UMHLOBO WENENE'S PHIWE NOZEWU GETS CREATIVE WITH CAPITEC MERCHANT A ‘PEACE’ OF ART
We mark Father’s Day with Pastor The DJ and his two boys at the arts and crafts centre, and Capitec Merchant, A ‘Peace’ of Art.
Since opening their doors in Gqeberha, arts and craft centre, A ‘Peace’ of Art, has provided the tools and the space to help unlock artistic talent, realise creative potential and learn important life skills by making beautiful objects. We chatted to go-getter founder and owner Nelmari Oosthuysen about her business journey.
“A ‘Peace’ of Art started in 2005 in a small little town outside of Port Elizabeth. I decided that I needed to have a business before I turned 30, so it was a dream come true that I started my birthday on the 1st of May, just six days before my birthday,” shares Nelmari Oosthuysen, the owner of A ‘Peace’ of Art.
The business has since grown and moved to a bigger shop in the city. The space is jam-packed with a variety of arts and crafts as well as rooms that can host kids parties, creative workshops and team building events.
Nelmari studied Psychology and Industrial Psychology and is extremely passionate about the mental and social development resulting from being creative. It was while doing her Masters that she realised the impact of working with one’s hands, and this is what led to the birth of the creative space and eventually the addition of the shop.
“When I’m not here, I’m usually at the school or children’s home where we specifically do art therapy. There we use the advantages of creativity and crafts to teach people how to handle life better.”
As the business grew, Nelmari knew she needed the right support.
“The reason I decided to become part of Capitec is because I just heard good things about them,” shares Nelmari proudly before adding how easy it was to open a merchant account.
“The whole process was done in my shop. Someone came to see my shop and I did the rest online. I never had to visit a branch. This really helped me as a business owner who struggles with having enough time in a day,” she says.
Capitec solidified the relationship by impressing her from the very beginning.
“I locked myself out of my banking account with the wrong password when it was still a new account. It was on a public holiday so I was thinking, ