Great shops in Joburg LOOKING for something different for that special person, or a gift to take back overseas with you, or something good to eat? We've put together a selection of great Joburg shops where you're bound to have hours of quality shopping enjoyment. Joburg - shops - great - go! Kinderspiel, Bamboo Centre, Rustenburg Road, Melville, 011 646 0870, Mondays to Sundays 8.30am-5pm. Go into this store for a fantasy experience. Owner Ruth Kellow specialises in unusual puppets, tiny musical boxes, farm and wild animals, and games.
All toys are imported from Germany and are exquisitely made. Kellow has been in the toy business for 15 years and she enjoys the “beauty in a wonderfully crafted idea”. She is very aware of the educational value of toys and stocks construction sets, gliders, Lego, Playmobil, and Uberstix with this in mind. But the kids can also just enjoy the furniture sets for a doll’s house, or the range of knights, fairies, and dragons. I loved the tunes coming out of the musical boxes – from Happy Birthday to My Way. Mahlah’s, 160 Long Road, Greymont, 082 320 1712, Mondays to Thursdays 9am-5pm, Fridays and Saturdays 9am-3pm.
There is something very pleasing about antique tools which are the specialty of this shop. You’ll see tables and shelves full of antique planes, blacksmiths’ anvils and tongs, saws, chisels, and many more handsome tools. Owner Tom Howden says he and his wife have been in business for about five years. “I have an affinity for tools, and started picking them up,” he says. He sources his tools from fairs, auctions, dealers around the country, or from people who walk in with their grandfather’s toolboxes. Some of his tools are 150 years old. The store’s other specialty is art deco lighting, hanging enticingly from the ceiling. And the rest of this cosy store is filled with an admirable collection of antique furniture. Go in, even if just to run your hand over those tools. Green Grass Shop, 34 4th Avenue, Parkhurst, 011 447 8570, Tuesdays to Fridays 9.30am-5pm, Saturdays 9.30am-1pm, Sundays 10am-1pm.
Looking for something unusual for the home? Try the delightful lazer-cut products in this shop, which opened in November 2010. Bowls, mirrors, coasters, mobiles, fridge magnets, side tables, placemats, bookends, desk organizers and more – are delicately cut from perspex, leather, wood, paper, cardboard, foam and suede. The paper, board, and perspex are all recycled. Says owner Ria Kraftt, who is a graphic designer: "The products are original and fresh, we don't mass produce. I designed the products for my own needs, hopefully, people have similar needs." Go take a look – you're sure to find you need something from this shop. Miller's Antiques, 62 Siemert Road, Doornfontein, 011 402 4162, Mondays to Thursdays 9am-5pm, Fridays 9am-4pm, Saturdays 10am-1pm Indulge your fancy for French and English-style antique furniture by popping into this store with its vast collection of beautifully crafted furniture.
Owner Carmit Bamberger makes regular visits to Jepara in Indonesia where a thriving industry in this furniture takes place, supplying stores all over the world. “A lot of people can't afford the genuine antiques, but these reproductions are beautiful and affordable,” she says. Most items are fine mahogany, with a range of finishes and upholstery of your choice. You'll find dressers, dining room tables of all sizes, mirrors, magnificent beds, settees, and a large selection of chairs. Bookbinding Creations, 95 Komatie Road, Emmarentia, 011 646 9621, Mondays to Fridays 8.30am-5pm, Saturdays 9.30am-12.30pm. Got books at home that are badly in need of repair? Well, stop in at Bookbinding Creations and get your book back in a few days looking almost new, and without a huge hole in your wallet. Entrepreneur Virginia Ngwenya bought the business in 2008 where she was previously an employee and hasn't looked back since. She binds around 300 books, journals, theses, and photograph albums each month, all with a friendly smile. Reminiscent, 1C 7th Street, Melville, 011 726 7905, Mondays to Fridays 9am-5pm, Saturdays 9am-3pmWant to immerse yourself in quality silks, crepes, and georgettes?
