The six delicately designed jewels of our Ode to the Ocean

In case you’ve been hiding in a rock pool somewhere this summer (we don’t blame you – it’s quite literally the inspiration for our latest range), we thought we’d remind you of our most recently launched SS18 collection – ODE TO THE OCEAN.

Just in time to celebrate the essence of summer, and that unmatched feeling of the icy Atlantic on hot balmy days, this collection is as delicate is as it is playful – paying homage to the fantastical creatures that cavort around in rock pools or lay strewn across the ocean floor.

Out of our six delicately designed crown jewels of the Dear Rae ocean…

Tell us, which is your favourite?

The Octopus

An extremely intelligent creature.

3 hearts and camouflaged by changing their skin colour and texture, they have 8 arms with 2 rows of suckers on each – and no shell. They are incredibly sophisticated and considered the most advanced of their group (the “Molluscs”). Magicians of the rockpools, they squirt black ink when threatened to “disappear” from predators, or cover themselves in shells to hide away.

The Klipvis

A small, yet agile fish that is present in most little rock pools.

A camouflaged little fish of the rocky shore and rock pools. South Africa has 40 different species – all endemic (which means they are found nowhere else in the world). Females give birth to live young.

The Limpet

Celebrating the many life cycles in the rock pools. Shells start off perfectly whole and are then broken and worn down in the movement of the ocean.

Long-spined, pear, bearded or Argenville’s, there are lots of different kinds of limpets on the rocky shores. Some (like the pear, bearded and long-spined varieties) are little farmers – tending to their local gardens of algae that they graze and defend against intruders. Some grow very slowly, and like the pear limpet, can live up to 25 years. They all have a hat-like shell, are herbivores that graze algae (seaweed) and use a rough, rasping tongue called a radula to scrape algae off the rocks.

The Shore

A texture found in many parts of the ocean.

South Africa has a coastline stretching about 3,650 km, boasting some of the most extraordinary ocean life in the world. 22 new protected areas have just been declared to protect SA’s ocean environment, and everything from seabirds like black oystercatchers to seals, otters and baboons can be found along South Africa’s shoreline.

The Shell

A pretty mermaid like piece, celebrating the feminine playful aspect of the ocean.

Shells are homes – for snails like periwinkles and topshells that graze the seaweed on the rocky shores, and the predatory whelks with their conical shells that drill holes into other snail shells to slurp them up as food. They can house oysters, mussels and become homes for hermit crabs.

The Coral

Plant like life present in the rock pool.

Colonies of tiny animals, often have symbiotic algae called zooxanthellae living in their cells that photosynthesize (use the energy from the sun to create food), which in turn sustains the corals. The relationship is symbiotic because the zooxanthellae get nitrogen, and the corals get a food supply and help with building up their their limestone skeletons. Coral reefs worldwide are threatened by climate change with changing sea surface temperatures – if ocean temperatures get too warm, the corals expel their zooxanthellae algae (which leaves the corals looking white and “bleached”) and can starve. Corals can recover from bleaching, but only if there is enough time between episodes to recover. South Africa has hard and soft corals in a startling array of shapes, sizes and colours.

5% of all profits from the ODE TO THE OCEAN collection will be donated to I AM WATER.