Renowned SA designer and artist Carrol Boyes dies

Known for her intricate home decor designs, artist Carrol Boyes has died at age 65. According to EWN News, she passed away on Wednesday night after a brief illness.

Boyes is the founder, creator and CEO of Carrol Boyes retailer, based in Cape Town. "She is an iconic South African designer and her brand has deftly crafted a coveted and high-end product range of upmarket home and lifestyle items," her company website states.

A fine arts graduate with a major in sculpture from the University of Pretoria, she was initially an English teacher until at the age of 35 when she decided to follow her dream of becoming an artist.

She created a distinctive brand of cutlery and flatware, later branching out into home fabrics, that attracted an international clientele and is sold in 30 countries. 

Boyes used pewter and unconventional designs for the extensive collection of cutlery that rapidly become her trademark, fashioning spoon handles in the shape of a streamlined diving figure, for example.

"Carrol will be remembered for her love, her story and her quirky creativity. Carrol leaves our nation with a legacy of excellence, unity, empowerment and pioneering functional art. She will be greatly missed," the company said.

"Our thoughts are with her family at this very sad time."

It said her message to staff was never to be ordinary, and that she had thanked them for enriching her own life.

"Be extraordinary and throw in a bit of naughtiness every now and then and keep laughing. Never lose your sense of humour,’’ the company quoted her as saying.