Want to step back into the Victorian, Edwardian, or the 1920s' fashion scene, and go home with a unique piece of clothing? Then visit Reminiscence . Owner Rosemary French says all the items in her store date from before the 1960s. She specialises in beautiful handbags and antique jewelry but has dresses, blouses, suits, hats, shoes, and furs – from Russian mink to Canadian squirrel, and red, grey and white foxes. For men, there are quality tuxedos, tails, scarves, bowties, and cufflinks. "The quality of the fabrics cannot be imitated today," she says. Jewelry ranges from silver, gold, onyx, garnets, and rubies to peridots, amethysts, sapphires, and emeralds. It's another world which promises a glimpse into bygone eras, with a chance to own something you'll treasure forever.
The Bead Shop, 89 1st Avenue, Melville, 011 726 2911, Mondays to Fridays 9am-5pm, Saturdays 9am-1.30pmThis is bead heaven, without a doubt. Room after room of beads, in every possible shape, colour, design, and size - in all some 300m² of bead heaven. Owner Jeremy Rosenberg says his beads are all imported - from Africa, India, China, Europe, and the US. He reckons 50 percent of his customers are home bead crafters, some of whom he describes as "aggressive beaders" or addicts, who have to get their regular bead fix. The shop has been in Melville for 23 years, located in an old wooden-floored house, which means that customers can roam from room to room, exploring, touching, admiring beads. But it's not just packets and bottles of beads – you can go in and get a ready-made necklace or pair of earrings too. Go on, go and get your bead fix. African Queen,147 Corlett Drive, Bramley, 011 021 8138, Mondays to Saturdays 8am-5pm.If you're looking for wonderful bronze sculptures, this is the store you need to visit. The bronze collection, all from Nigeria, is extensive – animal heads, masks, figurines, life-size leopards, among many other items. Owner Queen Osso, from the Ivory Coast, says 90 percent of the items in her store are imported from Africa: Cameroon, Gabon, Ghana, Mali, Ethiopia, Kenya, Ivory Coast, and Nigeria. But there's much more too – Zulu pots and baskets, zebra and Nguni skins, wooden carvings, colonial figures, bongo drums, wooden tables, carved chairs, animal horns . . . The main showroom is at 42 Northway Street, Kelvin, in Sandton, where you'll find a vast collection of these African artifacts, but you'll have to make an appointment to visit. Joey & Sam, 61 Pritchard Street, 011 333 1495, Mondays to Thursdays 8.45am-5.15pm, Fridays 8.30am-5.30pm, Saturdays 8.30-3pmAre you big into brand shoes?
If so, this is the shoe shop to visit. You'll find them all: Sissy Boy, Zoom, Rage, Launch Footwear, Bronz, 9 West, Guess, Converse, Supergo, Levi's, Soviets, Ellesse, and Reebok. Two whole floors of them too. Owner Muhammad Bulbulia says the company has been around for some 30 years, in various inner-city locations, and in Pritchard Street for the past 16 years. Around 65 percent of the shoes are women's shoes, the biggest market the store caters for. Most of the shoes are imported from China, with the Reeboks coming from Lesotho. There is a second branch at 256 Bree Street. This is shoe heaveWest End Blanket Centre, 36A Ntemi Piliso Street, 011 834 4367, Mondays to Fridays 7.15am-4.20pm, Saturdays 7am-12.45pmI have been looking for a shop selling these blankets for years, and have finally found it. The store sells Basotho blankets, in gorgeous reds, blues, yellows, blacks . . . Owner Mohamed Bemath has been in the same spot, selling the same item for the last 45 years, since 1965. At first, he imported the blankets, but they are now made in Randfontein, on the West Rand. Some 60 percent of his customers are Basotho, but Xhosa customers buy them to give to boys undergoing circumcision, and Zulu customers buy them to brighten up their weddings. They come in one standard size: 155cm by 165cm, but in different wool content and price: 25 percent, and two at 90 percent wool content but one of these with the label “The Victoria”.
