Steamworks

There is a restaurant in Johannesburg, called Steam works, they are very, very Steampunk. They are also amazing so we went there with a group of friends. So if you are looking for ideas of where to go soon, look here. Oh and you don't need to dress up.

We all dressed up, some of us wore goggles, some of us went all out insane. (Mostly the girls went insane, corsets were worn and rocked.) I am sharing some of the photos' my camera didn't like how dark it was and some of the photographs are unusable.

Sin, Ginger and Cinnamon

What makes Steamworks amazing, is they really do have amazing food and a mouth watering amount of craft beers, the bar area is amazing. It is a huge clock... 

Really is worth going to the place and having an amazing time there.

Zak

Fluffy

Hardus, Sin & Sias

Clara & Nico

So if you want to check it out and you are in Gauteng, here is their facebook page.

While the place is amazing and I can't even say for a pub the food is good because but for anything, the food is amazing. There was a bunch of foodies and beer lovers at the table and everyone sat comparing it to some of their favourite places or even the Capital Beer fest, if there is one next year we will review it.  

So here is the rankings:

Value for money 4/5 (They are expensive for students)

Variety of food 3/5 (Quite hard to eat here if you have dietary requirements)

Variety of drinks 5/5 (Would have been higher if they had better tea, they are after all steampunk)

Overall (8/10) just for it is amazing and we will definitely go again but not this month, we need to save again. 

If you are wondering where a lot of the steampunk stuff comes from, not all of it, go check out the amazing Sin's website and facebook page.

Inside story and burnt coffee with the Ginger

We have a ritual on Tuesdays, actually almost any day we both are on campus. We get coffee and sit and chat for a while, this can be quick or a lazy period of time. Sometimes we are having moments when we both wonder why the arts was a good decision, when we are tired and broke and hitting a wall, or we just compare pictures of cats and corsets, we haven't found cats in corsets though I am sure we would compare those too.

We have red benches on campus, outside of the cafeteria, if the weather is nice, the two of us and a lot of our friends, can be seen there when we aren't in class. I think; a lot of our lecturers think we are each others partners in crime. Don't worry we will be giving tours of where we work on campus soonish.

So here is the lovely Clara Jansen, the textile designer of our little duo or The Ginger on the blog. Clara is busy with her BTech in Textile design and an amazing dyer of fabrics. She and other designers and Arts have a Stall at DecorX in Johannesburg soon. 

What makes you giddy with excitement about your field? 

A room full of brightly coloured textiles e.g: indian fabrics. A lovely wallpaper or fabric, I will die for a scarf. (She wears one pretty much everyday, between her pixie cut and scarves, she has a signature look that is amazing.)

Are you inspired more by local design or more internationally?

Traditional crafts excite me, especially traditional textiles. Internationally crafts a craft unique to its country holds its own fascination. Locally the boom in hand printed textiles is also a source of different inspiration.

Are there particular countries that you want to go too?

Unsurprisingly the first thing she said was Scandinavia, she loves vikings and folk art of these regions. Eastern Europe and the Middle East, were also on the list of places to go and people to see.

What is the difference between a conceptual textile designer and a technical textile designer?

"Design for me doesn't have to be conceptual based, so that is a difficult question." Conceptual textile designers do more once off pieces and they do more art pieces or statements. Where technical designers will be more geared towards industry and the world of more mass produced textiles or textiles that are more towards the needs of people.

Would you rather hug a honey badger or a grizzly bear? 

"Grizzly bear," was replied with a huge giggle.

Coffee with Cinnamon

It was 8:00 and the two of us are holding on to our coffees for dear life (because nobody functions without coffee this early) at the Hazelwood Food Market at the Greenlyn Village in Pretoria. More details about the market later. The reason we came together was to kick off the first official post for our blog.

Introductions are in order, I think. My name is Clara Jansen and I am clutching coffee with my fellow blogger, Chandré Nortier. The aim of this escapade is to introduce her to our readers. Many other escapades will follow as the two of us will be visiting craft and flea markets, conventions, tradeshows, share some DIY ideas and good restaurants in the ways we understand how. The blog, for me, is all about getting out and enjoying whatever I may find.

Down to brass tacks; this post is not about me. It is to introduce Chandré…

Chandré is a second year Fine Arts student at the Tshwane University of Technology majoring in Painting and Printmaking. She defines printmaking as a traditional form of art capturing an image on a two dimensional surface by not drawing or painting it. Methods of printmaking include Silkscreen printing, etching and lino. She admires British-Nigerian artist Yinko Shonibare and South African artist Desireé Malan. The end goal for this talented lady is to have a career in restoring art or become a lecturer for Art Theory.

In a world where artists are making more and more extreme art statements and try to shock the viewer, she feels that art is allowed to still be beautiful and does not need to make a statement or be extreme. In her art she focuses more on the aesthetic value and technique of the painting or print, rather than the concept. She considers her skill to be stronger than her conceptual development, which links to the fact that she is also a crafter.

Yes, this lady has many talents. Some of her other skills are very much related to craft and textiles. She can knit, crochet, sew, quilt and do fibre art. Ironically she prefers crafting over her majors at university due to the fact that she does not like to have dirty hands.

To conclude our first official post I had to ask if she would rather hug a Grizzly bear or a Honey badger. Her answer was the Honey badger. Good luck with that…

Have a splendid week filled with coffee, good food, beautiful things and good friends.

Peace and Love

Clara