Work. Pug. Play. Eat. Repeat.
Come hungry. Leave inspired.
We have been waiting for you.
The Franseman book
Some doors simply open. Others invite.
Our green door pauses time for a moment and asks you to step into a world where beauty is noticed, coffee is savoured, flowers tell stories and life is celebrated in its simplest moments.
The aroma arrives first. Freshly roasted coffee, delicate florals, warm pastries from the oven and a hint of freesia and pear. Oak beneath your feet, deep greens, natural stone and warm timber. Somewhere entirely new that somehow feels like home.
A small family of space pugs is hiding in this book. When you find one, tap the porthole.
Franseman Durbanville
Contents
Work. Pug. Play.
Eat. Repeat.
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Chapter one · Today's table
Today we cooked for you
Today's table
This morning
Our doors open at 07:30am and the first coffee is poured. There is fresh sourdough in the oven, flowers arriving from the market and today’s lunch table is slowly taking shape.
No fifteen-item menu and no complicated ordering. Just six beautiful things, prepared exceptionally well, served to you along the counter by people who will ask if you’d like a little more dauphinoise. Mornings still belong to Frühstück, warm Brötchen and Frankfurter Kranz, a memory of Café Treff and Café Anton beneath the trees of Swakopmund.
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An interlude
Mental galaxies
“Too much going on upstairs, and we wouldn’t have it any other way.”
Chapter two · Franseman Atelier
Flowers are never an afterthought
Flowers have been our first language for almost thirty years. Every bouquet is made slowly and intentionally, by hand.
Inspired by the great floral ateliers of Paris, Amsterdam and Copenhagen, our blooms are romantic, sculptural and seasonal. No two designs are alike. You become the creative director; we bring decades of shape, form and colour to the table, finished in signature Franseman wrapping, because the unwrapping should be as magical as the flowers.
We don’t sell bouquets. We create moments.
The flower market
You found Luca. He lives among the flowers and always asks for one more stem.
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Chapter three · Slowtown coffee
Slow down. It’s time for coffee.
There was never a conversation about which coffee we would serve. It had already travelled with us across deserts and over mountain passes.
Born in Namibia and roasted with uncompromising passion, Slowtown has been part of our lives for years. Some might call us foolish for importing a coffee that costs so much more to bring to our corner of the Cape Winelands. We simply call it love. It is our heart pacer, a gentle reminder of home and the heartbeat of Franseman.
Slowtown
You found the Explorer. This season he is carrying Slowtown beans home from the dunes.
We live in a world that celebrates fast. We choose Slowtown.
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Chapter four · Capsule collections & bespoke gifting
Forever pieces. Future heirlooms.
You found Lulu. She was choosing which candle smells most like the moon.
Things we love
We believe in fewer things, chosen well. Pieces that tell a story and become part of our everyday rituals, loved long enough to become tomorrow’s heirlooms.
Our capsule collections are intentionally small and celebrate Slow Design: craftsmanship over convenience, timelessness over trends. Some pieces may never return once they have found their forever homes.
The handmade vessel
Sits proudly on your dining table for generations.
The woven basket
Travels through life's seasons with you.
The linen napkin
Passed around a family table, year after year.
The hand-poured candle
Freesia and pear. It will remind someone of home.
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The Franseman shop
Shop the story
We don't sell single things. We gather the pieces that belong together, so the whole ritual arrives at your door. Nationwide delivery across South Africa; flowers within our Durbanville area.
Collection
The coffee cupboard
- Slowtown Signature Blend
- Glass French press & stoneware mug
- Almond biscotti & brass scoop
Online doors opening soon
Collection
The Sunday table
- French linen napkins
- Freesia & pear candle
- Franseman honey
Online doors opening soon
Durbanville delivery
The flower market
- Seasonal atelier bouquet
- Hand-poured candle
- Handwritten card, sealed with the pug
Online doors opening soon
Chapter five · Our story
Into the wild green yonder
Follow the Franseman journey as we descend into Durbanville
Some places never leave you
For us it is the cool Atlantic mist over Swakopmund, the silence of the Namib dunes and the feeling that home is not a place but the people, moments and memories we gather along the way.
Franseman is our living love letter to gathering around a table, to slowing down, to creating with our hands and living with intention. We celebrate the wonderfully curious, the dreamers and the slightly rebellious souls who colour outside the lines.
I'm not giving up yet
Our story
Windhoek
Both born in Windhoek and raised in different corners of Namibia.
Swakopmund
Where our hearts found one another.
The Swakop River
Married in the dry riverbed, embraced by the ancient Namib.
Almost three decades
Flowers, beautiful tables, memorable gatherings and thoughtful gifting became our language.
2020
The world paused, and life quietly asked us a question: is this it?
A new beginning
Three children, two mischievous pugs, one fluffy cat, wandering souls and hearts full of faith.
8 October 2026
The green door opens in Durbanville. You belong here.
This is our story. We hope it becomes part of yours.
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Chapter six · The pug family
Each pug tells a story
The gold crowned pug is the brand. He never changes. The space pugs are the story: they dream, play and travel wherever Franseman takes them, and they change with the seasons.
Hover or tap a portrait to turn it over.
The King
The gold crowned pug
The King
The brand. He never changes.
Timeless and understated. Look for him on coffee cups, menus, wax seals, gift boxes and cake boxes.
Luca
The gardener
Luca
Lives among the flowers.
He always asks for one more stem. He is usually right.
Lulu
The daydreamer
Lulu
Sits on the moon deciding what is for lunch.
She is not giving up yet.
The Explorer
Changes every season
The Explorer
Wherever Franseman goes, he goes first.
- Winter telescope and moon dust on his boots
- Spring collecting flowers
- Christmas wrapping gifts
- Autumn baking bread
- Namibia in the dunes with coffee beans
Chapter seven · Today at Franseman
Notes from the counter
Pastries from the oven · Flowers from the market · Lunches waiting for friends
This morning
The flowers arrived before the coffee did.
After lunch
We made far too much lemon tart today. We are not sorry.
You found the Franseman shuttle. Next stop: the lemon tart.
For Sunday
If flowers could make breakfast, this is probably what they would serve.
Chapter eight · Visit
Get into our space
Work. Pug. Play.
Eat. Repeat.
Visit
Find us
Village Square, Village Walk
Queen Street, Durbanville
Cape Town, 7550
Say hello
Hours
Our doors open at 07:30am
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