Lookbook: Projekt

Funny foxes, naughty monkeys and quirky cacti come to life in Projekt's range of delicately crocheted objects.
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“I wanted to do something with unemployed women in my area, which is Hout Bay, so I began Projekt,” says Peta Becker. “I decided to do something with crochet work because it is a handcraft that you can do anywhere. You don't need a lot of machinery and it is fairly easy. You just need a little hook and a ball of yarn.” Image: Henk Hattingh.
“I wanted to do something with unemployed women in my area, which is Hout Bay, so I began Projekt,” says Peta Becker. “I decided to do something with crochet work because it is a handcraft that you can do anywhere. You don't need a lot of machinery and it is fairly easy. You just need a little hook and a ball of yarn.” Image: Henk Hattingh.
A lot of the yarn Projekt uses is surplus stock sourced from factories that do large-batch dyeing. But the diminishing textile industry has meant it is becoming increasingly difficult to source left-over yarn. Becker is now forced to resort to buying yarn and getting it dyed herself but this can only be done in large quantities. Image: Henk Hattingh.
A lot of the yarn Projekt uses is surplus stock sourced from factories that do large-batch dyeing. But the diminishing textile industry has meant it is becoming increasingly difficult to source left-over yarn. Becker is now forced to resort to buying yarn and getting it dyed herself but this can only be done in large quantities. Image: Henk Hattingh.
Projekt started off producing delicate, once-off scarves and then ventured into producing toys and quirky decorative objects such as the crocheted cacti it has become well-known for. Image: Henk Hattingh.
Projekt started off producing delicate, once-off scarves and then ventured into producing toys and quirky decorative objects such as the crocheted cacti it has become well-known for. Image: Henk Hattingh.
Becker spent quite a few years writing and illustrating her own children’s picture books, often featuring animal characters that ultimately came to life in her crocheted toys. “My children's books were always very humorous – never sweet but rather funny and subversive,” she says. She did satirical editorial illustration for a long time in London for the likes of The Observer, The Guardian and Time Out. Image: Henk Hattingh.
Becker spent quite a few years writing and illustrating her own children’s picture books, often featuring animal characters that ultimately came to life in her crocheted toys. “My children's books were always very humorous – never sweet but rather funny and subversive,” she says. She did satirical editorial illustration for a long time in London for the likes of The Observer, The Guardian and Time Out. Image: Henk Hattingh.
Becker believes that there is a crossover between craft and design and that all good craft has a large component of design. For her the distinction is between whether the product is handmade or machine made. Image: Henk Hattingh.
Becker believes that there is a crossover between craft and design and that all good craft has a large component of design. For her the distinction is between whether the product is handmade or machine made. Image: Henk Hattingh.
Projekt’s designs are a collaborative process. For example, Becker had been collecting cacti and brought some of them to the women with the idea that they could be crocheted. They created and developed samples and now produce a variety of cacti from large monochrome decor pieces to colourful jewellery. Image: Henk Hattingh.
Projekt’s designs are a collaborative process. For example, Becker had been collecting cacti and brought some of them to the women with the idea that they could be crocheted. They created and developed samples and now produce a variety of cacti from large monochrome decor pieces to colourful jewellery. Image: Henk Hattingh.
The women work from home and produce components for the different designs that then get sewn together at the studio in Woodstock. Image: Henk Hattingh.
The women work from home and produce components for the different designs that then get sewn together at the studio in Woodstock. Image: Henk Hattingh.
The majority of what Projekt produces is for the export market. "I didn't want a project that made key rings or airport curios. I wanted to be able to go with my own aesthetic rather than being dictated to by the commercial market. I am not interested in the mass market." Image: Henk Hattingh.
The majority of what Projekt produces is for the export market. "I didn't want a project that made key rings or airport curios. I wanted to be able to go with my own aesthetic rather than being dictated to by the commercial market. I am not interested in the mass market." Image: Henk Hattingh.
According to Becker, a benefit of her working style is the unexpected things that happen because people work on their own and the items are not mass-produced. “Often people misunderstand instructions or they interpret things differently and often that turns out to be much more interesting than what you were expecting. Sometimes it sets you off in another direction altogether.” Image: Henk Hattingh.
According to Becker, a benefit of her working style is the unexpected things that happen because people work on their own and the items are not mass-produced. “Often people misunderstand instructions or they interpret things differently and often that turns out to be much more interesting than what you were expecting. Sometimes it sets you off in another direction altogether.” Image: Henk Hattingh.
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Posted 9 Jun 14 By Design Indaba Craft Creative Work / Lookbook Comments

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Projekt.
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Projekt is a skills training initiative based in Hout Bay, Cape Town that creates fashion, jewellery and accessories from crocheted fine cotton.
More on Projekt

Peta Becker brings an offbeat sensibility and independent creative vision to the work produced by her handmade-goods label Projekt. Becker left South Africa as a fine art graduate in 1978 to live and work in London as a designer specialising in fashion packaging. In 2004 she returned home with the desire to start a design-based project that would provide skills and income for unemployed women in her area.

Ten years later, 25 women work under her design direction, producing quirky crocheted products such as scarves, toys and décor items with a distinct African sensibility that are exported across the globe.  

Read more about the Projekt story in the captions of the gallery.