entrepeneurs BY LIESL PRETORIUS & KATE SIDLEY Treasure hunters Their businesses and tastes are very diverse, but these antique dealers have one thing in common a nose for finding the diamond in the rough. Jo-Marie & Piér Rabe PIÉR RABE ANTIQUES, STELLENBOSCH P eople think it s fuddy-duddy. But there s nothing as exciting as walking into a household sale and finding a forgotten heirloom just sitting there in a dusty corner, says Jo-Marie as she pours coffee. We re sitting on the top level of the couple s warehouse, which is stacked wall to wall with Cape furniture, Boer War memorabilia, copper and brass kitchenware and 20th century ceramics. Once, at a deceased estate sale in Gardens, we found an 18th century armoire that was worth about R200 000 it was such a rundown, unassuming house! This husband-and-wife team met when she was a 19-year-old political science major and he a 21-year-old studying history. My roommate dragged me to a sokkie [party] and there was this gorgeous guy. He asked me to dance, and four months later we were married. My friends all started looking for a bump! Initially Jo-Marie just tagged along on Piér s treasure hunts, but before long she got pulled in. It was hard not to I married a man who was completely in love with antiques. When I met him he owned a yellowwood kist and a sewing machine and very little else. These days, she s a specialist in her own right she did her Master s thesis on Cape furniture, writes for Die Burger and Personal Finance and is Pasella s antique guru. The two opened their first little antiques shop in 1988, when Piér got back from the army. Jo-Marie had been working as a student usher at the theatre (saving the R2,50 she earned per show) and she and Piér When I met him he owned a yellowwood kist and a sewing machine and very little else. had been buying a few antiques and selling them to friends and family. We asked the bank for R10000, and they gave us R2000, thinking there was no way we d succeed. Times were tough, but we were passionate. At first, Jo-Marie worked in the shop while Piér drove from farm to farm, delving through people s attics. Piér s grandpa was a beloved schoolmaster in Nieuwoudtville, so when people heard the name Rabe, they opened their doors and hearts to him. Nowadays, they both go on buying trips. We spend most days on the hunt, even though we need stock like a fish needs a bicycle! Piér always says, Vandag gaan ons n blom vind! We work really well together. Within five minutes I ll have scanned the room and seen everything. At the same time, Piér has zoned in on one piece and looked over every nook and cranny. We don t step on each other s toes in business, or in life. 28 Fairlady September 2013
Heleen Bossi Pam Thomson paisley s antique jewellery, Stellenbosch Read s gallery, the zone, rosebank, joburg H P eleen Bossi first fell in love with vintage jewellery at the age of nine, when her great-aunt Ina gave her a peek inside her jewellery box. She was very flamboyant, says Heleen. But it was only when she was flying overseas regularly as an air hostess that Heleen started collecting antique porcelain, clothing and jewellery. By 1985 she had saved up enough money and collected enough stock to set up shop. I knew little about business or antiques, but my heart was in it and I worked hard. I was very lucky the business was profitable from the beginning. I never had financial backing, but I was careful I put all the profits back into the business. Heleen later narrowed her focus to antique jewellery. I love the craftsmanship, and travelling the world to find unique pieces. I also love trying to find out more about each piece: where it came from, who it belonged to, who made it. The best days are when I can go out looking for jewellery. She sells at antique fairs and exhibitions, and by appointment. I have an interesting personal collection some Mexican jewellery, some beautiful Victorian garnet pieces. I find it rewarding preventing things from being lost forever, and restoring pieces to their former glory. 30 Fairlady September 2013 am Thomson opens the locked cabinets, bringing out favourite pieces Suffragette jewellery, mourning jewellery from the time of Queen Victoria When she married Deon Read she didn t realise she was committing to a lifelong career in antique jewellery. Established in Plein Street, Johannesburg, in 1912, Read s Gallery has been in the family ever since. Pam now runs the business in Rosebank. Though antiques are perceived as timeless, a dealer must move with the times, says Pam. Originally, we sold porcelain, grandfather clocks and furniture, but then we decided to specialise in silverware and jewellery. About 15 years ago, yellow gold went out of fashion and white gold was in, and we started selling new jewellery as well as antique. Now yellow and rose gold are back in vogue. But antique jewellery will always have a place. History is part of what makes the business appealing for Pam: Did you know, during the Boer War, they couldn t get diamonds back to Europe, and that boosted the popularity of other stones like peridot? Pam believes that jewellery is part of us: All over the world, we ve always adorned ourselves with beads, with earrings. It s in our DNA.
