LOOKING for something different for that special person, or a gift to take back overseas with you, or something good to eat? We've put together a selection of great Joburg shops where you're bound to have hours of quality shopping enjoyment. Joburg - shops - great - go!

Objekt, 32 7th Avenue, Parktown North, 011 447 6005, Mondays to Fridays 9am-5pm, Saturdays 9am-3pm
Owner Susanne Allers describes her store as “ever-changing, always-interesting” and as “food for the soul”, where she puts a lot of effort into the choice and display of items. In a converted house with an elegant garden, the store contains an eclectic mix of artwork, ceramics, furniture, and jewellery, most of it locally produced, but some items brought in from Namibia, Mozambique and Madagascar. Her clientele ranges from designers and interior decorators to those wanting a special gift. Or those who just want to come in because it’s “a peaceful place where they’ll see beautiful things”. Allers holds three exhibitions a year, which means that there’s always something new to admire and buy in her store.

Love Books, 53 Rustenburg Road, Bamboo Centre, Melville, 011 726 7408, Mondays to Fridays 9am-5pm, Saturdays 9am-4pm, Sundays 9am-2pm
Love Books aims to create an "unintimidating environment" says co-owner Kate Rogan, and it does just that. Relaxing armchairs, a large round table and chairs, a glass of wine, and plenty of good books are the recipe. Rogan says that the books have been personally selected – "they're what we like to read" – which means you're sure to find something that you like. They are catering for "the community", she says, in a discerning book-reading area. With the Service Station through an interleading door, you can move from your meal to a few hours of relaxing reading. And if you like the wine, you can order more of it - by the bottle or case - from Love Books.

Garden Bleu, 29 Gleneagles Road, Greenside (behind Merge), 011 888 4734, Mondays to Fridays 9am-5pm, Saturdays 9am-1.30pm
Although this décor shop has been in Greenside for three years, it's a secret, hidden behind other shops. But it's well worth the search - it's jam-packed with wonderful items, predominantly metal chairs and tables, daybeds, lamps and chandeliers, and a huge range of metal garden ornaments and pot stands. Assistant Sascha Opper says it's nice that people have to search for the shop. "It's a destination, you come because you're interested." Some 90 percent of the items are metal and locally made; exceptions are Moroccan and Italian lamps and lights, which are beautiful. The shop is a feast for the eyes - go, just to enjoy the fine craftsmanship of each item. Of course, you'll probably go home with a carload of stuff.

Collectors Treasury, CTP House, 244 Commissioner Street, 011 334 6556, Mondays to Fridays 9am-5pm, Saturdays 10am-1pm
Wanna lose yourself in up to two million books? Head into the CBD, ring the bell and wander around this store gobsmacked. There are books stacked everywhere, plus LP records, sheet music, maps, porcelain and postcards. One of the owners, Jonathan Klass, who has been in the business since 1974, says his parents were collectors and he grew up with 100 000 books around him. His family has never stopped collecting, and several floors of the eight-storey building the shop is in are filled with his collections. "We don't throw anything out," he says. You'll find books of every subject under the sun except for school textbooks and business management. He sells books on several websites too: abebooks.com and addall.com. Records are sold through gemm.com and musicstack.com. Go and get high on books.

la Basse-cour, 44 Stanley Avenue, Milpark, 011 482 2707, Mondays to Fridays 10am-4pm, Saturdays 9am-1pm
If you long to fill your home with period furniture and homeware, head off to this showroom and immerse yourself in French provençal splendour. Owner Robert Desfontaines imports all his wares from France and he's very happy being tucked away in this trendy enclave in Milpark. You'll find furniture from city and town to farm kitchen and stoep, which includes architectural antiques, religious artefacts, antique lighting, and much more. Go along and browse among the chandeliers, large gilded mirrors, cast iron and wrought iron items, antique doors, gates and screens, and porcelain. I'd be very surprised if you can resist taking home at least one item.

If you want your jaw to drop at the enormity of thousands of pieces of beautiful African artworks, take a trip to Bramley, and wander from room to room and out into the garden to marvel at the range of items. Outside there are magnificently carved crocodiles, fish and snakes from Swaziland, together with dug-out canoes from central Africa. Then walk inside, and you'll see items from every country in Africa - wall hangings, grass baskets, benches, headrests, tall painted figures, masks, horns, wooden antelope heads, bronze heads, and much, much more. Owner Mark Valentine says he sells around 300 items a day, with several people working all day wrapping and packaging these items. He has been selling African craft for 18 years at "good, honest" prices. Some of the artwork dates back to the 1930s, and he has craftspeople on the continent specifically producing stuff for him. He spends some 40 percent of the year travelling throughout Africa, and sends back the artwork in containers by sea. Go and get your special piece of Africa.