This means it is under license to the UK, where they were originally manufactured under Queen Victoria's name. Go in, run your hand along the edge of the blankets – you'll find it hard to go home without one neatly tucked under your arm Objekt, 55 7th Avenue, Parktown North, 011 447 6005, Mondays to Fridays 9am-5pm, Saturdays 9am-3pm Owner Susanne Allers describes her store as “ever-changing, always-interesting” and as “food for the soul”, where she puts a lot of effort into the choice and display of items. In a converted house with an elegant garden, the store contains an eclectic mix of artwork, ceramics, furniture, and jewelry, most of it locally produced, but some items brought in from Namibia, Mozambique, and Madagascar. Her clientele ranges from designers and interior decorators to those wanting a special gift. Or those who just want to come in because it's “a peaceful place where they'll see beautiful things”. Allers holds three exhibitions a year, which means that there's always something new to admire and buy in her store. Frank R Thorold, 3rd Floor Meischke's Building, 42 Harrison Street (corner Market Street), 011 838 5903, Mondays to Fridays 9am-5pmFrank R ThoroldThorold is probably the city's oldest bookshop, and after 70 years, the bookshop still offers book lovers many hours of serendipitous browsing.
The shop specialises in Africana, old and new. Owner Robin Fryde, who used to be a customer of original owner Frank Thorold, bought the business in 1962 and says he has the ''best stocks of Africana in the world''. He won't even guess how many books he has on his many shelves, but when asked, wandered into the depths of several rooms full of books and produced half a dozen wonderful books on David Livingstone. And he is very happy to order recent books on the explorer. He collects his books from auctions, when traveling overseas or when someone is moving house. He says of his collection method: ''It's a certain amount of madness but no method.'' The shop's original Latin logo, ''ex Africa Semper a liquid Novi'', which means ''always something new coming out of Africa'', is the testament to the great journeys you can have in this bookshop. Amatuli Fine Art, 170 Corlett Drive, Bramley, 011 440 5065, Mondays to Fridays 8.30am-5pm, Saturdays 9am-1pm. Amatuli fine art If you want your jaw to drop at the enormity of thousands of pieces of beautiful African artworks, take a trip to Bramley, and wander from room to room and out into the garden to marvel at the range of items. Outside there are magnificently carved crocodiles, fish, and snakes from Swaziland, together with dug-out canoes from central Africa. Then walk inside, and you'll see items from every country in Africa - wall hangings, grass baskets, benches, headrests, tall painted figures, masks, horns, wooden antelope heads, bronze heads, and much, much more. Owner Mark Valentine says he sells around 300 items a day, with several people working all day wrapping and packaging these items.
He has been selling African craft for 18 years at "good, honest" prices. Some of the artwork dates back to the 1930s, and he has craftspeople on the continent specifically producing stuff for him. He spends some 40 percent of the year traveling throughout Africa and sends back the artwork in containers by sea. Go and get your special piece of Africa. Love Books, 53 Rustenburg Road, Bamboo Centre, Melville, 011 726 7408, Mondays to Fridays 9am-5pm, Saturdays 9am-4pm, Sundays 9am-2pm. Love Books aims to create an "unintimidating environment" says co-owner Kate Rogan, and it does just that. Relaxing armchairs, a large round table and chairs, a glass of wine, and plenty of good books are the recipe. Rogan says that the books have been personally selected – "they're what we like to read" – which means you're sure to find something that you like. They are catering for "the community", she says, in a discerning book-reading area. With the Service Station through an interleading door, you can move from your meal to a few hours of relaxing reading. And if you like the wine, you can order more of it - by the bottle or case - from Love Books. Garden Bleu, 29 Gleneagles Road, Greenside (behind Merge), 011 888 4734, Mondays to Fridays 9am-5pm, Saturdays 9am-1.30pm.
