Luvlulu is a small home-based business based at the foot of the Helderberg Mountain in Somerset West, South Africa. “Luv” is for what we do, and everything is made with a dose of it! “Lulu” was my childhood nickname. All our products have morphed into existence one way or another over the years from the early days of making picnic blankets to the latter days of using all bits of left over fabrics to make gift cards.
We are hooked on the gorgeous prints and colours of the original Three Cats shweshwe fabrics and love that the fabrics are locally made! I like to think of most of my range as being practical things, like the picnic blankets – perfect for picnics, the beach or garden, great gifts for baby showers, birthdays or weddings – a gift that lasts a lifetime!. Beach hoodies are ideal for kids to throw on after swimming lessons or a dip in the sea. Magnets and keyrings are for lovers of all things African or for tourists to take home as a memento from sunny SA!
All of the gifts are handmade by myself, but for the fabric collections I am assisted by wonderful Hester, a sewing goddess who lives in nearby Strand!
Founder and Owner of LuvLulu Creativity
I’m Lisa, 50-something, a mom to two awesome daughters and 3 fur babies, and partner to a wonderful man, who loves to be creative (me, not him!). I tend to be ‘all over the show’ in terms of where my creative mind leads and often end up having too much on my plate, but I get more done that way!
Sometimes I create once offs, sometimes it becomes a range of products, but I’m quite happy spending endless days with a paintbrush, sewing machine, beautiful fabrics, scissors, glue sticks , smooth pebbles, MDF board or pots of paints. It’s a fun space to be in!
My side hustle is assisting my daughter with Cooked Cousins – we make delicious free-range chicken liver pate, or painting pebbles for Pebble Paths.
Interesting info about Shweshwe…
The roots of the original indigo cloth extends as far back to Arab and Phonecian trade, before 2400BC! It first arrived on our South African shores after the establishment of the Cape of Good Hope seaport in 1652. Most of the indigo cloth that the slaves, soldiers, Khoi-San and Voortrekker woman wore was from India and Holland. The dye was obtained from the Indigofera plant.
In the mid-19th century a German scientist developed a synthetic indigo. It was first worn in South Africa by the Sotho king, Moshoeshoe 1, in about 1840. The cloth was then called shoeshoe or isishweshwe after the king. Later the cloth was printed in bright red and chocolate brown.
The only place where shweshwe is manufactured nowadays is at the Da Gama factory in the rural village of Zwelitsha near King William’s Town in the Eastern Cape in South Africa. More recently, Da Gama textiles has combined other colours with the indigo, brown and red, including black, green, turquoise, pumpkin, shocking pink and yellow.
Genuine shweshwe, or what Da Gama calls “original” shweshwe, is made from 100% quality cotton. It is always 90cm wide as opposed to other fabrics which are usually 150cm. Original shweshwe has a characteristic scent and a stiff, starchy feel. Once washed, the fabric softens. All Luvlulu items are made with pre-washed shweshwe fabrics.