Royal Enfield, 44 Stanley Avenue, Milpark, 011 482 9195, Mondays to Saturdays 9am-5pm
Fancy looking very retro out on the roads? If so, you need to take a trip to the Royal Enfield shop where you can drool over a number of great-looking motorbikes. There's the Bullet Army, the Bullet Machismo, the Bullet Electra, and the Bullet Classic Deluxe - you'll find it hard not to swing a leg over one and take it out on the road for a test drive. Manager Godfrey Sinthumule says he's had lots of enquiries from people - young and old - who want to look "stylish, classic and unique" on a Royal Enfield. The company began manufacturing the bikes back in 1901 in Redditch in England, in a factory that was originally set up in the mid-1850s to manufacture sewing needles and machine parts. Its trademark slogan was "Made like a gun". In 1949 it opened a factory in Chennai in India, where the bikes are now made exclusively. Prices range from a very competitive R39 500 to R49 500. Sinthumule says they are very easy to ride, with very good petrol consumption, and importantly, they have lots and lots of them in their warehouse in Midrand. See you out on the road.

Frank R Thorold, 3^rd Floor Meischke's Building, 42 Harrison Street (corner Market Street), 011 838 5903, Mondays to Fridays 9am-5pm, Saturdays 9am-midday

Thorold is probably the city's oldest bookshop, and after 70 years, the bookshop still offers book lovers many hours of serendipitous browsing. The shop specialises in Africana, old and new. Owner Robin Fryde, who used to be a customer of original owner Frank Thorold, bought the business in 1962 and says he has the ''best stocks of Africana in the world''. He won't even guess how many books he has on his many shelves, but when asked, wandered into the depths of several rooms full of books and produced half a dozen wonderful books on David Livingstone. And he is very happy to order recent books on the explorer. He collects his books from auctions, when travelling overseas or when someone is moving house. He says of his collection method: ''It's a certain amount of madness but no method.'' The shop's original Latin logo, ''ex Africa semper aliquid novi'', which means ''always something new coming out of Africa'', is testament to the great journeys you can have in this bookshop.

Hadeda, 151 Jan Smuts Avenue, Parkwood, 011 788 9859, Mondays to Fridays 9am-5pm, Saturdays 9am-2pm

For a wonderland of unusual lamps and mirrors, make your way to Hadeda. All items in the shop, a house full of them, are handcrafted and imported from Mexico, Peru and Guatemala. Different materials are used - brass, tin, galvanised iron and pewter. There are other items too - some 2 800 different products, including a myriad ornaments, candleholders, pottery, fabrics, bags and masks. Owner Desiré Armstrong says her merchandise mixes perfectly with African stuff. She sources her products from craftspeople in South America and gets them to make to her specifications. She supplies hotels and lodges across the country. Armstrong started out 14 years ago on her dining room table, moved to her garage, and then built premises on her property before finally moving into this Parkwood house, filling every room with these colourful items. She plans to visit Argentina, Lima and Bogota soon to expand her range. There is also a Hadeda outlet in Cape Town.

Tapenade Olive Shop, Shop 41, Cresta Shopping Centre, Cresta, 011 478 5378, Mondays to Thursdays 9am-6pm, Fridays 9am-7pm, Saturdays 9am-6pm, Sundays 9am-3pm

If, like me, you didn't know you could buy tapenade in South Africa, or that we have a dynamic olive industry, you need to visit Tapenade. (And if you don't know what tapenade is, it's a delicious crushed olive dip.) The store is bursting with several dozen varieties of olive oil, jars and jars of tapenade, beautiful olive printed linen and crockery, and beauty products like olive body polish and cream, olive shampoo and conditioner, olive soap and scrub, not to mention olive jams, smoked olives and olives in blueberry dressing. Owner Nanette Kornelius says she came across an olive shop in Europe last year, and when she got home, started investigating the possibility of opening a similar shop in Gauteng. Intensive reading led to a business plan, then a shop, which she opened in May 2005. She says there is a growing olive export market, but locally supply cannot keep up with demand, despite there being around 120 olive farms in the country. The products in her shop are from the top 25 olive farms in the Cape. She plans to open more stores in Gauteng.