Although this décor shop has been in Greenside for three years, it's a secret, hidden behind other shops. But it's well worth the search - it's jam-packed with wonderful items, predominantly metal chairs and tables, daybeds, lamps and chandeliers, and a huge range of metal garden ornaments and pot stands. Assistant Sascha Opper says it's nice that people have to search for the shop. "It's a destination, you come because you're interested." Some 90 percent of the items are metal and locally made; exceptions are Moroccan and Italian lamps and lights, which are beautiful. The shop is a feast for the eyes - go, just to enjoy the fine craftsmanship of each item. Of course, you'll probably go home with a carload of stuff. Collectors Treasury, CTP House, 244 Commissioner Street, 011 334 6556, Mondays to Fridays 9am-5pm, Saturdays 10am-1pm Wanna lose yourself in up to two million books? Head into the CBD, ring the bell and wander around this store gobsmacked. There are books stacked everywhere, plus LP records, sheet music, maps, porcelain, and postcards.
One of the owners, Jonathan Klass, who has been in the business since 1974, says his parents were collectors and he grew up with 100 000 books around him. His family has never stopped collecting, and several floors of the eight-story building the shop is in are filled with his collections. "We don't throw anything out," he says. You'll find books of every subject under the sun except for school textbooks and business management. He sells books on several websites too: abebooks.com and addall.com. Records are sold through gemm.com and musicstack.com. Go and get high on books. la Basse-cour, 44 Stanley Avenue, Milpark, 011 482 2707, Fridays 9am-5pm, Saturdays 9am-4pm, Sundays 10am-3pm. If you long to fill your home with period furniture and homeware, head off to this showroom and immerse yourself in French provençal splendor. Owner Robert Desfontaines imports all his wares from France and he's very happy being tucked away in this trendy enclave in Milpark. You'll find furniture from city and town to farm kitchen and stoep, which includes architectural antiques, religious artifacts, antique lighting, and much more. Go along and browse among the chandeliers, large gilded mirrors, cast iron and wrought iron items, antique doors, gates and screens, and porcelain.
I'd be very surprised if you can resist taking home at least one item. Botany, 30 Dover Street, Westdene, 072 298 4037 (by appointment)BotanyDon't expect to see roses and chrysanthemums in this florist. Rather brace yourself for bunches of fresh arum lilies, proteas, flame lilies and aloe leaves. Botany offers only indigenous arrangements, although, admits owner Heather Thompson, she can organise a bunch of roses on Valentine's Day if you simply can't do without. Thompson says her flowers are competitively priced, and she offers specials on arrangements of seasonal flowers. She says the demand for dried flowers has grown, but the coloured arums - bronze, yellow and purple - are also very popular. So, enjoy the earthy smell as you wander around buckets of fresh, home-grown flowers, choosing for that special someone.
Super Sconto, 169-171 Louis Botha Avenue, Orange Grove, 011 728 7561, Mondays to Fridays 8.30am-5pm, Saturdays 8.30am-1.30pm, Sundays 9am-12.30pm. Super ScontoTen years ago, when supermarket Super Sconto opened, there was a Little Italy in Orange Grove. But even though 50 percent of those people have moved into the northern suburbs, they still visit their favourite Italian shop, to stock up on anything from detergents and floor polish, to pasta and olive oil, all imported from Italy. Manager Anna Schunke says that customers come from as far as Northcliff every week to get their groceries and stop off at the coffee shop in the supermarket to have a delicious roll with Italian meats or cheeses. Schunke says that 98 percent of the goods in the store are imported, and with a fair number of Italian supermarkets in the city, Super Sconto (Italian for "discount"), manages to keep its prices competitive. Saturdays and Sundays are the busiest and most sociable days - the aisles and coffee shop are filled with happy customers. Fresh Earth, 103 Komatie Road, Emmarentia, 011 646 4404, Mondays to Fridays 8am-6pm, Saturdays 8am-4pmFresh Earth This is heaven on earth for vegetarians and vegans. Fresh Earth offers everything organic – from beauty products and seaweeds to vegetarian hot dogs and hamburgers.
