O.Live – Capetown

Walk into o.live and it feels like a magpie has collected all the bits and pieces – all the lovely sparkly and curious things – that have taken its fancy. In fact you might even see a magpie (albeit a very still one), as owner Rupert Smith came back from his recent trip to Europe smitten with taxidermy. The trip so excited him that he had to redesign the shop, which now resembles a Parisian interior. A window dresser, Rupert lives out his creativity in the shop, where he isn’t beholden to a client brief. Once inside the shop it’s hard to leave without something, whether a ball of twine and some scissors, a wooden coat hanger, a circular mirror or a star-shaped candle holder. It all depends on what Rupert has put there for you to discover.

Words: Gill Cullinan Photographs: Henrique Wilding

O.live chemistry of living
Shop no 2 Buitenkloof Studios, 8 Kloof St, Gardens, Cape Town; 021 426 5773