About Us

Who we are, what we do & Why we do it

The Coco Africa workshop has a gifted woodworking craftsman from the local community, focusing on the highest standards of manufacturing, joinery and finishing. Aubrey heads production, concentrating on perfect joinery. finishing items to perfection. Cindy focuses on design and marketing and provides final quality control: no items leave the workshop without having been properly looked over and lovingly felt.

Coco Africa design is a division of Hand Made Life, reflecting a shared vision for creating and curating exceptional designs that enrich everyday lives. Hand Made Life is a creative retail space founded by Cindy and Stuart Douglas, they are passionate about local design and craftsmanship, and have curated a store showcasing hand crafted wooden furniture and South African designed and hand made lifestyle products. www.handmadelife.co.za instagram @handmadelife.shop

What it’s all about: "The excitement of the wood arriving, watching the patina appear as the planks are processed. The scent of the natural wood oils in the dust. A few sneezes in between. Seeing the designs form as the wood gets a new life. Giving the designs a name. The smell of the wood as the branding iron burns the logo. The relationship and respect for each other as wood lovers in production. Working alongside a team of creative people. Establishing meaningful relationships with our clients. Working in such a beautiful part of the world.
The sheer joy of making beautiful things." - Cindy Douglas

The Team

Cindy Douglas

Creative Director

Aubrey Nybole

Manufacturing

The Cape Fox &
the Morning Star

The Coco Africa logo represents the Cape Fox and the Morning Star. In the Franschhoek mountains near the workshop, we are privileged to be living in close proximity with the Cape Fox. This petit endemic fox has black and silver-grey fur with flanks and underside a light russet yellow. The tip of its tail is always black. To show excitement the fox lifts its tail. The extent to which the tail is raised is usually an indication of the level of excitement. Our fox is full of anticipation.

The Cape Fox is nocturnal and most active just before dawn, beneath the morning star, or after dusk when sheltering in burrows. We share this affinity with an appreciation of the calm and collected time before and after the craziness of the day. Our inspiration for our products and their refined design usually appears outside of office hours.