For those who missed it, the glitter ham à la Martha Stewart and Conan O'Brien.

...Apparently it may be pork. Or so delegates watching Martha Stewart's presentation found out at the Design Indaba conference on Friday. Well, those who stuck around long enough to see the glittering ham, that is. Martha went down a storm, or rather, went down in a hail storm of rapid-fire tweets from some very uninspired designers - seemingly unbeknownst to the homemaker herself. On the other hand, according to her twitter page, she found some pieces at the expo she found captivating enough to share with her followers. I, personally, found the most inspiring and relevant talk of the day was given by Alejandro Aravena on sustainable low cost housing. SA's department of housing could really learn a thing or five from this architect. Other interesting concepts came from Protofarm 2050 - farming for the future. This included the "Guide to Free Farming" by 5.5 Designers - an idea for urban farming where you eat what can be found in our cities, which saw some appetising suggestions of culinary delights such as rat, pigeon and cockroach. Another concept was Frank Tjepkema's amusement park built for more than just entertainment, instead incorporating farming and rides. Though I did have to wonder whether the chicken toss and cow tipping would form part of the games contingent. See the overview for Day 3 here. Off the designer track though, the Shoprite Group has announced it'll be hosting the Women of the Year Awards again this year after last year's hiatus. It will be taking on a different format with new categories, so check it out and start nominating those inspiring women!

Shan Radcliffe, Retail editor
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