When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.
This is a motto that two entrepreneurs from the West Coast lived by when they decided to turn their passion and hobbies into businesses.
Lavern Maarman, from Malmesbury, is a graphic designer and proud owner of Lekke LaVie Designs and Lavi’s Protea Collection, while Amy Green, from Vredenburg, founded Bespoke Janey.
Maarman said the idea of starting her own business came to her as she sat doodling through a meeting at her former job.
“I’ve always been fascinated with the Protea flower. Where I come from it grows in the mountains. It endures all the hardships – sun, rain, wind and, yet, it still stands tall. So whenever I had time on my hands, whether it was with a pen in my hand or on my PC I would draw the flower.”
One day someone asked her why she doesn’t print her designs on t-shirts and earrings.
“I started with just a few samples – sold it to my colleagues and friends and they fell in love with it. The more they requested, the more the word spread and my business took flight.”
Maarman now sells everything from earrings to headbands and even clothing.
Last year, when she lost her sister and she needed an outlet for her grief, she began an art club for children in her community.
“If we’re honest, there’s no development of art and the encouraging thereof in our communities . I thought this was the perfect opportunity to start something and it’s working.”
Maarman has around 20 children who join her after-school classes .
“As creatives we’re always looking for spaces where we can express ourselves; with children it’s the same. We need to give them the opportunity to experiment with their creative side as well.”
Another entrepreneur who can’t keep her hands still is Green. She named her business after her grandmother, Katrina Johanna, who was affectionately known as Janey.
“She was very good at sewing. All her children and grandchildren have developed a love for working with our hands. Some of them do needlework, one is good with knitting and an other likes gardening. We discovered the therapy in it. I couldn't maintain all the above, but I knew I could work with my hands.”
As a child, Green spent afternoons after school digging up clay to play with.
“It was fun and the best years of my life.”
And it was memories of playing with clay as a child that inspired her to start her own business when she lost her job because of Covid-19.
“I could no longer afford a place to live and had to move into a one-bedroom apartment with my children. As a single mother, it made me despondent and as a coping mechanism, I mentally returned to my old loves and the joy and peace that art gave me. The rediscovery was monumental and I couldn't stop.”
In June 2020, she used the knowledge that she got from her father when they mixed concrete and the little she learnt in the engineering world. She began making “indestructible” concrete pots and moved on to earrings.
“I started teaching myself how cement works and how it reacts to water and different weather conditions. After a lot of research and (failures) I found the perfect recipe.
“I don't work with ceramic yet. But I will definitely be working with it in the near future. I currently work with concrete, gypsum, synthetic fibres and polymer clay.
“I design the pot or candle holder with a bowl or bed's foot, drill a few holes where holes are needed, sand it well and then I mould it with liquid silicone. If the silicone set I cast my concrete. And voila – a masterpiece.”
Weekend Argus