Adventures in Cape Town: Merchants on Long

[image: Jessica Reid]

Covet Garden's own Jessica travelled to Cape Town, South Africa earler this month. She came back with lots of great stories and discoveries to share. This is the second of four posts detailing her adventures.

One of the places I really wanted to check out while in Cape Town was a place called Merchants on Long. Housed in an amazing 19th century building on the popular Long Street, the store is owned by Hanneli Rupert, the designer behind the Okapi handbag line. Rupert has curated an impressive collection of contemporary African design, stocking fashion, art and accessories sourced from all over the continent. Her goal is encourage job creation and small business development by showcasing high end African designers such as Lalesso, Suno and Zen Zulu.

[image: Jessica Reid]

Merchants on Long describes itself as an African salon rather than a simple store. And from the minute I walked in, it was clear that the space was just as important as what was in it. The amazing art nouveau building, friendly staff and a coffee bar that serves fair-trade African blends were all part of the experience.

[image: okapi.com ]

Which is not to say that there isn't some fine shopping to be had. The focus of the store is on incredibily stylish and luxurious pieces that will also stand the test of time. The outstanding craftsmanship was evident when I looked at the hardware on the Okapi bags and the finely woven fabrics of Ethiopian model and UN Spokesperson Liya Kebede's Lemlem line.

[image: Lem Lem]

[image: Babatunde Styles hat by Gareth Cowden via marieclairvoyant.com.]

Not every piece is so serious, though. I couldn't resist the colourful patterns on Johanesburg designer's Babatunde Styles cheery chapeaux.

Comments

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Nice photos. Very interesting designs