Passion Points: Style

Top Shops in Johannesburg Text Size A A A
If it’s African curios and artifacts you seek in Johannesburg, the good news is that you only need to know two places: Art Africa and Amatuli Fine Art. The former has a huge selection of everything from children’s toys, to Christmas trinkets, house wares and artwork to fashion accessories—and at reasonable prices. Colorful, fun, funky, pretty, original. You will see things here you won’t see at the airport shops (though some of the airport shops are good) or anywhere else for that matter. The front part of the shop proffers handmade contemporary crafts from all over Africa—often made by cooperatives or groups from rural communities. The back is a gallery of more traditionally defined “tribal art,” with masks, headrests, sculpture, pottery, basketry and so forth.
This part of Art Africa is a mere hint at the volume and selection at Amatuli Fine Art, which houses room upon room of African crafts as well as more serious, i.e., expensive, textiles, artifacts, and furnishings. Owned by Mark and Christine Valentine, Amatuli has a workshop that creates, assembles, and repairs merchandise, and Mark also designs and commissions work exclusively for his clientele, including the New York-based store Anthropoligie. As I was leaving, a pair of amazing beaded club chairs was being unloaded from a truck. They come from Nigeria, Mark told me, and take as much as six months to make, using one and a half million beads. The price? “6,800 rand a piece,” he says, or around US $880, adding, “They sold them at Anthropologie for $4,000.”
Search By Keyword
Popular Destinations
Indagare News Flash
- Editors’ Picks: Just Back From Cabo: Read our insider’s report on Cabo. Melissa’s Letter from Zurich. Guides to Courchevel and Verbier, where the skiing is better than it’s been in decades. Plus: Winter specials from travel partners.
- Member Advice Postcards from Hacienda San Antonio, Jerusalem, Parrot Cay and a first look at the Aman in Beijing.
- What’s your travel IQ? Take the quiz USA Today called “a killer” and establish your Indagare quotient.
- Indagare Insiders: Top picks in Fez from Suzanna Clarke. Marie Brandolini on Venice; the design duo behind Kirna Zabete on shopping the world. Plus: Coralie Charriol Paul on her favorite spots in Megeve.
- Reviews: In-depth guides to Buenos Aires, Delhi and Deer Valley.
- Indagare Plus: Remember that hotels marked by an Indagare Plus symbol offer preferential rates and benefits to members.
- Sample Indagare: By signing up for bi-weekly email blasts on new hot spots and insider tips. Join our mailing list.
- News: Indagare named Best Travel Website by Vanity Fair. Read an interview with our founder on Vivre.
- New feature: Members share your profiles, comments, favorite articles and IQs. Just click on the Profile tab on the upper right of your screen and look for the Edit My Profile blue tab.
- Indagare means to discover, explore, seek, scout in Latin.



