There are broad categories of items making great South African buys, like gemstones and jewellery, world-renowned wines and, suprisingly, antiques. Wines are best priced at the wine estates of the Western Cape, while antiques are available at favourable prices from antique fairs in Johannesburg and Cape Town. Historic towns - Parys in the Free State and Barberton and Pilgrim’s Rest in Mpumalanga – are collectors’ havens.
Mall trawling
Big city malls offer international shopping experiences comparable to the world’s capitals. Along with items you’d find in any good shopping district around the globe are home-grown specialities like pewter by Carrol Boyes, and fashion labels Hip Hop and Stoned Cherrie.
Uniquely South African
Many uniquely South African arts and crafts can be found - wood carv
ings, beadwork, wirework, printed and woven cloth, basket ware and ceramics. There are differences in techniques, based on ethnicity and region – expandedon below.
Mpumalanga
This province is famed for the bold geometric patterns painted on Ndebele homesteads and applied to clothing, accessories and ornaments. Goods are available in craft shops throughout the area, while wooden bowls, grass baskets, soapstonecarvings and clay pots abound at roadside markets.
KwaZulu-Natal
Shopping in this province is a multi-ethnic experience. Indian bazaars in Durban’s Grey Street offer rich textiles and fragrant spices. Just as vivid an impression is made by Zulu crafts – look out for telephone wirebowls, ilala palm baskets and clay pots.
Catch crafters at work at the BAT Centre in Durban and another craft route worth exploring is the Midlands Meander.
Western Cape
For arts and crafts in the Mother City, check out the Waterfront Craft Market, the Red Shed Craft Workshop and the African Art Factory Development Trade House – all on the Waterfront. Don’t miss Greenmarket Square flea market and township projects on the city outskirts.
As you head up the Garden Route towards Knysna, wood becomes the product to seek. Carpenters drawn to the area’s forests create furniture, sculptures and ornaments.
Eastern Cape
Xhosa culture is dominant in the Eastern Cape. Its iconic items – the pipe, love letter pin and collar necklace – are enhanced with bright colours of traditional beading. Beading on modern-day crockery, cutlery andhome décor makes attractive gifts.
Cloth of all textures can be found – spun, woven, knitted, silkscreened and embroidered. Fabrics are converted to practical use as bed-linen and soft furnishings.
Limpopo
Shangaan, Venda and Tsonga artists are famed here. Venda pottery is characterised by red 
ochre and graphite colouring, while sculptors and woodcarvers create larger-than-life images.
A major Limpopo attraction is the Kruger National Park. No surprise then that Big Five souvenirs are easy to come by. With the growth of the private game lodge industry, lodge-style décor items – lamps, bowls, picture frames - can be sourced here.
Free State
Large numbers of the Basotho nation live in the Free State, and items of traditional dress - conical straw hats and Basotho blankets - are sought-after souvenirs. A visit to the Basotho Cultural Village in the Golden Gate National Park will expose you to a wide variety of craft.
The small town of Clarens is home to an artists’ colony and has made a name for its galleries.
North West Province
One of South Africa’s greatest literary sons, Herman Charles Bosman, set his hilarious short stories against a North West Province backdrop – the Groot Marico. His characters are partial to the local brew, mampoer, a peach brandy with an alarming alcohol content. A bottle from a local mampoer farm is an obligatory purchase.
Two tourist routes, the Crocodile Ramble and the Magalies Meander, are great for leisurely sightseeing, interspersed with artists’ studios and workshops.
Gauteng
Gauteng has tons of craft projects, many utilising recycled materials, converting throwaways into prized masterpieces.
Craft outlets are everywhere – in Soweto and Alexandra, in suburbs such as Johannesburg’s Parkhurst and the cultural precinct of Newtown, on the East and West Rand, and in Tshwane. Highlights are Bruma Market World and Rosebank’s B&B African Craft Market, both in Johannesburg.
Northern Cape
The vast semi-desert of the Northern Cape is sheep-farming terrain. Wool products – mohair shawls, rugs and sheepskin slippers – are found here.
The province’s craft circuit features the work of ancient San groups who manufacture products, such as bow and arrow sets, in age-old tradition.
Shopping savvy
Some hints for your South African shopping experience:
- Feel free to bargain in markets and at roadside stalls; in shopping centres, prices are generally fixed
- Visitors from abroad can claim a VAT rebate on goods exceeding R250. (see the Tax Refunds website below)
- Take heed of the international ivory ban, and prohibitions by some countries on the importation of animal and food products
Photographs are courtesy and copyright of the author.
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