Always Welcome

Launched in 2020, Always Welcome is “a multi-brand cooperative retailer” championing South African design.

Based in Jo’burg, the store showcases a unique and diverse selection of furniture and homeware from some of the best local designers, including Dokter and Misses, Mash. T Studio, The Urbanative, Haldane Martin, Houtlander, Kirsten Goss and Khwebula Arts.

“Our unique diversity of designers, celebrated artistic voices, and creative campaigning is making the space an incubator of new ideas that architects, interior designers and cultural critics look to for inspiration, and where the public can experience a curated collection of the best in Southern African design,” says the company.

With a focus on working together, the cooperative is focused on reducing the risk on individual studios by allowing designers to join together under a unique membership model and work collaboratively in a shared space.

The cooperative currently boasts 24 designers, each with a unique style and product offering.

“I think what makes what Always Welcome is doing so interesting is that the aesthetic they are creating isn’t specifically Southern African but is one that is still unfolding, and I suspect ultimately it will be the customer who defines what it is,” says Thabisa Mjo of Mash.T Studio

Thabisa Mjo of Mash.T Studio

The highly collectable works are available to shop in-store or online. Keep an eye out for the Flute Table by Mash.T Studio, the Oromo Dining Chair by The Urbanative and the Moonjelly Light Sculptures and Ambassador Table by Dokter and Misses, and the Houtlander x Hlabisa weavers Woven Tub Chair – they are all sure to become local design classics.

www.alwayswelcomestore.co.za