And for the gluten- and preservative-allergic, there's everything you could possibly need, even sugar-free and dairy-free cakes and chocs. Fresh Earth also provides information sheets with advice on how to cook with the products it sells. But stop by at the ATM on your way there, as these products don't come cheap. Also on offer is holistic therapy like reiki and reflexology, in small rooms at the back of the shop. Tapenade Olive, Shop, Shop 41, Cresta Shopping Centre, Cresta, 011 478 5378, Mondays to Thursdays 9am-6pm, Fridays 9am-7pm, Saturdays 9am-6pm, Sundays 9am-3pmTapenade If, like me, you didn't know you could buy locally made tapenade, or that we have a dynamic olive industry, you need to visit Tapenade. (And if you don't know what tapenade is, it's a delicious crushed olive dip.)
The store is bursting with several dozen varieties of olive oil, jars and jars of tapenade, beautiful olive printed linen and crockery, and beauty products like olive body polish and cream, olive shampoo and conditioner, olive soap and scrub, not to mention olive jams, smoked olives, and olives in blueberry dressing. Owner Nanette Kornelius says she came across an olive shop in Europe last year, and when she got home, started investigating the possibility of opening a similar shop in Gauteng. Intensive reading led to a business plan, then a shop, which she opened in May 2005. She says there is a growing olive export market, but locally supply cannot keep up with demand, despite there being around 120 olive farms in the country.
The products in her shop are from the top 25 olive farms in the Cape. She plans to open more stores in Gauteng. Hadeda,151 Jan Smuts Avenue, Parkwood, 011 788 9859, Mondays to Fridays 9am-5pm, Saturdays 9am-2pmHadedaFor a wonderland of unusual lamps and mirrors, make your way to Hadeda. All items in the shop, a house full of them, are handcrafted and imported from Mexico, Peru, and Guatemala. Different materials are used - brass, tin, galvanised iron, and pewter. There are other items too - some 2 800 different products, including myriad ornaments, candleholders, pottery, fabrics, bags, and masks. Owner Desiré Armstrong says her merchandise mixes perfectly with African stuff. She sources her products from craftspeople in South America and gets them to make to her specifications.
She supplies hotels and lodges across the country. Armstrong started out 14 years ago on her dining room table, moved to her garage, and then built premises on her property before finally moving into this Parkwood house, filling every room with these colourful items. She plans to visit Argentina, Lima, and Bogota soon to expand her range. There is also a Hadeda outlet in Cape Town. A Portas/The Shunting Yard, Sunninghill Shopping Centre, cnr Maxwell Drive & Edison Crescent, Sunninghill, Tel: 011 234 9935, Mondays to Fridays 9am-5.30pm, Saturdays 9am-1.30pm. A PortasOne of Johannesburg's original shops, A Portas offers great phyllo pastry and parma ham. But what's really unusual is that it doubles as a model train shop so while you sip your coffee, expect to overhear animated conversations about the latest model trains, railway bridges, and dioramas. A Portas was started in 1896 by the owner George Lagoudis' great uncle.
When train enthusiast Lagoudis took over in 1970, he expanded the shop to include The Shunting Yard, with shelves and shelves of model trains and associated paraphernalia. With his wife Areti, Lagoudis has created an ambiance conducive to a good cup of coffee, stimulating chat and either a purchase of great deli or great trains. Even if trains aren't your thing, ask for a demonstration anyway, and be intrigued by the sounds of the miniature trains puffing along the track, the shoveling of coal and the hiss of the brakes. It's a philosophy of "it's nice being alive," says George Liebermann Pottery Gallery, 1 Annet Road, Cottesloe, 011 482 2215, Mondays to Fridays 9am-4.30pm, Saturdays and Sundays 9am-1pm Liebermann Pottery Gallery There must be thousands and thousands of pots, jars, urns, tableware, and ornaments in every possible colour and finish you can think of, and at reasonable prices. There are gorgeous Zulu and Venda pots, terracotta bowls, tall colorful jars, earthy-colored glazed urns from Thailand, Chinese porcelain, bone china, fish and bonsai pots . . . selecting which one to take home is difficult.
