Making dolls is a very niche idea. How did it come about?
It is really total coincidence that I ended up making dolls. From my experience as a product designer I learnt that the most important thing is to try all sorts of different products, as you just can't predict what will work.
When I decided to start my own brand, Noush, I created all sorts of different things: jewellery, bags, cushion covers, lampshades ... The only thing they had in common was that I really loved them all. I never expected the dolls to become the most popular.What is the design inspiration for your dolls?
The mass-produced, plastic Clonette doll from Ghana. I have always loved them, and was given one while pregnant with my second baby girl. They were originally wooden dolls that were gifted to mothers during pregnancy, as a sort of guardian angel that would look after the child for life. That story made me want to transform the plastic dolls back to where they once came from: wood.So do you only work in wood?
All the figurines are originally carved from wood.
I started casting some of my favourite ones in a resin composite, because people would fall in love with a particular figurine that had sold already, and when I carved a new one for them it would be just a bit different and they wouldn't like that.
Also, more and more people wanted the figurines painted. The cast dolls look and feel identical to the painted wooden originals and this way I don't need to worry about the design coming out a bit different.What's a typical workday like for you?
I'm a single mom with two children and also have another brand with a friend: Perfect_Imperfect. The mornings are generally reserved for Perfect_Imperfect; afternoons are spent with my kids and most of the work on the dolls I do after 8pm, when my girls are asleep.I imagine your dolls are as popular with adults as with kids?
Yes. I would say it is mainly adults who buy them for their own spaces, but some figurines are very popular as nursery decor.
What's been the most surprising element of your journey as a designer so far?
I never expected to be doing what I'm doing. I love it that my nine-year-old daughter tells her friends that her mom makes mermaids!A person you'd love to own one of your products?
Nathalie Lete. She's been an inspiration since I was young.
A local designer you'd love to collaborate with?
Bofred or Michael Chandler.A new product you'd love to design?
A bronze figure.
When you're not working, where will we find you?
With my girls: baking, picking flowers, swimming in the sea.
South African designers whose work you'd love to own?
The Cassy shelving screen from Douglas and Douglas. One of Justine Mahoney's sculptures. A rug from The Ninevites. And I adore Maxhosa by Laduma. I can't stop, there are so many!
What makes a house a home for you?
Music, friends, books, laughter, a pile of freshly-made pancakes on Saturday mornings...