Gone Rural launched their 2011 collection in partnership with Lisa Strapp of Blancanvas in Morningside on March 10th 2011. Creative Director Philippa Thorne created a display of the new collection at the Blancanvas Showroom which will now be open for Gone Rural clients to visit at their leisure. Lisa Strapp is the Gone Rural representative for the Gauteng region.

The weekend before Christmas, House on Fire hosted the infamous “Soweto String Quartet”.  The concert held a spectacular Christmas theme with the Quartet doing a set of well known Christmas Carol melodies, alongside them Swazi Choral groups sang to their hearts delight.  A Christmas market place ran in conjunction with the event, where Gone Rural showcased our gorgeous, innovative Christmas decorations.

The real star of the show in our opinion was our very own Philippa Thorne who blew us away with her flute ensemble with local award winning Swazi soul artist ‘Bholoja”, after the Soweto String Quartet’s performance.  They were electrifying on stage, their explosive energy even managed to cause an electrical power cut!! It took awhile for the electricity to comeback on but that didn’t stop the crowd still jamming by candlelight!  Congratulations to Phil!

It was not without considerable effort that Julie and I made it to the 1st Food Wine Design fair in Johannesburg last weekend. This included lugging 22 boxes, an up-cycled bench and 2 tyre tables up two parking lots on to the roof top of Hyde Park Shopping Centre.

It was amongst a sumptuous array of local culinary delights and home grown design that we showed our wares. We discovered that Gone Rural classics are still a favorite. Place mats, Baskets and Floor Mats that last a lifetime. One customer was even back for more after seeing the products in his home. Quote " I can feel the energy in the products - I love products like this"

We also launched "Preisstess" my new fashion label...this is for all the fashion intuitive out there, up-cycled and connected. 1st store stocking is The State of The Nation in 44 Stanley, JBH. Look out for more about Priesstess soon!

Thanks to Trevyn and Julian McGowen of Source Design who curated the design exhibition...

and a massive thanks to all who visited us, brought and supported...

Phil Reisstess

Phil and I were invited to visit the Her Royal Highness The Queen Mother “Indlovukazi” to tell her the fantastic news of E6 million funding that SWIFT (Swaziland Fair Trade) has received. The funding was provided by Comic Relief in partnership with Shared Interest for capacity building in the handcraft sector in Swaziland.

The Indlovukazi is very involved with rural development and holds women’s empowerment dear to her heart.  She has started a number of successful businesses that empower women, one of her successes being “Swazi Secrets” (available in the Gone Rural store).

The funding will be used to assist handcrafters in marketing, market access, product development and business skills. Swift aims to reach at least 100 Swazi handcraft businesses in the first year through training, and assistance registering formal companies. In following years these firms will be assisted in reaching trade shows both in Southern Africa and globally. The Queen Mother, Phil, and I cannot wait to see what the coming year will hold for Swazi handcrafts!

We have a belief system here at Gone Rural that is a key element to the success of the business. We believe that each and every person has an immense power within them and that all you have to do to bring it to action is to believe that you can do anything.

I cannot tell you how many times our thought patterns have created a reality. For instance we were wishing for mobile clinics to assist our women with vital healthcare a few days later I saw a lady outside and got to chatting to her, showed her around the workshop and told her of our wish list. This lady turned out to be the head of the United Nations Development Fund in Swaziland. One year later and we have our Mobile Wellness Clinic that currently services 3101 people in the communities that we work in. Proof tht you don't have to think about the how, just concentrate on how good its going to feel when your will manifests.

I hope to see the day that everyone wakes up to the knowledge that the power of the Universe lies within all of us and people start to tap into that power to create change for good. I believe it will happen,so one day it will!

Starts on a mountain,

growing wild,

harvested annually,

enriched with colour,

placed in the hands of rural women,

Woven with love,

In a form of meditation…….

Beauty emerges.

Embracing the tradition,

Reverently handled & spiritually packaged

In service to the makers

Sent out to the world. 

Anticipated by caretakers

Joyfully opened

Beautifully presented

It breathes the language of the soul

In silent inspiration

Captivating humanity

Illuminating your home