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Contemporary South African Furniture Design

HALDANE MARTIN offers a sense of belonging to our world and the spirit of the times, by creating contemporary furniture that integrates, man, nature, culture and technology, with the human qualities of wisdom, love, and beauty.

DESIGN MANIFESTO
“As a contemporary industrial designer I strive to meet the needs of the whole human being by designing furniture that is simultaneously meaningful for the spirit, beautiful for the soul, and nurturing for the body.
Spirit.
We need our environments and the objects that populate them to reflect our deeper intelligence and wisdom as human beings. Referring to our shared cultural history has been a way that I have incorporated meaning, and a regional flavor into my work. Personifying objects is another way of expressing myself as a creative human being. I believe that discovering this kind of intelligence in what surrounds us brings light to the human spirit.
Soul.
We are all sensitive to a universal sense of balance, harmony, movement and proportion. We can be more at peace with ourselves when beauty is present in our lives. I seek to develop my personal sense of beauty by spending time studying nature, art, architecture and music. Most importantly, I strive to cultivate a healthy inner life as it is the artist’s soul that touches the world.
Body.
Here I stretch my definition of the body to include the body of the earth. To nurture the physical body I explore the principals of ergonomics and contemporary lifestyle. To nurture the earth, I seek to understand the principals of natural systems and to encourage their integration in our human systems. Our home should support life on all levels.

By striving to meet the needs of the whole human being in an integrated way, my work creates a sense of belonging for all those that come into contact with it.”

COMPANY PROFILE
HALDANE MARTIN established in 2002, is a contemporary furniture design company based in Cape Town, South Africa. The collection consists of over 30 unique furniture pieces, all originally designed and produced locally. Haldane creates a small number of new pieces each year which are exclusively manufactured by HALDANE MARTIN.

HALDANE MARTIN has won a number of design awards, the most recent being the Real Simple SA – Green Innovation Award (Design) 2008, and the prestigious SABS DISA award for Zulu Mama 2007.
The furniture has been exhibited in Madrid, London, Paris, New York, Copenhagen, Oslo, Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban. The furniture has been featured extensively in the local press and international design publications. DESIRE, an international hardcover design book published by Gestalten, is the most recent. Haldane was also a guest speaker on the main stage at the International Design Indaba Conference in 2007.

The furniture is specified for high end, domestic and hospitality interiors worldwide, for example the acclaimed desert retreat, Little Kulala in Namibia. The furniture can be purchased online www.haldanemartin.co.za or through select interior design businesses and boutique retailers in Europe, Scandinavia, Australia and USA.
The furniture manufacturing is outsourced to specialized component engineers and furniture manufacturers all over South Africa. The marketing, sales, outsourcing, quality control, assembly and logistics, is managed by a small team at the studio / showroom / warehouse in Woodstock, Cape Town.

CAREER BIO
Haldane Martin: Born 1970, Johannesburg, South Africa
Education: Qualified 1992, Industrial Design, National Diploma, Cape Technikon, Cape Town.
Employment: 1993 - 1994, Sparks Product Design, Johannesburg.
Own Business: 1994 - 1995, Brave New World product design, Cape Town
Partnership: 1995 - 1996, Green Space product design (partners Jamii Hamlin & John Vogel)
Partnership: 1996 – 2002, Brave New World furniture, (partner John Vogel)
Own Business: 2002 – current, HALDANE MARTIN contemporary furniture design
Awards: 2008, Real Simple, Green Innovation Award (Design), 2007, SABS DISA Award, Zulu Mama,
2004, Elle Décor, EDIDA, Furniture Designer of the year
Exhibitions: 2002 – 2009, Madrid, London, Paris, New York, Copenhagen, Oslo, Lisbon, Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban
International Design Books: 2008, DESIRE shape of things to come, published by Gestalten (profile), 2009 Hot Afro, by Craig Fraser, Mandy Allan, Libby Doyle, Published by Exhibitions Intl (home)
International Magazines: 2009 - FRAME (Polyhedra Coffee Table), 2006 - Financial Times (profile)
Local Television: 2002 – 2009, Numerous interviews (Top Billing, etc)
Conference Speaker: 2007, Design Indaba international conference, Design with a Conscience
Recent top project: Emirates VIP Airport Lounge, OR Thambo International Airport, Client – Menzies Aviation, Interior Designer – Design Partnership