexpected (it’s not all ceramics). It includes the bulbous Alberto Club Chair (which looks like smooth, shaped clay), the Miro Buffet Lamp (a mix of metal and clay) and Eclipse Wall Sconce light, with interchangeable discs made of hand-beaten aluminium or plaster.

The Showroom Collection displays new pieces, fresh silhouettes and textures that revisit existing collections, designed to layer seamlessly with their signature pieces. There’s the sculptural Kelp Bench, inspired by the Cape coastline; the colourful octagonal Gem Ottoman; and the modular, aluminium Lala Palm Bookshelf, evoking the trunk of a tropical tree.

The Moa Collection (referring to the extinct giant moa bird) features lighting with a minimalist midcentury aesthetic and graceful swivel arms. They have also collaborated with Frances V.H. Mohair Rugs on a Karoo-inspired range of textiles, including blankets – each piece hand-woven with unique hues, patterns and details.

Shaping the future

The design duo is always on the lookout for new, innovative sustainable materials, and say that the diversity of talent in South Africa fuels their creative process. Looking ahead, they’re keen to explore “more handmade, more craft, more artisanal” – which means more collaborations.

Their latest collection, Cicada, is previewing at their showroom in the East City from 18 February. Working primarily in metals, reinterpreting existing designs and creating new pieces, it’s inspired by the play of light, vast sun-bleached landscapes, mirages and subtle shimmers in nature that create a sense of hushed calm. “Objects with presence; quiet, tactile and enduring.” Come join them as they celebrate a year in this space.

Showroom 99 Harrington Street, East City, Cape Town
Opening times Monday – Friday, 9am – 4pm
Saturday by appointment only
Contact 072 629 4257, 082 563 5640, [email protected]
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