Decorex Cape Town 2026

Julia Franco is a Brazilian curator and entrepreneur whose work bridges design and culture. After living in the United States and Italy, she settled in South Africa, where she founded NOSSO, a lifestyle and décor store inspired by the vibrant craftsmanship of Brazil. Coming from a family deeply rooted in furniture design and retail, with her grandmother running furniture stores for over 40 years, Julia grew up surrounded by design, storytelling and objects made to last. Before creating NOSSO, Julia studied Fashion Marketing in Milan and built a career in fashion, working with companies such as WGSN and Roberto Cavalli. Her travels across Brazil and background in fashion continue to shape her eye for colour, texture, and narrative-driven spaces. Through NOSSO, Julia celebrates craftsmanship, cultural exchange, and soulful interiors that connect people to stories and places.

Ramielle de Jager is a South African entrepreneur, industrial designer, and Founder/CEO of Wolkberg Casting Studios, established in 2015 in Johannesburg. She is renowned for pioneering Limesite™, a high-performance, sustainable concrete used for bespoke tiles, surfaces, and furniture. Her work focuses on combining design-led manufacturing with eco-conscious materials.

Olebogeng Mathibe is an Industrial Designer and Head of Design at Wolkberg Casting Studios, where she leads product development using Limesite, a high-performance concrete pioneered by the studio. Her work sits at the intersection of product design, material science, and process-led manufacturing, translating material innovation into functional, production-ready outcomes. Grounded in functionality, sustainability, and circular design, she is focused on how material innovation and manufacturing systems can enable more responsible ways of making.

Michéle Viljoen is the founder and creative director of Karoo Baba, a South African merino sheepskin brand rooted in her childhood on a remote Sout African farm. Self-taught across design, sourcing, and brand development, she has spent years making the case for a material that is as old as human shelter itself. Long before interiors were designed, skins and furs were humanity's first experience of warmth, comfort, and home. Michéle believes sheepskin deserves to find its place there again — not as a luxury reserved for high-end hospitality, but as a grounding, tactile presence in any space where people live, rest, and restore themselves. From boutique hotels and game lodges to wellness spaces and everyday homes, natural sheepskin brings something no synthetic can replicate: breathable warmth, sensory softness, and a quiet connection to the natural world. Her Decorex 2026 pod, The Soft Life Dream Room, translates this philosophy into a fully dressed interior — a space that feels as at home in a wine farm suite as it does in a family bedroom. Michéle's work sits at the intersection of material honesty, tactile design, and the belief that the most restorative spaces are the ones that remember where they came from.

As an architectural designer, I learned how to shape form and function. But as an artist, I learned how to feel it. My work lives in the space between those two worlds, where aesthetic logic meets intuitive emotion. I’m drawn to what’s raw, unfinished, layered. The details others might overlook. I see beauty in materials that speak of place, in design that dares to be honest. Arcpop was born out of this calling: to merge architecture, art, and strategic storytelling into something immersive, and something human. I’ve come to see design not as an end product, but as a question: What do we want people to feel here? What story will this space tell, even in silence? Through Arcpop, I continue to explore that question with every line drawn, every wall imagined, and every story waiting to unfold.

Bridget Meier is the founder and creative director of Styleast Interior Design Studio, a South African interior design studio known for creating warm, thoughtful and beautifully layered spaces. Known for her refined aesthetic and intentional approach to design, Bridget creates interiors that feel elevated, personal and deeply connected to the way people live. Through her studio, podcast and industry conversations, she is passionate about making design feel inspiring and accessible.

At the heart of Continua is a creative leader whose path into design has been anything but conventional. With a background in Brand and Account Management, as well as experience in makeup artistry, hairstyling, and fashion buying, her journey has been shaped by intuition, visual storytelling, and a deep understanding of aesthetics and business. Today, she leads Continua, a Cape Town–based design and surface studio known for pushing the boundaries of natural stone and craftsmanship. Under her leadership, Continua has evolved into a concept-to-completion studio, combining in-house design, detailing, fabrication, and installation to create spaces that balance beauty with technical precision. Her philosophy is simple: design should not just be seen, but felt. Inspired by fashion, art, and materiality, she believes in transforming raw stone into sensory experiences that are both timeless and deeply intentional.

