We received this very special commission from Gert Gertzen Interiors for a prestigious new residential home on a farm near Stellenbosch.
“Hi Gerrit,
We will be needing 16 sq meter plus waste ? of tiles all of the fade look …..like 2-the farm yard , 1 delft style , 2delft style all with the grey back ground must have an old look about them.
Can you give me a idea of price before we going any further…..as my client loves your product.”

The final choice was the 1 in 3 image, with not one image repeating. Hundreds of farm animals, figures, birds, flowers, etc. were researched and hand painted in minute detail.
This new residential home is designed and build within the true Cape Dutch Vernicular but the request was for a Delft-style hand painted tile that was soft and not in your face. The artist received cartblanche with the decorative work and they proceeded at full throttle to paint hundreds of different images.
The animals, mostly related to farm-life, includes pigs, dogs, horses, sheep, cows, etc. and birds like roosters, chickens, ducks, peacocks, etc.
The figures were based on children playing, adults at work and play, hunters, horse riders, etc.
This property is newly redeveloped near Lanzerac in Stellenbosch, and a close resemblance of activities and farm life will be experienced when the viewer engage with these unique tiles.

The pre-fired tile looks quite different from the final product. Special clay bodies and glazes need to be used to achieve this high quality tile and unique finish. Originally Delft was based on low-fired Majolica glazes, but we seldom use low-fire techniques due to the high quality expected from professional teams.

Some of the tiles at the studio before sorting and dispatch. This order for 1700 tiles necessitated the production of 4200 tiles to ensure a successful delivery within the deadline received for this project.

“Ten einde laaste is die mure geteel en lyk baie goed………”
We are still waiting for the images of the final installations and I dearly hope to receive the approval to display it publicly on our websites.
