When Geometry Meets Joy: The World of Dokter and Misses

Meet the Makers

They met in the carefree days of design school. He was deep into industrial design, she into graphics. A friend introduced them, sparks flew, and soon they were swapping sketches and ideas instead of mixtapes.

In 2007 they opened their first little shop in Joburg with no big plan, no price tags, just a handful of pieces and a sense of play. They called themselves Dokter and Misses – a name that still sounds like the beginning of a joke, but one that’s stuck for nearly two decades.

Today, Adriaan Hugo and Katy Taplin still work side by side. He’s the structure-guy – obsessed with balance, hinges, and how things hold. She’s the surface-queen – colour, pattern, rhythm, attitude.

Together, they’ve built a studio that turns geometry into joy.

Their pieces aren’t made for white gloves or museum lights. They’re built to live with, to bump against, sit on, and smile at.

They describe what they do as “sculptural pieces made to be lived with,” and that’s spot-on. Everything starts with solid local manufacturing – cut, welded, sanded, painted right there in Johannesburg. The results are tough but joyful, mixing crisp geometry with bold colour and just the right amount of mischief.

If you’ve ever driven through Joburg’s streets, that jumble of signage, pattern, dust and sun, you’ll recognise the energy. Their furniture carries the same pulse: organised chaos that somehow works perfectly.

Adriaan and Katy call their process a conversation – sometimes a debate. He might chase a new form or material; she’ll bring it back to rhythm and visual punch. It’s an equal tug-of-war that keeps things fresh.

They joke that “he bakes the cake and she does the icing,” which feels exactly right. He’s the engineering; she’s the grin.

Running a studio is its own kind of circus. They’ve talked about how production, clients, and admin often swallow their creative hours – but they always find their way back to the bench together. That’s where the magic happens: the smell of cut metal, the first splash of paint, the moment something wobbly turns into something wonderful.

There’s a lot of talk in the design world about sustainability, but Dokter and Misses actually walk it. They build to last, repair what they make, and believe good design should outlive trends.

They’re not chasing perfection; they’re chasing personality. Every piece has a bit of Johannesburg in it – a hint of grit, a flash of humour, a confident imperfection that makes it feel human.

Their studio is proof that design doesn’t have to whisper. It can hum, tap its foot, and still hold your books beautifully.