Local Is Lekker with Belgotex & Grafica

Inspired by the continent of Africa, Belgotex has launched an exciting new range of commercial tufted carpet tiles known as Grafica. The perfect way to celebrate our heritage and the culture of Africa!

As a modern African manufacturer, Belgotex has developed a range inspired and influenced by African design – Grafica. The local expression is attitude and Africa made one; an homage to the fabric of our cities.

The bold commercial collection of 3 tufted tile designs delivers a robust, graphic pattern
to hard-working floors. The African designs are inspired by our cultural landscape and is a modern expression of Africa’s abundant creativity.

From street vendors trading their wares on top of make-shift tables to the patina of weathered buildings, Belgotex took in all this and more as they traversed the streets while finding connections in the interconnected grid.

Then, inspired by all that colour, texture and myriad graphic elements they created a product comprising three distinct ranges: blocks, crates and skew lines. To help translate the creative process they commissioned a shoot that would best present this homage to African design, and the result was an exercise that further explored African creativity.

“There are many colourful flowers on the path of life, but the prettiest have the sharpest thorns.” – African Proverb.

The three ranges include:

Crates:

A stack-style design inspired by our local make-shift, can-do culture. Crates embodies the iconic marketplace form in a pattern rooted in humility and hard work.

A street vendor unpacks her wares from a collection of colourful plastic crates, then uses the empty receptacles to form a make-shift table on top of which she sells fresh produce. A man wearing blue overalls stops to buy an orange, then slinks behind a steel mesh fence that reveals a construction site through its diamond grid pattern.

Blocks:

Urban life in Africa is an organised chaos – a vibrant grid of energy where cultures converge for the daily hustle. Blocks pays tribute to all the hustlers. Keep hustling.

City blocks, apartment blocks and the individual building blocks that when laid together give rise to our urban areas. These square and rectangular shapes are everywhere, either stealing the sky or keeping us grounded.

Skew Lines:

Africa is a place of contrast, a clash of perspectives, woven together to create the bold synergy that we call home. An expression of our local anything goes attitude – this is Skew Lines.

Curiosity leads to exploration, which results in innovation. We dutifully follow the communication that a particular road marking conveys. We stop to question how a stack interchange of overpasses casts a specific shadow on the asphalt below.