Pop in to Missibaba Joburg for an exciting pop-up jewellery exhibit

Local luxury handbag designer Missibaba launched its first stand-alone Johannesburg store late last year in the Trumpet building on Keyes Avenue, Rosebank.

Tonight Missibaba hosts Cape Town jewellery designers Ida Elsje and Philippa Green, who will exhibit their individual brands alongside their shared brand Nunc Diamond Jewellery.

''The appealing strong lines of Pierre Swanepoel's Trumpet design, in such close proximity to the formidable Circa Galley, make for an exciting new hub of art and design," say Missibaba partners Chloe Townsend and Lizel Strydom.

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Missibaba was offered an unusual space that was originally marked to be a storage unit, but its faceted lines, levels, unique angles and distinctive surface details appealed to the design and marketing team.

''The space demanded to be treated as a jewel," they say. ''So we decided to tackle the shop-fitting project hands-on, not using architects or interior designers."

The shop is a sensory explosion, with a gold vinyl panel leading to the entrance, which pulls customers through the double volume glass stack doors.

A vintage McIntosh sideboard from mid-century second-hand furniture store Decade adorns the jewel-box corner.

Chrome standing lamps and a round chrome table with glass top fill the centre of the store.

After a few months in the store, the Missibaba team say they feel an irresistible urge to play with different product placement.

''It's a true reflection of our love for design and layered interior spaces," they say.

''We want the shop to be an ever-evolving gallery space, showcasing limited-edition Missibaba collections and art pieces as well as welcoming other creatives to collaborate on new projects."

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Elsje designs jewellery, specialising in custom-made engagement rings and statement earrings. For this event she's been working on a new collection of fine diamond jewellery out of 18ct yellow gold and sterling silver, intended to be affordable little treasures.

''The must-have piece is a rose-cut black diamond with three claw studs," she says.

Elsje says that showing her objects in the Missibaba store makes sense because of their history of friendship and admiration of each other's talents.

''We've collaborated a few times on private projects and feel our design styles complement each other," she says.

Philippa Green's eclectic perspex cuffs, earrings and chokers with oversized ''Princess" rings featuring semiprecious stones, have been coveted by the design savvy for years. For this event she's created the ''Zulu Fever Forever" collection, and says that the must-have pieces are the Zulu earplug-inspired perspex earrings.

Nunc is a collection of jewellery in which diamonds are suspended in resin. This collaboration between Elsje and Green will be showcased alongside their personal collections of jewellery.

• The jewellery will be exhibited tonight at Missibaba at 19 Keyes Ave, Rosebank.

• This article was originally published in The Times.