Liebermann has been around for 50 years, eight of those in its present location. It has a factory in Marlboro, so a good deal of their items are locally made. The latest range to come out of the factory are tall red, green, orange and blue jars - irresistible. You'll collect armfuls of pottery, deposit them on the counter, and fill your arms again. Have fun Dish,38 Sixth Street, Parkhurst, 011 447 1071, Mondays to Fridays 9am-4pm, Saturdays 9am-1pmDish Walk into Dish and you'll experience sensory overload . . . of the most pleasant kind. The shop is jam-packed with the most wonderful items of ceramics and mosaic work - all colorful, individual, one-off pieces, perfect for your home . . . bowls, vases, mosaic tables and mirrors, plates, jars and more. The owner, the designer, and creator of these wonderful works, Sharon Thompson, says some of her customers are mosaic artists who come in simply for inspiration. Others are regulars, who can't resist her work, while others consider her work perfect for gifts.
Thompson does commissions for the big corporates and offers mosaic classes. Go on, treat yourself, you won't regret it. Cremalat Cheese, Greenhills Industrial Estate, Sam Green Road, Tunney Ext 6, Edenvale, 011 822 8320, Mondays to Fridays 8am-5pm, Saturdays 8am-3pm CremalatOwner Owner Claudio Giustizieri and his wife Margaret say the secret to their business of selling some of the best cheese in town is simple: they are hands on, they know their customers well and they take time to teach them the finer points of good cheese. This means that customers know what they're buying, and come back for more of their gorgonzola, provolone, smoked mozzarella, fat-free roccata, low-fat parmesan and many others. Says Claudio: "My mark-ups are not high, I make up for that with selling big volumes." He does import some cheese and when considering a new product he asks for a box to be sent. He then tests the product, checking that it contains what it claims to contain.
Only once he's satisfied that the product is excellent, will he place an order. He has a cheese factory in Bloemfontein, where the quality of the milk he uses is guaranteed. His shop contains a range of other great products: coffee, pasta, salamis, olive oil, fresh farm butter. He sells his cheese at the Sunday Rosebank Flea Market and the Bryanston Organic Market. Now, you've got no excuse to challenge your taste buds with delicious cheese. KwaZulu Muti - Museum of Man and Science, 14 Diagonal Street, Johannesburg, 011 836 4470, weekdays 7.30am-5pm, Saturdays 7.30am-1.30pm Museum of Man and ScienceFor a totally different sensory experience and a look at an Africa unknown to some, take a trip downtown to the Museum of Man and Science in Diagonal Street. The 66-year-old museum (why it was originally called a museum seems lost in time) is a traditional muti or medicine shop, described on the board above the door as the "The King of Muti, Herbal and Homeopathic Remedies".
There're over 1 900 dried herbs in the shop, prescribed by inyangas or traditional healers. There're a lot of interesting things to buy: tire sandals, walking sticks, assegais, knobkerries, bead necklaces, Zulu pots, and drums. You can make an appointment with a sangoma, who will throw the bones for you, and give you valuable advice. But even if you don't buy anything, it's just a wonderful experience, with a myriad of different sights and smells. Kitchener Motors, 153 Kitchener Avenue, Bez Valley, 011 618 1400, Mondays to Sundays, 6 am to 11 pm There aren't many shops in town that for the past 82 years have opened at 6 am and stayed open right through to midnight, seven days a week. One that does is Kitchener Midas, auto spares shop in Kitchener Avenue, Bez Valley. The shop contains thousands of motor car parts on rows and rows of shelves - bearings, brake pads, carburetor kits, fuel pumps, engine mounts, spark plugs, electrical switches, air filters . . . for 90 percent of the makes of cars out there.