As Founder of NUMU, Nurkan Guvenilir has built a brand dedicated to bespoke luxury interiors inspired by European craftsmanship and contemporary architecture. His work focuses on creating timeless kitchens and interior spaces through exceptional materials, meticulous detailing and precision manufacturing, redefining modern living for South Africa’s most discerning residential clients.

Bathandwa Ngwendu aka Gorgeous Bushman is inspired by the textures of the world around him. From his home in Kraaifontein, Cape Town, to his new home in the urban heart of Joburg. He is on a quest to see, do, make, and experience. A journey full of the thrill of curiosity and the joy of discovery. A natural storyteller, versed in multiple mediums, from filmmaking, to creative direction, to podcasting, and image-making. He is on the hunt to explore the points of view of others and deliver empathetic narratives that remind us not just of what makes us unique, but of the things that bind us together. His skills refuse to be confined to a single genre, working in everything from drama to comedy, satire to romance, to stories about people. A keen collaborator, he has worked with beloved South African brands such as Savanna, Old Khaki, Panarottis and Sasko and Save the Children.

Founded by sister duo Viveka and Rucita Vassen, Ananta Design Studio is a multidisciplinary practice that merges their African roots and Indian heritage into joyful, functional art. Through vibrant colour, pattern, and cultural storytelling, they empower local craft communities, transforming traditional techniques into collectible decor, furniture and lighting pieces that celebrate craftsmanship, community and identity.

Founded by sister duo Viveka and Rucita Vassen, Ananta Design Studio is a multidisciplinary practice that merges their African roots and Indian heritage into joyful, functional art. Through vibrant colour, pattern, and cultural storytelling, they empower local craft communities, transforming traditional techniques into collectible decor, furniture and lighting pieces that celebrate craftsmanship, community and identity.

Ashleigh Lloyd is the Founder and Creative Director of Studio Lloyd, a Cape Town based studio focused on experiential and sculptural lighting. Her work explores the dialogue between light, material and human perception, with a particular emphasis on tactility and the emotional resonance of space. At the core of her practice is a commitment to celebrating handcraft within an increasingly technical and digitally driven world. By combining traditional making techniques with contemporary lighting systems, Studio Lloyd creates immersive installations that feel both grounded and progressive, where raw materiality, softness and imperfection are not lost, but elevated. The studio is increasingly expanding into experiential design and immersive environments, moving beyond objects into spatial narratives and sensory led experiences. Alongside this, Studio Lloyd is developing a new offering of coastal and partially architectural lighting, exploring how their language of softness and materiality can translate into more permanent, site responsive applications. Ashleigh is particularly interested in how emerging technologies, including AI, can coexist with and support artisanal processes rather than replace them, shaping a future where innovation and craft work in parallel to create more meaningful, human centred environments.

Founded in 2021 by Sorbonne-trained art historian Olivia Barrell, Art Formes is the first African gallery purely dedicated to contemporary African sculpture. Barrell published her first volume, CLAY FORMES, in 2023, documenting 30 contemporary South African artists working sculpturally with clay. Although relatively new on the contemporary African art scene, Art Formes has already become the pioneering voice on contemporary African clay; spearheading a growing appreciation for this sculptural medium, both amongst local and international audiences. Since the establishment of the Art Formes gallery space in 2025, David Adams has worked alongside Barrell, managing the gallery and working closely on curatorial and publishing projects.

Zahrah Moosa is the founder and creative director of House of Harhaz, a luxury homeware and lifestyle brand based in South Africa. Her work is defined by a refined approach to design, creating beautifully crafted pieces that elevate everyday living, from curated table settings to thoughtfully designed home essentials. With a strong focus on detail, craftsmanship, and intentional living, Zahrah is building a brand that blends modern luxury with timeless design. She is passionate about creating products that make daily rituals feel special, while growing House of Harhaz from South Africa to a global stage.