Always Welcome finds a home at Hyde Park Corner
Some of Africa’s great designers have come together to present a ‘dream house’ of South African design at Hyde Park Corner… where everyone is always welcome! Imagine the home of a friend or family member where you have always felt truly at home. Where you can hang your hat, kick off your shoes and enjoy the warmth of belonging somewhere new. That is what you will find at Always Welcome.
The Always Welcome co-operative was founded by leading South African designers and manufacturers, in collaboration with Garreth van Niekerk and Alan Hayward from creative consultancy, Coraltree Projects. Comprising a retail gallery and events activation programme, Always Welcome is now taking a bold new step into a showroom space at Hyde Park Corner (located in the upper mall of the shopping centre, opposite Tasha’s) where various furniture makers, weavers, ceramicists, and photographers will display their work as a collective in spaces designed to emulate living rooms, dining rooms, bedrooms and the like.
The interiors of the Always Welcome Nomadic Retail spaces will be realised in partnership with bespoke retail designer, Stephen Klein of Klein Concepts, in collaboration with the branding and art direction of Vincent Truter, along with key local design groups such as Earthcote, Real Paint and River Fabrics. The aim is to represent the possibilities of a ‘dream house’ built exclusively using South African design, with colours and lighting embracing an uplifting sense of renewed hope and Summer blooms.
Hyde Park Corner’s General Manager, Jacqui McGeehan says the centre is thrilled to add this creative design collective to the HPC offering: “We believe that Hyde Park Corner is a perfect match for the type of consumer Always Welcome would like to reach, and we are delighted to provide a platform for them to showcase the work of some of the most creative and proudly South African designers.”
In addition, visitors can look forward to Always Welcome Events, which are carefully designed to bring life into the space and engage new audiences for these carefully selected designers. From product launches, to event collaborations with other retailers in the same environment, to Meet-the-Maker talks and in-store family lunches, Always Welcome’s programme will engage new customers and dedicated design audiences alike.
“It’s been an incredible journey working with some of the country’s most inspiring design minds to realise the dream of Always Welcome. The intention is to take up residence in our Hyde Park Corner space for a minimum of seven months, beyond that we would love to be in a position to consider making this a permanent space, but we will cross that ‘welcome mat’ when we get to it,” says co-founder, Garreth van Niekerk.
The following design houses will be showcased in the first ever Always Welcome Nomadic Retail Collective:
- Houtlander
- Dokter and Misses
- Mash T
- The Urbanative
- Trevor Stuurman
- Joe Paine
- Gone Rural
- Wessel Snyman
- Orlando lighting
- Lothar Böttcher
- Okra Candles
- Indigenus Planters
- SMTNG Good Studio
- Coco-Mat
- Coral Stephens Handweaving
- Vorster & Braye
Visit the Always Welcome store in Hyde Park Corner at Shop 32A | Upper Mall | Johannesburg