The Chef, 17 Menton Road, Richmond, 011 482 1883, weekdays 6.30am-5pm, Saturdays 7am-1pm

Look no further than The Chef for Joburg's most delicious breads, cakes and tarts. Owner Stuart Mcclarty has been a chef for 23 years, supplying the city's restaurants - but six months ago he opened his coffee shop and bakery in Richmond. You can buy Italian bread with sundried tomato or olive, butternut, beetroot, cinnamon, rosemary and coarse salt, and rosemary and dark chocolate, in a range of sizes. And then there're the croissants. People come from as far as Pretoria, Nigel and Irene to get their fresh-baked goodies. Go grab yours.

The African Toyshop, 4th Avenue, Parkhurst, 011 442 2643, Tuesdays-Saturdays 10am-6pm

In many ways these toys are works of art, to be kept far away from children's hands. They come from skilled craftsmen in Mozambique, Kenya, Malawi, Angola, Tanzania, the DRC, and South Africa. Most items are in smooth, polished wood, finished in beautiful detail and include trucks, 4x4s, motorbikes, tractors, bikes, rockets, and everyday dioramas. If you have the money, the Tintin items are a treasure: cars, boats, aeroplanes and a helicopter, complete with Tintin, Snowy, Prof Calculus, Thompson and Thomson, and Captain Haddock. Expect to pay up to R5 500 for all of them travelling in a large car. There are toys for the girls: soft dolls and wicker houses. Go in, wander around, it's uplifting to see this excellent craftsmanship.

Fresh Earth, 103 Komatie Road, Emmarentia, 011 646 4404, Mondays to Fridays 8am-6pm, Saturdays 8am-4pm

This is heaven on earth for vegetarians and vegans. Fresh Earth offers everything organic – from beauty products and seaweeds to vegetarian hotdogs and hamburgers. And for the gluten- and preservative-allergic, there's everything you could possibly need, even sugar-free and dairy-free cakes and chocs. Fresh Earth also provides information sheets with advice on how to cook with the products it sells. But stop by at the ATM on your way there, as these products don't come cheap. Also on offer is holistic therapy like reiki and reflexology, in small rooms at the back of the shop.

Super Sconto, 169-171 Louis Botha Avenue, Orange Grove, 011 728 7561, Mondays to Fridays 8.30am-5.30pm, Saturdays 8.30am-1.30pm, Sundays 9am-12.30pm
Ten years ago, when supermarket Super Sconto opened, there was a Little Italy in Orange Grove. But even though 50 percent of those people have moved into the northern suburbs, they still visit their favourite Italian shop, to stock up on anything from detergents and floor polish, to pasta and olive oil, all imported from Italy. Manager Anna Schunke says that customers come from as far as Northcliff every week to get their groceries, and stop off at the coffee shop in the supermarket to have a delicious roll with Italian meats or cheeses. Schunke says that 98 percent of the goods in the store are imported, and with a fair number of Italian supermarkets in the city, Super Sconto (Italian for "discount"), manages to keep its prices competitive. Saturdays and Sundays are the busiest and most sociable days - the aisles and coffee shop are filled with happy customers.

Winesense, 11 High Street, Melrose Arch, 011 482 1020, Sundays to Tuesdays 10am-7pm, Wednesdays to Saturdays 10am-10pm

Need a good bottle of wine? Get to Winesense and taste a selection of wines before you buy. They'll listen to your needs and tastes, and recommend the perfect wine, at prices that range from R39 to R750 a bottle. But you'll get much more: expert advice on which wine to have with a particular dish, a bit of background on the wine of your choice, and a guarantee of personal service in congenial surroundings. And you can order online and have your tipple delivered to your door. Cheers.

Boekehuis, corner Lothbury Road and Fawley Avenue, Auckland Park, 011 482 3609, Mondays to Saturdays 9am-6pm

Boekehuis has been open for four-and-a-half years and has established itself as the city's only "intellectual bookshop", specialising in South African and world literature, with an emphasis on Afrikaans authors. Described by manager Corina van der Spoel as "one of the hidden gems of Joburg", Boekehuis holds regular launches, readings and discussions, and has created a "cultural community" between RAU and Wits universities. It stocks books with a spread of interests: anthropology, natural sciences, travel and philosophy, in addition to literature. The building itself is an old Auckland Park house, belonging at one time to the daughter of lawyer and anti-apartheid campaigner Braam Fischer. The ambience of a cosy home remains: interleading rooms with wooden floors and fireplaces, with a coffee shop spilling out on to an attractive garden. Spend a happy hour selecting your books, then idly page through them over a cup of coffee and muffin in the garden. Heaven.

