The Hunt for Lo-Fi Goods – South Africa
The more years we knock out, the more countries we hit, the more it drives home that what we do is really damn special. Everywhere we go, we find the same shit – Moleskines and Field Notes, Blackwing pencils. Nothing wrong with them but it’s not our jam. We hunt down locally produced goods that the everyday person rocks. Items that reflect the local culture, whether it be through colors or texture or graphic design. We don’t seek out trends because trendy shit is the same now no matter where in the world you live (thanks or no thanks to globalization and the Internet).
Six years in and we’ve definitely found it harder and harder with each month, because more and more production is done in China or India, and big companies are killing off the small shops. So when we score – it’s huge. It is. It’s nonstop high-fivin’ and bootyclappin’.
When we scored the South African paper goods, I was stoked. All the subtle and not-so-subtle details are what makes them so special – lo-fi office supplies that are so different, yet the same. They show how travel transforms the mundane. They’re familiar but not – and I love ‘em.
Also managed to score BIC pens and a Staedtler pencil that are both made in South Africa – and you can’t find ‘em in the States. Familiar brands, yes, but unique to their part of the world.
oxxo, Hen