And the service is friendly and efficient. So don't despair if at 11 pm you need to spare part for your car - help is at hand. Kitchener Motors, 153 Kitchener Avenue, Bez Valley, 011 618 1400, Mondays to Sundays, 6 am to 11 pm There aren't many shops in town that for the past 82 years have opened at 6 am and stayed open right through to midnight, seven days a week. One that does is Kitchener Midas, auto spares shop in Kitchener Avenue, Bez Valley. The shop contains thousands of motor car parts on rows and rows of shelves - bearings, brake pads, carburetor kits, fuel pumps, engine mounts, spark plugs, electrical switches, air filters . . . for 90 percent of the makes of cars out there. And the service is friendly and efficient. So don't despair if at 11 pm you need to spare part for your car - help is at hand.
Thrupps, Illovo, Corner Oxford and Rudd Roads, Illovo, 011 268 0298, weekdays 7.45am-6pm, Saturdays 8am-2pm, Sundays 8am-1pm ThruppsThrupps, "grocers of distinction" and the oldest store in Johannesburg at 110 years, offers friendly and professional service, making customers feel very personal about the store. Manager Mike Thompson says: "Customers treat Thrupps as their shop - they get defensive about it. And that's because it's one of the best food shops in Johannesburg, and probably in South Africa." Thrupps offers a range of specialty foods like tinned local patés, like the crocodile, springbok, ostrich, and kudu. You can also order pheasant, caviar, quail, goose, salmon roes, imported cheese and Scottish smoked salmon. It has the distinction of being the only store in the country to stock Gentleman's Relish, an anchovy paté, with a word-of-mouth recipe dating back to 1828. Thrupps also has a delivery service. Doppio Zero, Barry Hertzog Avenue & Gleneagles Road, Greenside, 011 646 8740, Tuesdays to Thursdays 7.30am-10pm, Fridays and Saturdays 7.30am -10.30pm, Sundays and Mondays 7.30am-9pm.
Doppio Zero You're going to struggle to find parking outside the Doppio Zero Continental Bakery when you run in for your country onion loaf, or your Italian slipper bread, or your flat focaccios, or your Portuguese custard tarts. Run by Greek Paul Christie and Yugosavian Micky Milovanovic, Christie maintains that it's all in the flour - he buys imported flour from Italy, called Baronia. That's where the name comes from: Doppio Zero refers to the grade of flour - double zero or extra fine. Both men own restaurants around the suburbs, but there's no doubt that locals have discovered this bakery in a big way. There is also a restaurant attached, and the specialty is kleftiko, a slow-roasted Greek lamb dish. Art Africa, 62 Tyrone Avenue, Parkview, 011 486 2052, Mondays to Fridays 9 am to 6 pm, Saturdays 9am-1pm Art AfricaArt Africa will dazzle you with its collection of ethnic arts, crafts, and artifacts from around Africa. The shop is split into a front section that carries funky, contemporary and often recycled items from self-help groups in Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, and the Northern Province. You'll see fantastic mobiles, bead jewelry, tin items for Christmas trees, tin lizards and wooden animals.
The back section has an amazing selection of wooden games, head rests, wooden statues and sculptures, wooden and grass bowls, and bright African fabrics. Says owner Linda Malcolm: "We collect items from across Africa, from Mali and Ghana in West Africa to Kenya and Ethiopia on the east coast. Also from our neighbors Zimbabwe and Namibia." Art Africa has two branches in Knysna, on the garden route in the Western Cape, called African Attitude. African Craft Market, The Mall, Cradock Avenue, Rosebank, 011 880 2906, every day 9am-6pm. African Craft MarketAs you walk into this 7-day market you will inevitably be greeted by drumbeats from one of the stalls. And as you stroll from stall to stall you will travel from the Ivory Coast to Cameroon, from Zaire and Zambia to Kenya. Painted wooden figures ranging from 20cms to over 2m will greet you, large wooden giraffes will stare down at you, and large, shiny, wooden hippopotamuses will nudge you.
