Symmetry

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Mandibles - A Natural History Collection

The mandible is the lower jaw of a vertebrate animal. This is perfectly apt since my mandible dropped from sheer wonderment the minute I crossed the threshold of this jam-packed creature emporium, and didn't quite recover until I was several blocks away. I really wanted to shout MANDIBLES from every Cape rooftop. Mandibles can be found up a rickety staircase in the Woodstock Foundry in Cape Town. Julia Jaki is the curator, Philipp Schulz, the taxidermist. Together, the Garden of Earthly Delights abounds. Our very own Deyrolle in Africa. In this jewel of a shop, those of a covetous nature like myself, really can be the proud owner of a simple egg of extreme fragility, the beak of a Bare-Eyed Cockatoo or (in my case) the skull of a baby Nile Crocodile...

Worth noting is the fact that all the birds, monkeys and small mammals come from zoos and bird parks - having died of natural causes - while the skulls, horns and skull-mounts of the larger Ungulata are by-products of South Africa's sustainable game farming industry.

All photographs by Philippa Berrington-Blew.

Chandler House

Popping into Chandler house is like receiving a generous infusion of instant happy-meds. It is akin to walking into a beautifully curated English home - the perfect mix of unpretentious elegance, eccentricity and whimsy. In fact, in a bout of languor, all one desires is to curl up in one of the swallowable armchairs with the Brothers Karamazov. Paintings stand out against the inky blue walls and are surrounded by a plethora of antiques and collectibles from Dominic Touwen, plus colanders, plates, scatter cushions, furniture and not to mention an assortment of ceramic phrenology heads, all bedecked from... well, head to oesophagus, by the talented pen of artist, Michael Chandler in doodles of exquisite detail. Everything is for sale, which is practically sacrilege, should one disturb the perfection that is every room...

Visit the website here (Chandler House, 53 Church Street, Cape Town)
Photos by Philippa Berrington-Blew

Bergdorf Goodman (Carnival of the Animals)

They say the neon lights are bright on Broadway... but nothing quite compares to the Christmas windows up and down 5th Avenue. Mechanical gizmos whirl and rotate, enchanting everyone who lines up to see them. The visual banquet of the Bergdorf Goodman windows is astounding. Unparalleled. Even the skyscraper reflections have ensured themselves a permanent place in the picture. This was our fantastical safari on Christmas afternoon - New York-style...

Images by Craig Strydom