Botany, 30 Dover Street, Westdene, 011 673 5695, Mondays to Fridays 10am-5pm, Saturdays 10am-4pm

Don't expect to see roses and chrysanthemums in this florist. Rather brace yourself for bunches of fresh arum lilies, proteas, flame lilies and aloe leaves. Botany offers only indigenous arrangements, although, admits owner Heather Thompson, she can organise a bunch of roses on Valentine’s Day if you simply can’t do without. Open for 18 months, Thompson says her flowers are competitively priced, and she offers specials on arrangements of seasonal flowers. Thompson says the demand for dried flowers has grown, but the coloured arums - bronze, yellow and purple - are also very popular. So, enjoy the earthy smell as you wander around buckets of fresh, home-grown flowers, choosing for that special someone.

A Portas/The Shunting Yard, The Galleria, Lower Level, Biermann Avenue, Rosebank
Tel: 011 447 4683
Mondays 9am-2pm, Tuesdays to Fridays 9am-5pm, Saturdays 9am-1pm

One of Johannesburg's original shops - 109 years old - A Portas offers great phyllo pastry and parma ham. But what's really unusual is that it doubles as a model train shop so while you sip your coffee, expect to overhear animated conversations about the latest model trains, railway bridges and dioramas. A Portas was started in 1896 by the owner George Lagoudis' great uncle. When train enthusiast Lagoudis took over in 1970, he expanded the shop to include The Shunting Yard, with shelves and shelves of model trains and associated paraphernalia. With his wife Areti, Lagoudis has created an ambience conducive to a good cup of coffee, stimulating chat and either a purchase of great deli or great trains. Even if trains aren't your thing, ask for a demonstration anyway, and be intrigued by the sounds of the miniature trains puffing along the track, the shovelling of coal and the hiss of the brakes. It's a philosophy of "it's nice being alive," says George.

Liebermann Pottery Gallery, 1 Annet Road, Cottesloe, 011 482 2215, Mondays to Fridays 9am-4.30pm, Saturdays and Sundays 9am-1pm

There must be thousands and thousands of pots, jars, urns, tableware, and ornaments in every possible colour and finish you can think of, and at reasonable prices. There are gorgeous Zulu and Venda pots, terracotta bowls, tall colourful jars, earthy-coloured glazed urns from Thailand, Chinese porcelain, bone china, fish and bonsai pots . . . selecting which one to take home is difficult. Liebermann has been around for 50 years, eight of those in its present location. It has a factory in Marlboro, so a good deal of their items are locally made. The latest range to come out of the factory are tall red, green, orange and blue jars - irresistible. You'll collect armfuls of pottery, deposit them on the counter, and fill your arms again. Have fun.

Dish, 38 Sixth Street, Parkhurst, 011 447 1071, Mondays to Fridays 9am-5pm, Saturdays 9am-1.30pm

Walk into Dish and you'll experience sensory overload . . . of the most pleasant kind. The shop is jam-packed with the most wonderful items of ceramics and mosaic work - all colourful, individual, one-off pieces, perfect for your home . . . bowls, vases, mosaic tables and mirrors, plates, jars and more. Owner, designer and creator of these wonder works, Sharon Thompson, says some of her customers are mosaic artists who come in simply for inspiration. Others are regulars, who can't resist her work, while others consider her work perfect for gifts. Thompson does commissions for the big corporates, and offers mosaic classes. Go on, treat yourself, you won't regret it.