Immerse yourself in malachite bangles and necklaces from the Democratic Republic of Congo, or opal animals, busts and bookends from Zimbabwe. If you're into stone, there are items in verdite, black serpentine, leopard rock and butterjet, all from Zimbabwe. And there's more: rusted metal birds, from ostriches to owls, anything in beads, African games in wood, polished wooden bowls, framed wooden figurines, and sculptures. Collectables and Collectable Books, 32 Tyrone Avenue, Parkview, 011 646 8320 (by appointment) Collectables and Collectable BooksThis antique shop has won the Options Readers Choice of Best Antique Shop for the last five years. The shop has silverware, china, furniture, lamps, jewelry and mirrors. Two-thirds of the shop's books are Africana, plus modern first editions, and children's and illustrated books. The shop specialises in maps, engravings, and prints from 1570 onwards. You'll find prints of the Zulu wars, the Boer War, botanicals, and animals. Also drawings and small original oils and watercolors, and a sporting and military collection. Says owner Michael Prior:
"We have the real things, most extraordinary things. We put collections together, assembling share documents, land documents, portraits and photographs, and our prices are fair." Collectables has a branch in Hermanus in the Western Cape called Tutamen. Kim Sacks Gallery, 153 Jan Smuts Avenue, Parkwood, 011 447 5804, Monday to Friday 9am-6pm, Saturdays 10am-2pm and/or by appointment Kim Sacks GalleryHead off to the Kim Sacks Gallery for an extraordinary experience in tribal African art. Housed in a striking terracotta-colored building, with double volume ceilings and free-flowing rooms, you will find a range of artifacts from the African continent. Hundreds of rural craftswomen are represented - basket makers, beaders, woodcarvers, Zulu potters, doll makers, as well as fine cutlery, ceramics, furniture, and textiles reflecting South African work over the past two decades. The Gallery has a changing exhibition space, so there's always an exciting hum of activity.
Don't miss it. De Klerk's Coppersmith, 24 Currey Road, Doornfontein, 011 402 7644. Mondays to Fridays 8am-4pm De Klerk's CoppersmithFrom copper baths to copper coal scuttles, this fourth-generation coppersmith business is the only coppersmithery left in the country, and Larry de Klerk enjoys taking on unusual projects. The latest is a 10-meter x 27-meter dome for a synagogue, but if you want a copper candlestick holder, that can also be made. Brass items can be ordered, but, says Larry: "Brass is not 'alive' like copper is and is, therefore, less flexible." Larry loves his work and the harder the challenge, the more he loves it. Leopard Frock, 34 Englewold Drive, Saxonwold, 011 646 8387 (by appointment) Leopard FrockGet one of South Africa's top designers to design an outfit for you with a touch of Africa, at Leopard Frock. Marianne Fassler has been running Leopard Frock for 25 years and describes her work as "high fashion garments with a distinct African flavour". Garments are in a range of fabrics and styles and include evening wear through to day wear. You can order your dream garment or buy off the peg.
Garments can take up to two weeks to be completed and can cost you anything from R500 upwards. Fassler has international clients and recently supplied garments to the prince and king of Lesotho. Fama Delicatessen, 12 Viljoen Street, Lorentzville, 011 618 3048, Mondays to Fridays 7am-3pm, Wednesdays 7am-2pm, Saturdays 7am-2pm. Fama DelicatessenSpaniard Roberto Sa Gimenez is one of those lucky people who combine work and hobby: using an ancient Roman method of curing and processing meat he spends his day curing hams (Jamon Serrano in Spanish, Prosciutto Crudo in Italian) and salamis and supplying customers with the most superb delicacies around. The only one in the country, he works tirelessly at imitating the Mediterranean climate (perfect for curing hams), where he learned the craft. The hams - some 12 000 of them - hang for a year in his special cellars, and he adds to his collection each week. Customers come from around the country and neighboring states, to select, pay and take home - he does not deliver, he stresses. He says: "In general the meat in South Africa is of great quality, the result of the animals growing in large spaces, with lots of fresh air, and well-balanced diets." And after he's performed his magic, each slice sings in the mouth. Great shops in Joburg