Joyden Nature Maker Studio is a vibrant eco studio where we celebrate the love of nature and making. We value…
Makerspaces historically have unique names based on the purpose and location of the space – fab labs, hackerspaces, tech shops, etc. As current iterations of the maker world and everyday life are becoming increasingly driven by the use of AI, so is the disconnect from the physical (natural) world – this despite the maker approach being rooted in educational research and theories (that go back decades), all of which emphasise the importance of ‘nature’ and humans’ tangible relation to it. This raises the following questions:
Returning to our roots while embracing the opportunities of tech advancements is a step towards addressing these needs and nature is the best teacher.
At our nature-centred studio, we invite youth to grow the future and shape their world. They expand their understanding and ability to solve complex problems through creating cross-disciplinary collaborations between art, design, and science at developmentally-appropriate levels.
The Nature Maker Studio’s hands-on approach to learning empowers students to investigate ethical and sustainable modes of making, informed by natural systems that are designed to benefit the environment.
Growing curiosity and a willingness to explore and take risks are some of the fundamentals in fostering creative development. Our work at the Nature Maker Studio reflects our belief that products give us temporary satisfaction; however, a playful multidisciplinary process results in a life-long willingness to explore ideas outside the box of conventional learning.
At Joyden Natue Maker Studio, we believe that:
Everyone. Humans are makers by design. To best meet diverse developmental stages, the workshops are grouped into age ranges:
No prior art, design or tech experience required for joining.
Biomimicry is a practice that learns from and mimics the strategies found in nature to solve human design challenges.
Biomimicry is about valuing nature for what we can learn, not what we can extract, harvest, or domesticate. In the process, we learn about ourselves, our purpose, and our connection to each other and our home on earth.
Design thinking is a human-centered approach to innovation that draws from the designer’s toolkit to integrate the needs of people, the possibilities of technology, and the requirements for business success.
Product design is using design thinking to develop a useful product that meets a customer’s needs in the form of a product.
The term biomaterials is used to describe materials derived from living organisms including plants, animals and fungi.
Plant-based materials, which we mostly focus on, are becoming increasingly popular among designers due to their environmental performance. This is because they offer cruelty-free production, are usually biodegradable and store CO2 during their useful lifetime, thereby lowering the embodied carbon footprint of products.
Easily accessible, safe location surrounded by indigenous forest and a permaculture garden, overlooking the Hout Bay Valley.
The indoor studio workshop seats 10, with additional indoor and outdoor workspaces for bigger groups or messy learning.
Spaces that blend the inside and outside environments.
The kitchen aka lab for growing microbial leather, cooking up bioplastics or making beautiful plant papers.
Not everything you ever wanted to know lives online. Take some time to browse through the ecological design and natural science reference library.
Extensive collection of art, craft and shop tools to bring your ideas to life
Every object tells a story.
Whether natural or man-made every material is testament to a process.
Every season brings changes and new opportunities for exploration.
It's not about the tools - it's how and why they are used that matters.
I am an educator, artist, and designer with over a decade of teaching experience in progressive education settings, teaching visual thinking strategies and design skills. Providing the space and experience for kids to become the best versions of themselves is my passion, and I do it through the lens of design education.
In 2024, I founded Joyden Nature Maker Studio, a vibrant eco studio overlooking the Hout Bay Valley. I am excited to bring my passion to the Cape Town community!
“Estee is a voracious lifelong learner; she models growth through iteration and explicitly teaches habits of mind that allow children to persevere through challenges and become their best selves.”
“She teaches with passion and imagination, cultivating her students’ curiosity and instilling a sense of infinite possibility through creativity.”
“She holds a vision of a sustainable future that she invites her students to explore by her side. In her hands, the immense challenge of shifting destructive systems toward a new paradigm of renewal becomes an invitation rather than an insurmountable hurdle. Using her diverse career experience and her nuanced understanding of biophilic and green design, she creates hands-on, interdisciplinary projects that allow students to build practical skills and develop their design thinking while they explore real-world concepts that children are rarely invited to consider. Together, she and her students work to identify needs in their community, explore the systems that surround them, and shape innovative solutions.”
Kim Machnik
STEM Coordinator
Prospect Hill Academy - Boston, USA
“Estee’s projects interweave design and process-rich practice, intentional skill building, artistic license for students’ voices to emerge in authentic ways, and all also tether to social responsibility and positive impact.”“She brought her creative genius and deep skill ininterdisciplinary, project-based, and visual-spatial learning alive in our school! Her ingenuity and care areunsurpassed!”
Courtney Dickenson
Founder & Director
Acera School:Massachusetts School of Science, Creativity Leadership - Boston, USA
37 Park Avenue, Hout Bay, Western Cape 7806, South Africa
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