Cremalat Cheese, Greenhills Industrial Estate, Sam Green Road, Tunney Ext 6, Edenvale, 011 822 8320, Mondays to Fridays 8am-5pm, Saturdays 8am-3pm

Owner Owner Claudio Giustizieri and his wife Margaret say the secret to their business of selling some of the best cheese in town is simple: they are hands on, they know their customers well and they take time to teach them the finer points of good cheese. This means that customers know what they're buying, and come back for more of their gorgonzola, provolone, smoked mozzarella, fat-free roccata, low-fat parmesan and many others. Says Claudio: "My mark-ups are not high, I make up for that with selling big volumes." He does import some cheese and when considering a new product he asks for a box to be sent. He then tests the product, checking that it contains what it claims to contain. Only once he's satisfied that the product is excellent, will he place an order. He has a cheese factory in Bloemfontein, where the quality of the milk he uses is guaranteed. His shop contains a range of other great products: coffee, pasta, salamis, olive oil, fresh farm butter. He sells his cheese at the Sunday Rosebank Flea Market and the Bryanston Organic Market. Now, you've got no excuse to challenge your taste buds with delicious cheese.

Out of Africa Fashions, 145B Market Street, 011 337 3892, Mondays to Fridays 8.30am-5pm, Saturdays 8.30am-1pm

This small clothing shop in the fashion district in downtown Johannesburg offers what owner Mohamed Desai describes as "traditional African clothing". He designs the earthy-coloured clothing and uses printed hessian, synthetic leather and cottons to create stunning ethnic outfits. He sources his fabrics locally or from Durban, and since opening in February, has sold his garments to local professional women mostly by word of mouth. He's planning to expand his business to Bank City in the CBD and to Braamfontein. He also sells and services sewing machines.

KwaZulu Muti - Museum of Man and Science, 14 Diagonal Street, Johannesburg, 011 836 4470, weekdays 7.30am-5pm, Saturdays 7.30am-1pm

For a totally different sensory experience and a look at an Africa unknown to some, take a trip downtown to the Museum of Man and Science in Diagonal Street. The 66-year-old museum (why it was originally called a museum seems lost in time) is a traditional muti or medicine shop, described on the board above the door as the "The King of Muti, Herbal and Homeopathic Remedies". There're over 1 900 dried herbs in the shop, prescribed by inyangas or traditional healers. There're a lot of interesting things to buy: tyre sandals, walking sticks, assegais, knobkerries, bead necklaces, Zulu pots and drums. You can make an appointment with a sangoma, who will throw the bones for you, and give you valuable advice. But even if you don't buy anything, it's just a wonderful experience, with a myriad of different sights and smells.

Kitchener Motors, 153 Kitchener Avenue, Bez Valley, 011 618 1400, Mondays to Sundays, 6am to 11pm

There aren't be many shops in town that for the past 82 years have opened at 6am and stayed open right through to midnight, seven days a week. One that does is Kitchener Midas, an auto spares shop in Kitchener Avenue, Bez Valley. The shop contains thousands of motor car parts on rows and rows of shelves - bearings, brake pads, carburettor kits, fuel pumps, engine mounts, spark plugs, electrical switches, air filters . . . for 90 percent of the makes of cars out there. And the service is friendly and efficient. So don't despair if at 11pm you need to spare part for your car - help is at hand.

Ees Millinery, 57 Von Wielligh Street, Johannesburg, 011 333 4582, weekdays 8am-4.30pm, Saturdays 9am-midday

If you ever need ostrich or turkey feathers, in any imaginable colour, this shop is the place to go. There're boxes and boxes of coloured feathers, and rows and rows of feather boas. And Ees will make them into any hat or headdress you desire. Ees owner Anton Ehrhartsmann (the surname was shortened to "Ees" when his father opened the shop in 1960) says they have just supplied the presidential guard of the Zambian army with their headgear. Another customer is the Lido in Paris. Export orders make up about a third of their business. Their African market is growing, with customers coming from Mozambique, Botswana and further afield. Ees also makes curtains - the biggest Roman blind in the world for the Cape Town Convention Centre. They also supply costume accessories - sequins, rhinestones, transfers and trims, and of course, rolls and rolls of lycra, printed and plain, for those costumes.

Thrupps, Illovo, Corner Oxford and Rudd Roads, Illovo, 011 268 0298, weekdays 7.45am-6pm, Saturdays 8am-2pm, Sundays 8am-1pm

Thrupps, "grocers of distinction" and the oldest store in Johannesburg at 110 years, offers friendly and professional service, making customers feel very personal about the store. Manager Mike Thompson says: "Customers treat Thrupps as their shop - they get defensive about it. And that's because it's one of the the best food shops in Johannesburg, and probably in South Africa." Thrupps offers a range of speciality foods like tinned local patés, like crocodile, springbok, ostrich and kudu. You can also order pheasant, caviar, quail, goose, salmon roes, imported cheese and Scottish smoked salmon. It has the distinction of being the only store in the country to stock Gentleman's Relish, an anchovy paté, with a word-of-mouth recipe dating back to 1828. Thrupps also has a delivery service.

