Mia Mélange is a proudly South African brand that handcrafts interior décor and lifestyle products, using predominantly 100% cotton rope. Our team of talented artisans makes high quality baskets, bowls, planters, bags, ottomans, and more! We aim to create high quality handcrafted products, by using the best local materials we can find. Each one of our products is carefully designed and produced with great care and attention to detail. Our designs are inspired by a love for nature, texture, natural materials and ancient crafting techniques. We like to combine all of these to create modern and functional designs. We make all our products in our studio in the Winelands town of Stellenbosch, South Africa.

PRODUCTS

Mia Mélange makes a range of home décor and lifestyle accessories. Our home ware range includes bowls, table baskets and lidded baskets in a variety of sizes that are used for storing items such as keys, jewellery, television remote controls, bedside table accessories, cotton wool in the bathroom, stationery or business cards in the office, or fruit and vegetables in the kitchen. We have a collection of placemats and coasters for the dining room.

The larger bowls and baskets are used for storing items such as hand towels, bathroom essentials, kids toys, hair dryers and straighteners, and magazines. The medium and large floor baskets are used as laundry baskets, or to store blankets or throws, towels, toys, and are often also used for larger pot plants. Mia Mélange makes a range of pot plant holders, including hanging planters.

We also make ottomans and lampshades. Mia Mélange has a range of bags, including shopper bags, clutch bags, and net bags. We often make custom products for interior designers for installations in homes, lodges, hotels and offices.

PROCESS 

Mia Mélange products are made by coiling cotton rope and stitching it in place. We use high quality, tightly braided rope with tight stitching to achieve rigid shapes. Our team of artisans is taught how to sew in this manner, and how to shape the products. We are able to achieve a range of shapes, including round bowls, cylindrical planters, large floor baskets, oval baskets, rectangular baskets, uniquely shaped clutch bags, net bags, and even hats and jewellery.

We use the natural cotton for most of our products, which results in a beautiful ivory colour. We use two methods to achieve different colourways. The first is using dyed rope in our products, and the second is by using different colour threads. We also sometimes use natural jute rope with the ivory colour cotton rope.

HISTORY 

Mia Danieli founded Mia Mélange in 2014. Mia was born into a multicultural family, to a Swiss mother and an Israeli father. Her family travelled often and lived in many different countries, giving Mia her love for diverse cultures. After graduating with a degree in textile design, Mia relocated to South Africa and established the brand Mia Mélange. Mélange means ‘mixture’ or ‘blend’ in French. It also refers to a type of yarn that is commonly used in the textile and fashion industries. Mia Mélange basically means ‘Mia's Mix’. At the end of 2017, Mia moved back home. Before she left, Mia sold the business to Jeanneke Malan who shares Mia's values and is committed to maintaining Mia Mélange’s high standard of quality, unique designs, and core ethics. Jeanneke has a background in architecture and urban design. She is a proud South African who aspires to create opportunities for people from the local community.

MIA MÉLANGE TODAY

The Mia Mélange studio, where we handcraft all our products, and an adjoining retail shop, is located in Stellenbosch’s historical town centre. We also have a retail outlet at the Watershed at the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town.

Mia Mélange supplies handcrafted products to selective design shops across South Africa. Our products are stocked in exclusive stores all over the world.