11 / curtain up:

When Amy Gould commissioned me to make curtains for her in her private capacity little did either of us realise how interconnected we were to become. During this time we got talking about what I had done and what she was doing and generally just getting to know each other. It was a meeting of the minds and much more. As she unfolded her plans for the creation of her theatre she asked if I could assist in making the curtains. During many more of our meetings and discussions I mentioned how my Granny had been involved with the making of the curtains for the Nico Malan Theatre (now known as Artscape) in Cape Town.

Ellen Olivier, my very talented granny, was a seamstress of absolute note. Clothing, curtains, upholstery-anything in fabric - she could make it. She built up her business sewing for many wealthy families in Cape Town and beyond. Families would hire her for a month or so, while she would sew up the family clothing for the next season. During the 30’s and the 40’s she was much in demand.

One of her famous clients was Ann, the wife of Nicholas Montserrat, the author “The Cruel Sea”. My gran would make her summer and winter wardrobes. Gran had wonderfully entertaining stories to tell of her time working for the Barlow family at Vergelegen Farm in Somerset West. She was convinced that the old farm was haunted! And I must say I believed her - after all the farm dates back to 1600’s.

During the early 60’s Gran started to teach my mom, Olive de Vos, her trade. Soon my mom was supervising a very well known curtain factory. During this period they manufactured the curtains for the Nico Malan Theatre.

In 1974 our family moved to Johannesburg. There she opened her own curtain factory. The Sun City Hotel was one of the first large projects she worked on.

Things have a habit of coming full circle - and today I am in the curtain making business after teaching for more than 20 years. After making the career switch 15 years ago the different projects are still exciting, still challenging. I am so proud to be associated with The Theatre On-Main.

Ellandra Steyn is the owner of Insight Interiors based in Heathfield in Cape Town.