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Kipekee
STUDIO
MICHAEL AND KYLIE BORNMAN ARE KIPEKEE STUDIO, AN INCUBATOR OF DESIGN CONCEPTS AND A WORKSHOP FOR THEIR UNIQUE, SCANDINAVIAN STYLED RANGE OF FURNITURE – HENCE THE NAME KIPEKEE, “UNIQUE” IN SWAHILI, WRITES ANNE SCHAUFFER
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ylie Bornman describes Kipekee Studio as “a family adventure. It’s run solely by us, and our two little wildflowers Fynnley Grace (four) and Willow Wylde (two), and our youngest little dude Jory Judah (nine months). They’re fiercely beautiful, and keep us on our toes.” Michael and Kylie have a wonderful love story: “We went to primary school together, lost touch through high school, and reconnected in 2016 – when our love story began.” She adds, “Growing up, we were
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both passionate about creating and making things. As a child, Michael was free to go wild with his dad’s tools and create things, and this love has never left him. Fresh out of school and during his university years at the University of Cape Town, he began making furniture for himself.” Trained as a teacher, Kylie has always been designing and making, passionate about all forms of art, and creative and talented at whatever she tackles. She believes her vision to see a creative process is a gift, something that has blessed their
business and furniture designs. The couple started Kipekee Studio in 2017 when they returned to Kylie’s hometown of Ballito – they’d been living in Cape Town where Michael was a quantity surveyor: “The seed for Kipekee Studio was planted when we, together, built a bed for our nephew – we constantly spoke about our big dreams of merging our talents, and love for creating beautiful things together. “In 2017, after Fynnley’s birth, we took the leap to pursue passion and a dream,” says Kylie, “but also to be able to put
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