This is not  a “fairy” story  but is about a real family living in our community.

“There has always been an appreciation for beautiful things in our home. Perhaps it is because there are six young daughters and a crafty mother dreaming and imagining what they will make tomorrow. From the first moment any of us could hold a needle or a pair of scissors, we have been happily creating beautiful, original handmade gifts for our friends and family.  Love, smiles and a great deal of thought goes into every  stitch and seam and some things became too special to the family to be given away.  As our home became a storehouse for our creations, we realised that the  gifts and treasures which brought us so much joy in creation could be shared and enjoyed by others all over the world.

Heartmade is not just another gift store;  it is a passion and hobby combined, the dream of a family who love to embrace the beauty of giving and sharing”

Come and meet Kelly and Nancy at the market every Saturday

Once upon a time, just over 6 years ago, Ben Snow, a young English blacksmith, arrived in South Africa. His motives for the move were our sunny shores and his then South African girlfriend, Lisa. Never in his wildest dreams did he think he would become a king. After much discussion around the many braais to which Ben was invited, he saw a gap in the market for a compact, stainless steel charcoal burner. He imagined that this burner would be his bread and butter line and he could then go on to creating ornamental wrought iron ware. But alas, that never happened. The Potjie King’s burner has become so popular, exporting to Australia, Namibia and Germany, that he just manages to keep up with production. And oh yes, the story doesn’t end there. Ben became a king, married the beautiful Lisa and together they have cute Princess Isabella. They haven’t found a suitable palace as yet but a happily ever after is predicted.

Back in the day when Scarab Market was on their original site and the present market site was a large and heavily treed plant nursery, small wild animals used to roam the bush in that area.  With the devastation of the floods, many of the trees died and thus the habitation of these small animals diminished.  Occasionally small hoof prints are seen in the sand, various poisonous snakes have given a few ‘skriks’ and the tortoises still roam freely.

So when our large spotted leaf arums disappeared overnight, we were outraged.    Influenced by the night mare stories we are bombarded with by the media we imagined unscrupulous gardeners, of which Sedgefield possibly has a few (That’s conjecture m’lord) carting off barrow loads of much loved arums.

On closer inspection the evidence revealed that porcupines had cleanly removed the plants at a midnight feast.  Perhaps it was Porcupine New Year or the Year of the Lily in Porcupinedom. Who knows but only in Sedgefield, hey.

Just how lucky can one town be?  We live in what is considered a paradise, without the pressure of traffic, pollution and  lack of space. And then just so we don’t  feel  lonely or isolated  –  the world comes to visit US!   When we all start to get on each others nerves,  the world goes back to where they came from and peace and tranquillity settles on our quiet and slow town.

This year it seemed that a larger portion of the world visited us  and for once the weather  put on her sunniest smile.

At the market we saw cats in hats, dogs galore, hairstyles that defied gravity and plenty of visitors relaxing and enjoying our casual life style.   A big thank  you to all who brought  your friends and family to support us.  In the words of an old family tradition  “Thanks for coming and thanks for going” – but please come back again next  holidays