The Call of the Karoo (The First Letter in a Series)

With great joy we are launching our latest collection:

 The Call of the Karoo 1:The call of the Karoo.

Bella, my mom , my muse, my DNA provider, is turning 90 this year. This range celebrates my mom’s life in Graaff Reinet. In this range we will celebrate her memories and love of Graaff Reinet, the Karoo, the scenery en route, and the evocative creativity she creates on textiles.

We further aim to celebrate the researchers and historians who protect the heritage, and the scientists who research and record the unique plant and fossil species of the Eastern Cape.

Bella says her life really started when she arrived in Graaff Reinet at the age of seven. Her parents were posted to Cradock on a water engineering project. It was 1942 and the war was still raging in Europe. There was a depression. She had to start school and was deposited at 16 Donkin street the home of her grandfather and Aunt. The first sight of her grandfather’s house at 16 Donkin Street was to change her life forever. The stoep has a sloping roof with “broekie” lace. The passage, a portal to delights, was long and quiet, bar the tick of an old grandfather clock. At the end was a pale green vine clustered with translucent grapes. She loved the life that lay ahead, a sweet grandfather who smelled of Tobacco, and a crippled Aunt Mary (Polio) who was the town florist.  Bella gradually learned that Jurie Laubscher was well known for the famous hand -made dolls known as the Graaff -Reinet or Laubscher dolls. She melted into the house, where bread was baked and cooled down under cloths. The garden was filled with fruit, vegetables and vines. There were cats – “Groot kat and Klein kat”. Trees to climb, almonds to gorge on.

But the start of the best part of her life was when her Aunt Mary – (who would become fierce especially in the afternoons- Menopause)- encouraged her to embroider. Bella started with a stem stitch rabbit on her lap, tongue gripped in concentration, to find that it was sewn to her skirt.
She was heartbroken.
Aunty Mary frowned and delivered a verdict that changed her life:
“Moenie konkel nie!”
Bella’s greatest joy has evolved from this moment, and she continues to create whimsical creatures for her 4 daughters and friends.