Funny how some people find their passions. After tripping over an overgrown creeper’s tendril in 2008 and fracturing his hip, Johannesburg, South Africa-based designer, Joe Paine, was inspired to design products for plants.

Kreep Planter System by Joe Paine.

Paine went on to win Elle Magazine’s EDIDA award for his Kreep Planter, above, a modular planting system he likens to a creeper that “grows and adapts to the wall it clings to.” Suitable for both indoor and outdoor use, the botanically-inspired Kreep wall planter system is handmade from spun steel and includes the pots. It is available in black, white, or yellow, and can be customized into any shape and size. I’d love to see a series of them used create a fabulous custom pattern on a large surface.

Grower’s Planter: Feed a family of three for a whole year.

Paine has since unveiled a number of wonderful designs for plants and gardens, establishing his product and furniture design label with the aim of creating “products that are inventive but simple, sophisticated without pretension, with a focus on outdoor applications, simple plants and bird life.”

His recent Forrester Hanging Planter (above in red) reflects, according to the designer, “the bold jaw line of Ridge Forrester from the Bold and Beautiful.” I’ve got to go back and take another look at the Bold and the Beautiful.

Drawing inspiration from the design of traditional origami birds, the rodent proof Fold Feeder is bent from a single sheet of special “origami” steel that Paine hopes will attract more birds to the garden without also attracting pests.

Moving forward with more modular designs, Paine has ventured into furniture. His Tri-Hard Stool and Planter system (below) allows users to configure the pieces to fit the space, an important consideration for those with limited square footage.