Alkaline Design Studio

Alkaline is a small family studio at the Old Mushroom Farm in Howick, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, established in 2021. It began with soap: Chelsea started making it during the 2021 lockdown, drawn by the process rather than the product, and taught herself casting, moulding, finishing and eventually 3D design at the bench. Andrew was there from the start.

That material knowledge turned into homeware — soap dishes, trays, coasters, candle holders — and then into lighting. The Gathered pendant is cast from a 3D-printed original, so the shade keeps the horizontal texture of its digital origin, and is offered in four colourways. The studio sells through its own online shop, works in small runs, and treats each object as an answer that opens the next question about what the material wants to be.