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Best of Durban; search or filter for all 13
Durban
Brettland Poulsen is a Durban goldsmith formed when Brettlands, established in 1986, merged in 2017 with the long-running Poulsen jewellery house started decades earlier by Otto Poulsen. The workshop makes handmade custom pieces and heirloom commissions to order.
Best for Handmade custom jewelry and heirloom commissions from a merged Durban goldsmith house
Durban
Chohans is a Durban spice house and grocer stocking whole and ground spices, curry blends and masalas alongside lentils, rice, oils and everyday pantry goods. The family business blends and packs its own range and ships nationwide from its KwaZulu-Natal base.
Best for Curry spices and masala blends
Durban North, Durban
Trading as Durban's Coffee Company, Colombo Coffee and Tea roasts specialty single-origin and blended beans from Africa and the Americas at its Durban North cafe, alongside cafe equipment, training programs and wholesale supply for other Durban businesses.
Best for Trading as Durban's Coffee Company
Trading as Durban's Coffee Company, Colombo Coffee and Tea runs its cafe and roastery from Adelaide Tambo Drive in Durban North, after consolidating operations there from an earlier site on what was Gale Street (now Magwagaza Maphalala Street) in Lower Glenwood. The company roasts specialty coffee sourced from Africa and South and Central America, selling both single-origin lots - Burundi and Ethiopia among them - and named blends such as Aggressive Chocolate and Athari, the latter marketed under a 'Positive Impact Coffee' line pointing to a direct-trade or farmer-support angle in its sourcing. Beyond retail bags for home brewing, the business supplies professional cafe equipment, runs coffee training programs, and operates a wholesale arm serving other cafes and businesses, positioning itself as infrastructure for Durban's wider coffee trade rather than only a shopfront. The name nods to tea as well as coffee, though the bulk of the published range and the roastery's own emphasis sits squarely on specialty coffee. For a city where much of the coffee scene runs through a handful of roasters, Colombo's combination of cafe, training arm and wholesale supply gives it a wider footprint in Durban's coffee trade than a single retail counter would.
Mayville, Durban
Craft Concept's Instagram bio reads "Fabric heaven, but make it addictive," listing DIY, fashion, upholstery and decor, and is based in Durban. Its page highlights cover dress fabric, wool and needles, trims and motifs, buttons, and upholstery jobs.
Best for Fabric and upholstery supplies
Durban
Earth Africa is a Durban wholesale supplier of Zulu beadwork and telephone-wire baskets, sourcing from craft projects across KwaZulu-Natal and further into Zimbabwe, Zambia and Kenya. The range runs from beaded jewellery, bangles and lanyards to Madiba shirts and woven planters, sold in bulk rather than as single retail pieces.
Best for Wholesale Zulu beadwork and curios
Glenwood, Durban
Indoni Fashion House debuted at the Durban Fashion Fair in 2014 and designs and manufactures its own clothing collections. The label supplies boutiques around Durban and is stocked at The Fifth in Glenwood.
Best for Durban-designed fashion
Springfield, Durban
Trading for more than 70 years, Jayshrees (Rivaz) sells sarees, kurtis, dhoti and palazzo sets and Indian and fusion wear for men, women and children. The family retailer runs three Durban stores, in Springfield, Cornubia and Chatsworth, alongside its online shop.
Best for Sarees and Indian textiles
Durban
Kathrin Kidger Designs is a family-run Durban ladieswear label producing dresses, jumpsuits, kimonos and leisurewear that are designed and made in South Africa. The collections lean toward fashion-forward, flattering pieces with an emphasis on print and finish.
Best for Locally made ladieswear
Kathrin Kidger graduated in fashion from the Durban University of Technology. She was named student of the year there and awarded the Daphne Strut Memorial Prize. Her work has since been shown at SA Fashion Week and recognised by the Durban Designers Collection, the SA Fashion Handbook and the Durban Fashion Fair. Her namesake label, Kathrin Kidger Designs, is a family-managed ladieswear brand based in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal. Every garment is designed and produced in South Africa. The designer frames that as support for local industry. The collections take their cue from the tropics. They aim at flattering, fashion-forward pieces for women who want quality making and understated glamour. Kidger designs and manufactures each garment herself, cutting for a range of body shapes. The pieces reach customers through select stockists and the online shop. The team is three women from one family with a combined fifty years in fashion and retail. Kathrin stands at the head. Her sister Lisa Kidger manages the brand with a background in advertising and marketing, and a third family member completes the group. The label describes itself as spanning generations of creativity and skill in women's fashion.
Glenwood, Durban
The KwaZulu-Natal Society of Arts runs a not-for-profit gallery at 166 Bulwer Road in Glenwood, with three exhibition spaces, a cafe and a craft shop. Its shop and online store carry work by regional artists and makers alongside a changing programme of contemporary exhibitions and workshops.
Best for Contemporary art and local craft
Durban
Started as a home business in 1992, Pride of Durban blends curry powders, masalas, seasonings and its well-known ready-made breyani rice. Recipes are handed down through the family and cover chicken, mutton and fish masalas as well as dry rubs for grilling and roasting.
Best for Durban curry blends and breyani
Kloof, Durban
Run by potter Anne Schultz, working since 1974, Studio Three throws functional homeware in stoneware, porcelain and terracotta from a studio in Kloof. Pieces are sold at the Shongweni Farmers Market and the KZNSA Gallery, and the studio teaches pottery to all levels.
Best for Hand-thrown functional ceramics
Durban Central, Durban
Housed at 151 Bertha Mkhize Street in the city centre, Victoria Street Market is a Durban market, home to more than 200 stalls of Indian spices, brassware, beadwork, traditional clothing and fresh seafood. It stands in the historic Indian quarter among landmarks such as the Juma Masjid Mosque and Emmanuel Cathedral.
Best for Spices, brassware and market crafts
Hillcrest, Durban
A social enterprise of the Hillcrest AIDS Centre Trust founded in 2002, Woza Moya buys and resells work from more than 400 crafters each month, most from the surrounding Valley of 1000 Hills. Its Hillcrest shop and gallery carries Zulu beadwork, telephone-wire bowls, wood carvings and crochet, with proceeds returned to the makers as their main source of income.
Best for Zulu beadwork and fair-trade craft
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