Dokter and Misses – playful but simple

Since when is Long Street so cool?

Long Street has always been exciting, but at the end of 2010, new cafés and shops opened and now we’re really talking about new cool shops. When a Dokter and Misses opened in September 2010, with affable store manager Unathi at the helm, my heart stood still. Design lovers may have seen their stuff at Superette in Woodstock. Here at their Long Street stronghold you can also gaze at the lovely interior as well as their pieces and... buy it.

Or... get it as a present. My friends Maaike and Smoof know what I like and gave me the 'Checkas bin' for Christmas. Let me tell you: it looks cool to have a yellow trash bin in the kitchen where the Checkers, Pick n Pay and Woolies bags fit in perfectly.

Let’s quickly look behind the scenes. Dokter and Misses are Adriaan Hugo and Katy Taplin (both 28-years-old). The married couple started the company in 2007. In October 2008 they opened a CO-OP in Braamfontein where their workshop is situated, in collaboration with Whatiftheworld (you might know the Woodstock gallery) as a showcase for local art and design. 

Misses Katy answers a couple of my questions:

Why the name Dokter and Misses?
It’s a secret.

What do Dokter and Misses do?
We design and manufacture our products in Joburg and are interested in bringing out pieces that are functional with a twist. We try to look at everyday products and furniture in a different light and give them an additional function.

Tell me about your vision for the shop and Dokter and Misses products?
We're working on building up our portfolio of both small and bigger pieces to provide a complete product offering of locally designed and produced work. Having a Cape Town outlet helps with local and international exposure , ultimately it makes it possible for more people to access our work.

Why the collaboration with David West in your Long Street shop? 
We've always admired David's work and thought that the products would complement one another. We thought it would be a nice mix for our clients to be exposed to since fashion and furniture are related, but are non-competitive. It took a long time to find the right space and put a lot of work into restoration and fitting it out. We design independently from one another. So when they come together in the space it's an interesting combination rather than an over-planned set-up.

What feedback do you get?
People see humour in our products. They are available in various colours and this is attractive because there is a something for everyone.

Long Street store manager Unathi tells me "Dokter and Misses used childrens drawings for many of their designs". Now that’s cool..

by Antonia Heil | photographs by Desmond Louw

Dokter and Misses
113 Long Street | City Centre | Cape Town | +27 (0) 21 801 4722

Opening hours: Monday – Friday 9:30am – 6pm, Saturday 10am – 2 pm

Stay in the loop with our monthly newsletter, on Twitter and our Facebook Updates.