Justin van Breda announces Cape Looms
JP inc. has had the privilege of a two-decade relationship with the Justin van Breda brand, launching the eponymous brand in London back in 2002 and then in South Africa in 2008. When it came to launching their Cape Looms brand, Justin and his UK publicist, Amelia Hobson, naturally turned to us.
Cape Looms is a project that builds community through craft and quality. Hand weaving flat weave rugs in the traditional method from mohair and wool in Cape Town, South Africa. Cape Looms is preserving long-established skills through a creative endeavour that is at once local and of an international standard.
They bring women weavers together in a nurturing environment, to hone their craft and develop an independent skill set – enabling them to financially support their families whilst keeping a heritage craft alive.
South Africa is the largest Mohair producer in the world, and Cape Looms’ fibres come directly from the farms surrounding the weaving workshops – creating a successful vertically integrated cooperative structure. They have built a range of looms, including the largest hand-weaving loom in Africa.
Their fibres of wool and mohair are blended and spun in their workshops. Blending qualities during the spinning process creates depth of texture that allow the fibres to sing in juxtaposition to one another.
Working with wool and in Africa is coming full circle for Justin, whose family founded the wool farming industry in South Africa.
Cape Looms now enjoys representation across the US as well as in the United Kingdom, Europe, and obviously South Africa.