Home Décor and Gifts Made with Love at Kaliko

If you’ve wandered down the Main Road in Gansbaai, you’ve probably spotted Kaliko Boutique Fabric Shop. 

From the outside, Kaliko already looks a whole lot different to most fabric stores. Situated inside one of Gansbaai’s older homes, owner Karin Franken has created a space where everyone feels welcome. Each spacious room with its original wooden flooring has been used as a blank canvas where Karin’s love for sustainable living shines through. 

There’s More to Kaliko than Meets the Eye

Aside from selling quality textiles and haberdashery, Kaliko is about inspiring creativity! 

Instead of going to landfill, Karin’s offcuts, scraps, and discontinued swatches are transformed into something special.

A Mindful Solution to a Growing Problem

Textile waste is a growing problem in South Africa, with about 6% of landfill material being discarded fabric. Each year, thousands of tonnes of textiles end up in dumps, taking years to decompose and releasing greenhouse gases and harmful chemicals in the process. 

By using offcuts and scraps, Kaliko Boutique Fabric Shop helps keep these materials out of landfill while creating beautiful, usable items. 

Each piece is handmade, unique, and carries a little story of its own.

Giving New Life to Unused Fabric

Karin and her team have an eye for possibilities. That tiny leftover piece of fabric? It doesn’t get thrown out. That half metre at the end of a roll? It becomes something useful. Even ribbons and colourful samples that might otherwise be forgotten are transformed into home décor and everyday items that people actually use and enjoy.

From Scraps to Treasures

At Kaliko, scraps can become a cushion that brightens a couch, a quilt that makes chilly evenings cosy, a bag that carries your gym gear or a basket that keeps clutter in check. 

Every item in the Kaliko Made in Gansbaai range is one-of-a-kind and full of personality.

Be the Change You Want to See, One Scrap at a Time

Every cushion, blanket, or bag that leaves the shop is a little win for the planet. It’s practical, it’s beautiful, and it’s a simple step toward reducing waste.

Karin hopes her projects encourage others to rethink the “waste” in their own lives. 

Whether it’s reusing scraps at home (yes, the sleeves of your old shirt can be used to make a peg bag) or supporting businesses that care about the environment as much as Kaliko does, she wants people to see that sustainable living can be easy, creative, and rewarding.

Bringing It All Together

So next time you’re in town, pop into Kaliko - not just for the fabrics, but for a little bit of inspiration and the chance to take home something handmade with love.

Take a closer look at what’s in store in Kaliko Boutique Fabric Shop’s home décor and gifts department here.