Homewood have taken the indoor furniture industry by storm, making waves, winning design awards, and most recently – joining forces with furniture and homeware giants, Mr. Price Home. They both love local and have a passion for the environment, but how did such an exciting collaboration come about?
Homewood and Mr. Price Kotini Range
It all began in March 2020, when South Africa was forced into a nationwide shutdown. Homewood owner and founder, Ian Perry, was devastated by the thought of how crippling a 5-week full factory and retail closure would be for the business. But out of the chaos, a beautiful partnership was formed. The lockdown led Ian to start thinking more about his business strategy and how he could turn this forced ‘down time’ into something constructive. He started attending Zoom webinars with the KZN Furniture cluster. It was in this virtual networking space that he was introduced to Mr. Price Home Merchandising Director –Yanni Vosloo.
With their mutual passion for supporting the local economy and protecting and preserving the environment, Yanni and Ian connected instantly. Yanni’s vision was to create a range of furniture at Mr. Price that was 100% locally sourced and produced, as well as environmentally sustainable. Ian and his team at Homewood were already renown for The Amanzi Conscious Collection – a range of furniture that locates local, alien-invasive trees that are draining South Africa’s precious water ways, and using these woods to produce handcrafted, luxury furniture. Mr. Price Home was in search of the right furniture manufacturers who could create high quality, on trend, affordable furniture for them and who had the capacity to supply them with enough furniture to keep up with the demand of the local market. Homewood was the missing puzzle piece they had been searching for, and the collaboration was a natural, mutually beneficial fit.
Image: Homewood
The Kotini range (Kotini being Zulu for “cotton”) uses locally sourced, alien-invasive cottonwood to create handcrafted, luxury furniture in cutting edge designs – made exclusively for Mr. Price Home. This environmentally focused, feel-good range supports local job creation, local business, and our local ecosystem. Every hectare of alien-invasive trees removed for this initiative results in 3000 cubic litres of water returned to our precious waterways. If nothing else, it’s a fascinating conversation starter at your next dinner party, sitting around your beautiful cottonwood dining or coffee table. The Kotini range is available in Mr. Price Home stores, nationwide.
Image: Mr. Price Group
Take a look at the range here or use it as inspiration to have a custom-made piece of indoor furniture designed for you and your unique space.