Bookbinding Creations, 42A Greenhill Road, Emmarentia, 011 646 9621. Mondays to Fridays, 8.30am-5.00pm and Saturdays 9.30am-12.30pm

Got books at home that are badly in need of repair? Well, stop in at Bookbinding Creations and get your book back a week later looking almost new, and without a huge hole in your wallet. Retired couple Andy and Denise Forbes, a structural engineer and a psychologist in a former life, decided they needed something to occupy the hours. They did a two-week course, and became bookbinders. They bind 200 books a month, but also bind journals and theses, and make up speciality photograph albums to order. Their shop is dominated by 3-4 wonderful brass-handled bookbinding presses, and friendly service.

Doppio Zero, Barry Hertzog Avenue & Gleneagles Road, Greenside, 011 646 8740, Tuesdays to Thursdays 7.30am-10pm, Fridays and Saturdays 7.30am -10.30pm, Sundays and Mondays 7.30am-9pm

You're going to struggle to find parking outside the Doppio Zero Continental Bakery, when you run in for your country onion loaf, or your Italian slipper bread, or your flat focaccios, or your Portuguese custard tarts. Run by Greek Paul Christie and Yugosavian Micky Milovanovic, Christie maintains that it's all in the flour - he buys imported flour from Italy, called Baronia. That's where the name comes from: Doppio Zero refers to the grade of flour - double zero or extra fine. Both men own restaurants around the suburbs, but there's no doubt that locals have discovered this bakery in a big way. There is also a restaurant attached, and the speciality is kleftiko, a slow-roasted Greek lamb dish.

Art Africa, 62 Tyrone Avenue, Parkview, 011 486 2052

Mondays to Fridays 9am to 6pm Saturdays 9am-4pm

Art Africa will dazzle you with its collection of ethnic arts, crafts and artefacts from around Africa. The shop is split into a front section that carries funky, contemporary and often recycled items from self-help groups in Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and the Northern Province. You'll see fantastic mobiles, bead jewellery, tin items for Christmas trees, tin lizards and wooden animals. The back section has an amazing selection of wooden games, head rests, wooden statues and sculptures, wooden and grass bowls, and bright African fabrics. Says owner Linda Malcolm: "We collect items from across Africa, from Mali and Ghana in west Africa, to Kenya and Ethiopia on the east coast. Also from our neighbours Zimbabwe and Namibia." Art Africa has two branches in Knysna, on the garden route in the Western Cape, called African Attitude.

Vlisco Fabrics, Maponya Mall, Soweto, 011 938 4499, Mondays to Sundays 9am-9pm

Vlisco has a feast of waxed fabrics in colourful patterns and designs as well as garments made up in those fabrics. The shop has rolls of pure cotton fabrics from the Ivory Coast, Ghana and its holding company in Holland. You can choose from: men's jackets with Chinese collars; long skirts; kaftans; skirt and top suits, with puffed sleeves, often with gold braiding; dresses with a range of stunning collars, often with ricrac finishes; and men's shirts with embroidered V-necks. These items are made in the city centre, and follow the style of west African dress; others are Xhosa and Pedi styled. Says shop assistant Esther Tsatsimpe: "The suits are the most popular, although we sell a lot of fabric to locals and African tourists." A larger Vlisco can be found in Berea Street in the city centre.

African Craft Market, The Mall, Cradock Avenue, Rosebank, 011 880 2906, every day 9am-6pm

As you walk into this 7-day market you will inevitably be greeted by drumbeats from one of the stalls. And as you stroll from stall to stall you will travel from the Ivory Coast to Cameroon, from Zaire and Zambia to Kenya. Painted wooden figures ranging from 20cms to over 2m will greet you, large wooden giraffes will stare down at you, and large, shiny, wooden hippopotamuses will nudge you. Immerse yourself in malachite bangles and necklaces from the Democratic Republic of Congo, or opal animals, busts and bookends from Zimbabwe. If you're into stone, there are items in verdite, black serpentine, leopard rock and butterjet, all from Zimbabwe. And there's more: rusted metal birds, from ostriches to owls, anything in beads, African games in wood, polished wooden bowls, framed wooden figurines and sculptures.

