Living not far from the southernmost tip of Africa, our business evolved over the past 30 years when we first set foot in Hermanus and were blown away by the spectacle that is the whale season here. There was little public interest in this annual event at the time, neither locally not from abroad, however with a back-ground in African safaris and a family legacy of professional photography and postcard production, we set out immediately to bring to market a range of whale postcards, along with a wider range of the charming regional vistas. This brought us into very close contact with the whales above and below water, a process in which we ended up playing a somewhat controversial role in the establishment of boat based whale watching in South Africa, a no-brainer in order to both protect the whales from too much marine traffic and also to harnass this potential to attract thousands of visitors to our shores.
This website is a part of our story that took us half way around the world, only to come back and once again find challenges and joy in creating small and large, low-cost and high-end articles, often from recycled materials, by beachcombing, and by converting old jewellery into new, contemporary designs that once again will delight its owner. Our wish is to be true to our promise and provide our patrons with the very best service imaginable.
Ingo & Irmela Schirmer
SOUVENIRS
We started a booking platform for whale trips in the early 1990’s, and added to our portfolio the then still low-key great white shark excursions. Paired with our tourist retail outlet, this gave impetus to the idea of creating a range of souvenirs that captured the essence and beauty of the ocean and its creatures we are so priviledged to enjoy every day. Whale tails and shark tooth keyrings were the go-to, but over time countless items and models saw the light of day, of which the most popular and defining still make up the back bone of our trade (view the range here), all items that have practical and aesthetic appeal at the same time.
With the up-swing of the tourist industry in South Africa during the late 90’s, we discovered the magnificent recycled glass beads from central and western Africa, and began incorporating these in our beaded versions of the souvenirs, with great success. All souvenirs are hand designed by ourselves and cast from a zinc alloy locally cast in the western Cape, providing employment for a large number of trained-up specialists. To ascertain good quality control, every item is assembled and packaged by ourselves, and due to this time consuming process our market has always been limited to the captive audiences that come here to part take in the adventures of the Cape of Storms, or “Suidpunt” as the Dutch lineage refers to it.
After traveling the world for a decade, while working mostly on the ocean, our return to South Africa saw a revival of this enterprise with new ideas and even greater enthusiasm. It is thus that it was decided we should create a platform on which to show-case our products to make them available to a much wider audience, in the process bringing the beauty and the imperative of preserving our marine heritage to many more custodians. We hope and trust you get or give a lot of joy from every little “gem” you receive from us.
Driftwood & Shells
A life on the coast opens a treasure trove of materials that the ocean swallows up and spits out every day. Beautifully weathered wood, ground glass shards, empty shells of a multitude of creatures litter the sandy beaches and rocky headlands. Great for simple decoration, they also inspire to become creative and craft more complex artworks, many of which fulfill more than the sole decorative purpose. For this we need not harvest any creatures, cut down any trees, or consume much energy to produce the materials, as the sea does it all for us. We simply follow our creative spirits to make things of simple beauty, to bring a piece of the ocean into your home (view range here).
Recycled Jewelry
Blessed with an inheritance from a 1960s jewelry outlet, we have also ventured into jewelry design in order to re-purpose the somewhat antiquated designs, set in heavy gold and silver. These materials are molten down to craft more affordable and contemporary pieces, once again with the purpose to mimic the spirit of the ocean and Africa as a whole (view range here), while also catering to the younger generation with light, fun and affordable designs. All items are guaranteed the designated purity content (gold/silver/gemstone), but they do come at a more affordable price. All re-design and crafting is undertaken locally, feeding families and homes.
Oil Paintings
Having evolved from painting wild life on ostrich eggs for the tourist trade during my safari days in Namibia (SWA), Botswana and Zimbabwe, our re-location to the southern Cape Province provided me with the exposure to and subsequent dabbling in larger pieces of art, culminating in a focus on larger animal oil studies. The love of art however was never confined to this subject matter, and still lives, figure studies, ship wrecks and coastal landscapes all captured my imagination. While the paintings on this site may be limited for now, the process has only been re-booted, so watch this space (view paintings here).
Guaranteed Value
Every purchase carries with it a warranty, that the product you get is exactly what is described and promised. See postage and return policy here.
We hope and trust you will enjoy our products and look forward to hearing from you. We sincerely value your feed-back as we strive to improve the experience ever more (feed-back here).