Montebello Design Centre, Creative venue and heritage site in Newlands, Cape Town, South Africa.

Montebello Design Centre occupies the face-brick stables built around 1880 for Anders Ohlsson's brewery, beneath Devil's Peak in Newlands. The complex, considered one of the finest of its period in South Africa, now holds over twenty craft workshops, shops, restaurants and artist studios.

The property was donated to the University of Cape Town by Cecil Michaelis in 1988, with the design centre established in 1993. This transition transformed the former farm buildings into a space for artistic practice and creation.

Artists and craftspeople work visibly in their studios creating beadwork, sculptures, jewelry and furniture while visitors watch and learn about their creative methods. The working studios form the heart of how the space functions as a community of makers.

You can visit the studios and galleries most days and purchase handmade goods directly from the artists on site. The location is accessible from central Cape Town with parking available and a restaurant offering refreshments while you explore the different areas.

The stables that house the centre were built around 1880 for Anders Ohlsson's brewery, which kept its horses there for deliveries. When motor vehicles replaced horse-drawn wagons, the site was sold to Max Michaelis in 1919. His son Cecil, an artist, later donated the remaining stables to the University of Cape Town in 1988 on condition that a craft centre be set up.