Collectables and Collectable Books, 32 Tyrone Avenue, Parkview, 011 646 8320 (by appointment)

This antique shop has won the Options Readers Choice of Best Antique Shop for the last five years. The shop has silverware, china, furniture, lamps, jewellery and mirrors. Two-thirds of the shop's books are Africana, plus modern first editions, and children's and illustrated books. The shop specialises in maps, engravings, and prints from 1570 onwards. You'll find prints of the Zulu wars, the Boer War, botanicals and animals. Also drawings and small original oils and watercolours, and a sporting and military collection. Says owner Michael Prior: "We have the real things, most extraordinary things. We put collections together, assembling share documents, land documents, portraits and photographs, and our prices are fair." Collectables has a branch in Hermanus in the Western Cape called Tutamen.

Kim Sacks Gallery, 153 Jan Smuts Avenue, Parkwood, 011 447 5804.

Hours: Mondays to Saturdays 9.15am-5pm, Sundays 10am-1pm

Head off to the Kim Sacks Gallery for an extraordinary experience in tribal African art. Housed in a striking terracotta-coloured building, with double volume ceilings and free-flowing rooms, you will find a range of artefacts from the African continent. Hundreds of rural craftswomen are represented - basket makers, beaders, woodcarvers, Zulu potters, doll makers, as well as fine cutlery, ceramics, furniture and textiles reflecting South African work over the past two decades. The Gallery has a changing exhibition space, so there's always an exciting hum of activity. Don't miss it.

De Klerk's Coppersmith , 24 Currey Road, Doornfontein, 011 402 7644. Mondays to Fridays 8am-4pm

From copper baths to copper coal scuttles, this fourth-generation coppersmith business is the only coppersmithery left in the country, and Larry de Klerk enjoys taking on unusual projects. The latest is a 10 metre x 27 metre dome for a synagogue, but if you want a copper candlestick holder, that can also be made. Brass items can be ordered, but, says Larry: "Brass is not 'alive' like copper is and is therefore less flexible." Larry loves his work and the harder the challenge, the more he loves it.

Leopard Frock, 34 Englewold Drive, Saxonwold, 011 646 8387 (by appointment)

Get one of South Africa's top designers to design an outfit for you with a touch of Africa, at Leopard Frock. Marianne Fassler has been running Leopard Frock for 25 years and describes her work as "high fashion garments with a distinct African flavour". Garments are in a range of fabrics and styles and include evening wear through to day wear. You can order your dream garment or buy off the peg. Garments can take up to two weeks to be completed, and can cost you anything from R500 upwards. Fassler has international clients and recently supplied garments to the prince and king of Lesotho.

Abafazi, 36 Lyndhurst Road, Lyndhurst, 011 440 3247 (by appointment)

Ricca Turgel has been in the designing business for 15 years. She designs and hand paints fabric, using classic African designs. She makes throws and cushion covers with ostrich feather trimming, beautiful velvet beaded cushion covers, soft mohair throws and cushion covers, and handpainted linen duvet covers. Her latest great design is copper wire bangles, with a range of different glass bead designs running through the middle of the bangles. Bowls and napkin rings complete the range. Says Ricca: "I have plans to extend this range to lamp bases and lampshades, and ottermans with beadwork in the legs." She also has wooden Zulu meat platters in her showroom, canvas wall-hangings, and unusual ceramics from Rorke's Drift.

Fama Delicatessen, 12 Viljoen Street, Lorentzville, 011 618 3048, Mondays to Fridays 7am-4.30pm, Wednesdays 7am-12.30pm, Saturdays 7am-1pm

Spaniard Roberto Sa Gimenez is one of those lucky people who combine work and hobby: using an ancient Roman method of curing and processing meat he spends his day curing hams (Jamon Serrano in Spanish, Prosciutto Crudo in Italian) and salamis and supplying customers with the most superb delicacies around. The only one in the country, he works tirelessly at imitating the Mediterranean climate (perfect for curing hams), where he learnt the craft. The hams - some 12 000 of them - hang for a year in his special cellars, and he adds to his collection each week. Customers come from around the country and neighbouring states, to select, pay and take home - he does not deliver, he stresses. He says: "In general the meat in South Africa is of great quality, the result of the animals growing in large spaces, with lots of fresh air, and well-balanced diets." And after he's performed his magic, each slice sings in the mouth.