A Piece of Home

​The Story Behind Big Blue
The name was inspired by a film released around the same time James Robertson and Philip Cronje founded the company. They felt at the time that it spoke to the narrative of transformation, exploration, and diving into the unknown. The idea was sparked by the overwhelming cultural and artistic revival occurring in South Africa in the 80s. It was at a time when our country was under sanctions; there was little or no opportunity for local artists, designers and creators to showcase their talent, and the founders saw an opportunity to create jobs and encourage skills development for an economy under strain and largely self-reliant.

Championing SA Creativity
The designers and artisans chosen for our stores are selected based on brand suitability and not specific to stores or regions. We have long-standing relationships with most, and our business model promotes the growth of their small businesses and establishment of their brands rather than short-term exposure to the market.

Maywhitch Apparel has been with us for over 15 years and continues to evolve and grow to accommodate our unique South African street style for women. Ancient Beauty, whose talent for sourcing local and African cultural fabrics and prints while creating modern and relevant silhouettes. This venture started in her garage in the township backyard, and she has been supplying us now for the last six years and continues to grow!

Many of our suppliers who create gifting and novelty, which speaks directly to our unique South African humour and nostalgia, are unbelievable talents found on the South African streets at the robots or the beachfront. Still, we create our own products in-house, inspired by conversations of our rich cultural history and childhoods as South Africans, using local manufacturers.

The Collections That Tell Our Story
We are very proud of all our suppliers; there are too many success stories over the last 30 years to single out only one. All have contributed greatly to our success. I will say that our T-shirt ranges have always been particularly popular, and back in the day were considered somewhat controversial, as many local artists used the category to verbalise political and cultural opinions through graphic art, which contributed to the democracy and free speech movement of the time.

What Our Community Connects With Most
As is the case in all our regions, our customers resonate most with the nostalgia and uniquely South African products; patriotic gear, rugby, and braai are, of course, some of the biggest drawing cards and relate to not only local customers but also to expats looking for a reminder of home.

Did you know?
• Snowflake is a proudly South African heritage brand that’s been milling wheat flour since 1884 – a trusted part of households for generations.
• Chappies launched in 1948 in Jo’burg, famous for trivia, a bold wrapper, and being two for a penny.
• Zam-Buk, created in England in 1902, is SA’s trusted herbal ointment for minor skin woes.
• Geometric Ndebele patterns and beaded jewellery tell stories of resistance, culture, and identity, and later became popular in 1991, when Dr Esther Mahlangu made history as the first African woman artist to paint a BMW 525i with traditional Ndebele designs.
• “Lekker” is classic SA slang for anything good – tasty food, great weather, fun vibes, or just feeling great.
• In SA slang, “eina” expresses pain, sympathy, or shock.

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