Man + Wife Launch Regenerative Design Furniture Range
Man+Wife, a family-run business based in Gqeberha, has launched its first range of low-impact furniture focused on “creating good”. The range, which includes a couch, coffee table and ottoman, is being exhibited for the first time at the inaugural 1.5 Degrees Africa climate change conference in Cape Town from 28 to 30 March 2023.
Bruce and Kimlyn Harbottle, the team behind Man+Wife, explain that their vision is to create furniture that not only centres on good design, but that is good for the planet and for the people, families and organisations who make and use the furniture.
“We want our furniture to help people thrive – to be a positive choice towards better living,” explains Kimlyn.
Bruce adds, “We think of ourselves almost as a health business that happens to make furniture, rather than a furniture company trying to design low-impact furniture. Our pieces are healthy for you, your family, the community and the planet. We’re targeting people like us, who are concerned about the future – not just their own, but their children’s and the world’s.”
He explains that Man + Wife’s ambition is to embrace regenerative design. This goes beyond sustainable design, which is about trying to minimise environmental impact. Instead, regenerative design aims to create a net positive impact on natural systems – using design to do good; to help repair and protect the planet and the environment.
“While the aim is for our products to be completely regenerative, that will take some time and scale to achieve,” says Kimlyn. “Right now, we’re focused on building relationships with local suppliers, sourcing low-impact materials and developing our furniture manufacturing expertise. The long-term aim is to build a vertically integrated business, where we have complete control of our supply chain, from farm to retail.”
About Man + Wife
Bruce and Kimlyn met while studying industrial design and later got married and started a family. When their son, Noah, was born with Down Syndrome in 2014, Bruce and Kimlyn decided to create a family business that Noah would one day be able to join, adding value and being valued. In 2017, they founded Man + Wife.
Meanwhile, Bruce was struggling with severe health challenges. After his 15th operation and the second one to remove part of his intestine to manage his Crohn’s disease, he began to re-evaluate their lifestyle, from nutrition to stress management.
The couple made some big life choices, moving from Johannesburg to Gqeberha and consulting with a nutritionist and a psychologist. Bruce found that changing his diet had a big and positive influence on his health. He began to explore how food is grown, sourced and supplied, discovering the concept of regenerative agriculture. This, in turn, brought him to regenerative design, and a new dream to create regenerative furniture with a positive environmental, social and aesthetic effect through Man + Wife.
The concept is still young in South Africa. Man + Wife is working towards Ecological Outcome Verification™ (EOV) – an outcomes-based protocol for verifying land regeneration based on a host of ecological indicators, including ground cover, water infiltration, biodiversity, and soil carbon and soil health.
The range
Man + Wife furniture is informed by traditional South African production methods and materials – a fresh take on the modernist safari aesthetic.
“Our furniture is unique to our location,” says Bruce. “It’s about rethinking materials used and the impact those materials have on the environment and our health, as well as designing for quality and durability. Our items are designed to be repaired, rather than needing to be replaced.”
Urethane foam has been replaced with locally sourced waste wool from Butterworth (wool offcuts that would otherwise be discarded). Leather is locally sourced from regenerative farms in Hogsback and tanned in Kariega (Uitenhage), while textiles are locally manufactured and woven, with the long-term plan of sourcing regenerative-certified wool and weaving it into custom textiles.
Currently, felting is made from recycled fabric remnants. Upholstery fabric is a mix of locally sourced cotton and recyclable olefin fibres. “We also have an option of using fabric made from recycled PET bottles,” says Bruce.
The internal framing of the furniture is made from South African pine from sustainable forests and plantations from Stutterheim and Hogsback, while the hardwoods used for wooden detailing are hard pear, sourced from carefully managed indigenous forests. Wood is sourced from expired trees, each certified by SANParks. Wood is finished using natural linseed oils.
“Our business was started with our children, Noah and Michaela, in mind, but our hope is to contribute to positive social impact beyond our family, into our community, our country and planet as a whole,” says Kimlyn. “Ultimately, our dream is to grow our business to become a furniture manufacturing hub that will provide jobs, skills training and education in the province of the Eastern Cape, helping to transform the region from one of poverty to one of prosperity and health.”
For more information, visit the Man + Wife website or email info@manandwife.co.za.
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Pat Govender
April 13, 2023Wow
Congratulations to you both. Wishing you every success in this great venture. God bless. Pat Govender