Spotlight Mud Studio

Lauded for their signature lighting designs that carefully capture local arts and crafts heritage and skill, MUD Studio’s latest project at Brahman Hills in the KZN Midlands shines a new light on the studio’s creativity. Drawing on traditional arts and crafts techniques, and making use of local materials, MUD Studio created beautiful ceramic bee hive covers for the property, imbuing the bucolic landscape with a unique, contemporary character.

Dotted around a circular lawn, surrounded by a pretty waterway, the neutral-hued beehive covers add a touch of whimsy and fun to the expansive gardens while offering ever-so-stylish homes to the estate’s bee colonies. 

Carefully fashioned out of thousands of individual ceramic shapes, including leaves and squares, each diligently fastened to the other by hand, the designs beautifully capture the industrious nature and team spirit of its inhabitants.

Conceived in 2005 by husband-and-wife duo artist and designer Werner Du Toit and ceramic artist Philippa Du Toit, the Original Mud Chandelier has won numerous awards over the years for its distinctive design, including being named one of the top 50 worldwide designs that shaped the millennium. 

Based in Port Alfred, in the Eastern Cape, South Africa, MUD Studio is the go-to for high-design ceramic decor, including bespoke furniture and stoneware dinnerware, as well as original artwork.