Dokter and Misses wins highly revered Icon award at Southern Guild Design Foundation Awards 2015/2016
Dokter and Misses is a leading multi-disciplinary product design company based in Johannesburg, South Africa. It has won the highly revered Icon award at the Southern Guild Design Foundation Awards 2015/2016. An auspicious event which took place on Saturday, July 23 at the Southern Guild Gallery in Woodstock, Cape Town. The award, which was sponsored by the American Hardwood Export Council (AHEC), was presented to Adriaan Hugo and Katy Taplin. The husband and wife duo who run Dokter and Misses.
In total, seven companies were awarded under the categories ‘Icon’, ‘Object that Moves’, ‘Maker to Market’ and ‘Manufacture’. Additionally, ‘Future Found’, ‘Apprentice’ and the newly introduced ‘Design with Purpose’. The awards acknowledge both highly successful companies, and designers entering into the industry.
According to the organisers, the Icon award is awarded in recognition of work produced by a highly regarded South African design company. This is to further acknowledge outstanding achievement, innovation and career advancement. Dokter and Misses was recognised for its major trajectory over the past 18 months, including an exhibition of African design at R & Company in New York last year. Most noteworthily, for continually showing at the top design fairs around the world with Southern Guild. As well as with bespoke work being commissioned for some of the best homes and hospitality venues around the world.
The company currently has work on show at Beauty – Cooper Hewitt Design Triennial at the Smithsonian Design Museum in New York. Additionally, its involvement in developing a solar-powered Wi-Fi bench for public areas shows the company’s far-reaching effect.
“Our partnership with the Southern Guild Design Foundation Awards marks our strong commitment towards the promotion and marketing of American hardwoods as a truly beautiful and sustainable material. Through this partnership and others in South Africa, we are looking towards further strengthening our ties with the top designers and architects. Which is in line with our mission to raise awareness about American hardwoods in South Africa, while also supporting the design community. These awards continue to provide a unique and exciting opportunity to recognise some of the very best talent in South Africa and we are confident that American hardwoods will maintain their position as a preferred material for design in the region” – Roderick Wiles, AHEC Director for Africa, Middle East, South Asia and Oceania.
Other winners on the night included:
- Wonki Ware (Object that Moves Award);
- Pichulik (Maker to Market Award);
- Woodheads (Manufacture Award);
- Pinda Furniture Design (Future Found Award);
- Jason van der Linde (Apprentice Award); and
- Repurpose Schoolbags (Design with Purpose Award).
Each of the seven winners received a bronze gorilla sculpture, sculpted by Otto du Plessis from Bronze Age Foundry. The fourth edition of the award ceremony was attended by top industry insiders, designers, local media and VIP guests.
Trevyn McGowan, Southern Guild Design Foundation board member explains, ‘As a local design brand, Dokter and Misses has developed a unique voice that, strives to create a new African design vernacular.’ Concluding, ‘it takes a design company with a very strong identity to create an impact in the saturated global design world. Katy and Adriaan have been making that impact almost from the outset of their careers. Their high-scale commercial contract business signifies a true grasp of what it means to be a successful design brand. All of this while being professional, generous and two of the nicest people you could ever meet.’
