From no-go to all-go ... Cape Town's Bromwell Boutique Mall has helped transform the area.
David Whitley goes high-end, one-off shopping.
THE rotating mannequins are each adorned by a single piece of jewellery, the couch is pin-pricked with a series of sparkling studs, while a bronze head and knees protrude from a Rand18,000 ($2700) bathtub.
So not your average shopping centre, then.
The high-tech, exclusive and very expensive Bromwell Boutique Mall in Cape Town is being seen as a spearhead for the rejuvenation of the suburb of Woodstock; incorporated within the City of Cape Town last year, the suburb's reputation is rapidly changing from no-go area to all-go area. The finance companies and advertising agencies are moving in and one of them - Mad! - is behind the Bromwell.
It sits inside a building that used to be a hotel with a reputation for by-the-hour room letting. The original plan was to turn it into boutique accommodation but then Mad!'s founder, Adelaide Potgieter, decided a unique shopping mall was a far better idea.
Seven months was spent scouring the globe for cool things to sell and the mall was finally opened in November 2009, when a suitable array had been uncovered, adjusted and given a special lick of stardust.
Downstairs, the Bromwell has a cafe and food store that take pride in sourcing the best products from around the world.
There's a fruit juice that is only otherwise sold in Harrods of London, while the boulangerie bakes on the premises. The real excitement is upstairs. Before heading up there, each potential customer is given a card. The idea is that all purchasing is done electronically - you swipe for what you like, then your purchases are wrapped and delivered to you a couple of days later.
You also have to vow to keep your camera in your pocket. The Bromwell team proudly boasts that "99.99 per cent of the items we sell are one-off pieces", and purchasers are given a certificate of exclusivity. Take photos and someone can make a copy, the theory goes.
Each former hotel room has a slightly different theme. One specialises in items made out of gold, most of which have been sourced from Egypt. Another is essentially a library of out-of-print books. There are old copies of the likes of Wuthering Heights and Pickwick Papers and a 1912 manuscript of Einstein's special theory of relativity.
Other rooms are given over to specific artists, although they're as likely to be selling skincare products as paintings.
It's a glorious mix of excess, technology and quirky individuality. Every room has a 17-inch touch screen on which you can find out background information on the product and artist, as well as when everything was made and from what it is made.
Whether it's bombastically reupholstered antique furniture, terracotta moulds of jazz musicians or chicken wire sculptures of Nelson Mandela, every item has been turned into a multi-media presentation. But just in case you do want to do things the traditional way, there is a button to press that will bring an assistant bounding into the room.
The Bromwell is somewhere between a gallery, a reckless experiment and a department store as envisioned by someone with a passion for fur-lined smoking jackets.
Needless to say, it's not designed for the average wage bracket. The team will freely admit that they only sell 15 to 20 items a week. But window-shoppers would be hard-pushed to find anywhere more intriguing.
The Bromwell Boutique Mall, 250 Albert Road, Woodstock, Cape Town, see www.thebromwell.co.za.
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