Carin Smith, a freelancer in the creative industry, does a “ little bit everything”. She’s a crafter, stylist, painter, illustrator, window display-maker, paper-flower artist and occasionally she hosts workshops. Recently she and her brother, Norman, formed Next of Kin and are making rings using waste. We spoke to Carin about her work, her life and collaborating with a sibling:
I am a born and bred Northern suburbs Capetonian. I now live between the boerewors gordyn and the lentil curtain.* In short, I live in Observatory, Cape Town. I studied art throughout school and graphic design at Red and Yellow Creative School of Business, photography in Britain and fashion media at the London Institute of fashion.
At one point I thought of specialising in one area. But the creative industry is so erratic, it’s always a good idea to diversify. To be honest though, I would be completely bored if I concentrated on only one of my skills and I feel that the one inspires and informs the other.
I love nature for its everchanging, fleeting and delicate beauty. I’m inspired by colour, texture, pattern, food. I’m also inspired by makers and artists who convey a feeling and capture a moment through form and colour.
My dog, Thandi and a good cup of coffee get me up in the morning. Though, by being my own boss means each day brings new and exciting challenges. I meet new people and there is the prospect of creating and learning something new each day.
The rings, made from resin and recycled material, were made by my brother and me. The Smiths don’t throw anything away. Why buy new and contribute to the waste problem when you give waste a second life by turning it into something wearable and useful? In our rings you’ll find anything from the wood from the tree house Norman and I had when we were young, to wood shavings from our workshop floor, used matches, leftovers from my previous projects, paper, steel or beach finds. Although we can’t use natural sap which doesn’t cure hard enough, we do reuse these resin rings by breaking them down into smaller rings.
Each ring is a unique piece of art. We suspend the recycled material in resin. When dry, we shape and size each of them. It’s always exciting to see how they come out. As much as you plan beforehand they always look different once shaped and polished.
The collaboration with my brother came about because of a “fight”. I was working on a window display for Poetry using resin chards and he couldn’t work with resin. As a little “I’ll show you”, he started experimenting, researching and then making these rings. He works for the family business making scaffolding. He’s amazing with his hands and I’d been looking for an opportunity to work with my brother. I wanted us to combine our skills and when I saw what he was doing, I jumped at the chance.
We have a classic brother-sister-always-fighting relationship (even though we’re in our 30’s). But we respect each other and our relationship works. It helps that we have different skills that sometimes overlap. We happily sit and create and make together but we also go off and concentrate on the various parts of the business where our strengths lie without stepping on each other’s toes. This is only the beginning and I’m very excited to see where it goes.
The Next of Kin studio is a bit of a traveling circus. The rings are made between the family factory in Blackheath and the home garage. It’s a heavy duty set up with loads of smaller machines and it’s very dusty.
My Carinmakes studio is in Woodstock opposite the Biscuit Mill. I’m part of an artist’s collective called Bright studios. We’re a bit of a rag bunch collection of fine artists, mosaic artists, jewellers, leather workers and me. The studio offers workshops so there is always something happening. After having worked in an office for 10 years it’s nice to have my own space but not feel alone – I have colleagues who are all on their own mission. I love sharing a space with people I can collaborate with and be inspired by. My studio space is a bit messy and colourful.
I’m married to an architect who is by nature a bit of a minimalist. I’m not, so my home is clean Scandinavian mid-century inspired. In contrast my studio is eclectic and magpie-ish. It’s the place I get to create, be messy and play. My little corner is filled with paint brushes, paper and found things that inspire me.
- To buy the rings (between R250 and R500) follow @carinmakes on Instagram and Facebook. Next of Kin will launch a website soon.
- The boerewors gordyn is what you drive through (metaphorically) when leaving the centre of Cape Town to get to the northern suburbs. The lentil curtain is what you drive through to get to the False Bay suburbs.
