Introducing Cape Looms by Justin Van Breda

Cape Looms is a project that builds community through craft and quality. Hand weaving traditional flatweave rugs in mohair and wool in Cape Town, South Africa.  Cape Looms has found a way to preserve and enhance long established skills through a creative endeavour that is at once local and of an international standard. We bring our women weavers together, to hone their craft and develop an autonomous skill set – enabling them to financially support their families whilst keeping a heritage craft alive.  South Africa is the largest Mohair producer in the world, and our fibers come directly from the farms surrounding the weaving workshops – creating a successful vertically integrated cooperative. We have a range of looms available to us, including the largest hand weaving looms in Africa. Our fibers of wool and mohair are blended and spun in our own workshops.  Blending qualities during the spinning process creates depth of texture that allow the fibers to sing in juxtaposition to one another.  The fibers can all be hand dyed in small batches to ensure a perfect saturation and color match. We have chosen 18 wonderful hues as part of our collection however we can also match to a color sample.  Working with wool and in Africa is coming full circle for Justin, whose family founded the wool farming industry in South Africa.  It is a privilege to work with the weavers and farmers, to build a community and to bring these wonderful rugs to the market.