next door is furnished with pink 1980s Vitra chairs, a soft blue striped sofa, a floral couch and an ornate French display cabinet with Lalique vases. We each got a room to express what we like, explains Justin. For Justin, furniture is about function. It does what it s supposed to do. It s easy to make something decorative. What s hard is making a good, simple piece of furniture. It s nice to share the thrill of finding something irreplaceable when your heart feels like it s going to jump out of your chest with someone who understands. Shire & Justin Kerrod Kerrod antiques, fish hoek T he Kerrods living space has two sections. The TV lounge is distinctly masculine black leather and steel Le Corbusier couches, a sculptural glass and wood Noguchi coffee table, guitars, vintage hi-fis and a huge flatscreen TV. You can see Justin in there, says Shire. The living area In the TV lounge you ll see two of his other passions: handmade ceramics (he literally wrote the book on SA pottery) and abstract art. I m mad about it. I don t need a picture painted realistically that s why I have a camera. Shire s taste is more decorative. Gold and flowers, teases Justin. But they both love the clean, simple mid-century modern design that they specialise in. We love everything we buy. If it doesn t sell, we re always happy to have it, says Shire. Their 12-year-old daughter Maxine is developing an eye for pop minimalist furniture. The other day she asked: For Christmas, can I get the Kartell for my room? Being a husband and wife team or, as says Shire says, having two sets of eyes, gives them the edge. And it s nice to share the thrill of finding something irreplaceable when your heart feels like it s going to jump out of your chest with someone who understands, she adds. But it has its challenges. We re never not working. But if you love what you do it s not really work, anyway. Fairlady September 2013 31
Lynn Grant & Ashley Judge take it for granted, parkhurst, joburg 32 Fairlady September 2013 T his mom and daughter team is steeped in a legacy of antique furniture. Lynn s mother, a keen collector and restorer of Afrikaner furniture, grew her hobby into a home-based business. My gran always had pretty things, Ashley recalls. Our favourite game was florist-florist. I guess if your gran makes an effort with her table, and then your mom, you ll do the same. Indeed, Ashley inherited the passion and the eye that runs in the family (her brother, Greg, makes wonderful handmade wooden furniture in his business, G2 Furniture). After a spell in the antique jewellery business here and in London, she joined Lynn in opening a shop specialising in early English and European furniture. You learn by exposure, experience and discussion, as well as through reference books, says Lynn. The art of the antique dealer is to recognise good pieces, even if they are neglected. You need to understand the technicalities why a piece in its original colour might be worth 10 times more than one that s been tampered with. As partners, she and Ashley complement each other, says Lynn: Ashley brings a quirky element to it, and introduces a modern feel. It s about mixing old with new, rough with smooth. A good piece doesn t come and go with fashion. Both clearly love the business. It is not just a job, it s a passion, a life, says Ashley. It s wonderful to be surrounded by beautiful things, and every piece has a story. Sitting at a client s dining room table recently, I remembered when my mom and I had bought it, 15 years ago, on a trip to Europe! We buy what we love, and we come to know the people who love our style. We get to know their taste, how they live, how they entertain. We have long-term relationships with them. photographs: AnÈl van der Merwe, Jo Spies. Hair & Make-up: Lyndal Fitzgerald from Supernova, sam scarborough It s about mixing old with new, rough with smooth. A good piece doesn t come and go with fashion.