At Flow, we appreciate it when we get to work for clients whose values closely mirror our own. ‘piece’ is one such client. With their focus on creating once-off hand-crafted works of beauty and integrity, being ‘exquisitely South African’ and an emphasis on creating development opportunities for staff and suppliers, this is a company whose website we were delighted to help develop.
Piece, in physical form, is a lovely little shop in the Firs in Rosebank where the products are sold, but it is also so much more than that. The hand-crafted items that can be found in the store all have unique stories to tell and are wonderfully modern, desirable pieces made by traditional means.
‘Expect the unexpected – pieces with attitude, where old meets new, and contemporary design meets ancient tradition.’
The stories that the pieces tell are not just about what they are made from and the craft involved but also about the people who make them. Using Fair Trade principles, producers are assisted with business support, kept up to date with design trends and are encouraged to have self-belief in their creativity and craft. This results in the production of work that is authentic, beautiful, honest and valuable to both the craftsperson and the eventual owner.
The challenge facing Lorraine Gumede, Flow designer for the site, was to find the ideal balance between tradition, art, craft, quality and exclusivity. Using the metaphor of a tree (under which stories in Africa are traditionally told) and a restrained colour palette, she is happy to have created a site that shows off the works of ‘piece’ to their greatest advantage.
The gallery pages show off all categories of products – from jewellery to home ware to uniquely South African Christmas decorations. The fact that each item has its own story meant that time had to be taken to ensure that the correct pictures were in the right place. For most of us, a bracelet is a bracelet and a pot just a pot, but for Eugenie Drakes, owner of ‘piece’, it was critical that the stories and relevant pictures were precisely ordered so that the stories could be correctly told.
Piece was recently recognised for its efforts by becoming a finalist in the 702 Small Business Awards and we believe that the website will contribute to the company’s ongoing success.
Visit the site here: www.piece.co.za.
