by drew riley

Heath Nash is an extraordinary designer from South Africa, who has consistently produced amazing work and has already left a lasting impression on the design world. graduating from the University of Cape Town and named Elle Decor’s South African Designer of the Year in 2006, Heath has made quite a name for himself in the recent past. Heath began and continues to work with cut and folded sheets of plastic and paper, but his truly amazing design contributions are inspired and produced by local South African artisans.

across sub-Saharan Africa and most notably in South Africa, a tradition of crafting objects from cast away items thrives. “trash” such as detergent bottles, soda cans, and telephone wire are transformed into baskets, toys, and tourist trinkets. This new cultural tradition springs from a population of indigenous people, marginalized by the privileged world and left to make due with limited resources, art born of necessity. Heath has allowed his design process to be influenced by these local crafts and the end result is unexpected and incredible.

in creating his work, Heath has also sought to employ the very artisans who have inspired it, providing much needed income for well deserving and hard working South Africans. Heath is determined to create relevant designs that speak to the nature of the place they are produced and the people who produce them. In many ways the work tells the story of indigenous craft but at the same time each light fixture or home accessory is a testament to design that is relevant and timeless.

flower ball is a favorite piece. it is a master work of flowers, hand cut from recycled bottles, and arranged on a hand wired frame. illuminated, the flower ball transforms any space into a magical display of shadow and light.

“its beautiful here” hat and coat rack exemplifies the undying spirit of South Africa and illustrates a reminder to us all to take stock of our lives and evaluate what’s truly important.

Heath is committed to producing his work in Cape Town and not outsourcing the production of his designs. as a result, production is expensive and done at a slower South African pace. it is no wonder that Heath Nash is not yet a household name and my never be. to purchase such a design outside of the African continent would require shipping overseas, not the smallest carbon footprint. foundation4 is so happy to be able to deliver a few of Heath’s pieces to the US market. although the costs of shipping are great, both environmentally and financially, we feel the work and its message are important and in need of a more global audience.

There is no perfect label for this work. It is more repurposed than recycled and in a country where organized recycling is virtually unheard of, Heath Nash is making a big impression. perhaps in time his efforts will usher change for South Africa and its citizens. Heath and his dedicated team of artisans are working to meet our worlds growing need to be more environmentally and socially conscious. the best way to help and support such an effort is to purchase Heath’s designs, a self serving proposal perhaps, but a good suggestion just the same. The face of charity in our world is changing and supporting those who practice sustainable business and positively impact local economy is the future.

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tags: design, flower ball, Heath Nash, its beautiful here, Recycled, South Africa

this entry was posted on Wednesday, March 11th, 2009 at 6:05 pm and is filed under f4 products, general. you can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed both comments and pings are currently closed