Sutla

This Cape Town duo designs furniture with a functionalist bent.

Keen to know more about the South Africa design scene? Look no further than Cape Town. Its role as host to the annual Design Indaba festival and its 2014 title as World Design Capital have helped solidify the city as a destination to watch—and has helped encourage a spate of local designers. Sutla, founded by artist and industrial designer Altus van Zijl and entrepreneur Brigitte Hauptfleisch, launched in 2014 with a couple of cohesive basics, including the standout Rookie desk lamp in white ash with black powder-coated hardware. Speaking to the process behind their upstart endeavor, van Zijl and Hauptfleisch relate the functionalist bent of their work to everyday observation: “Every day takes us on a new journey where we constantly observe and take mental notes as we go.” The nascent outfit plans to expand its product line in 2015 with the introduction of a chandelier and a coat rack and design its own office-cum-community space.