Tuesday, December 10, 2013

AVOOVA OPENS A NEW SHOP IN PRINCE ALBERT

On Thursday evening a group of people gathered for the opening of the new AVOOVA shop in Prince Albert. 

Gideon Engelbrecht, the founder, started working with  eggshell around 2001, and then around 2004/5 he called his business AVOOVA.  He was using various raw materials such as wood together with the eggshell, and producing bowls, tables and other items.

Tom Goddard, the current CEO and majority shareholder met Gideon in 2004 and started to work with him in 2005.  Gideon then left Prince Albert in 2010, and sold his shares in the company in 2012.

The staff in Prince Albert are encouraged to come up with designs and several have taken up the challenge very successfully,  Tom says.  The new Abiso bowl was designed by Abraham Esau and his name is incorporated into the name of the bowl.  This bowl is now part of the main range.  Tom also does some of the designing himself, and they have also had designs from the likes of Sally Arnold in the past, which fall under the Designer Collection.

These products are created by a group of artists and artisans who produce items of beauty and sophistication from raw materials such as wood, silver, copper and stainless steel.  Each one a masterpiece.

Tom has grown the business and there are now 57 people  employed in manufacture and retailing in Prince Albert, and a further 12 people are employed in his Cape Town and other outlets.

Tom says that their main focus has been South Africa, but they export a limited range to 15 countries.  He says " the new factory space will allow us to scale up production for export and we are now actively pursuing opportunities for an AVOOVA retail presence in certain strategically important markets in Africa and overseas."




Tom Goddard with his wife Vitoria and daughter Rosie.





















 AVOOVA SHOPS:

97 Bree Street, Cape Town  (021-4221620)

V&A Waterfront, Shop 6246, 2nd Floor, Cape Town  (021-4194197)

Shop 3 Franschhoek Square, 32 Huguenot Street, Franschhoek  (021-8763503)

Shop 51B, Upper Mall, Hyde Park, Sandton  (011-3254793)




Once again I am having problems with the site and cannot get my spacings between photos correct. Sorry



Saturday, November 23, 2013

THE SHOWROOM OPENING WITH NIANELL

Prince Albert was treated to a night on the town with hosts Johnny Breedt and Charon Landman at the opening of their spectacular new theatre, The Showroom.  The recently renovated building, originally of art deco design, was given a face-lift to include the new theatre, a magnificent entrance, rest rooms, kitchen etc.  Grand chandeliers hang from the ceiling, and attention to detail is visible in all the decor and finishes.

The dress code was formal, and it was fabulous to see those from Prince Albert and visitors alike, all dressed up for the occassion.  I loved the eccentricities of some, and was fascinated by others.  I think some mistook a night at the theatre for a day at the July.  But who cares?  Fun was had by all.

Pongraz flowed freely all night and delicious snacks of which prawns, carpaccio, strawberries dipped in chocolate and macaroons were just a few.  I was too busy with my camera to notice all the food.

Nianell gave an impressive performance, and I was totally struck by the range and strength of her voice! She says it took her a long time to break into the industry and be signed up, but has now sung with many of the greats such as Andrea Boccelli.

At the end of the evening, all the guests received a gift of a Nianell CD and a showroom pen, all beautifully wrapped.

Johnny and Charon, I salute you for a fantastic job well done!








































































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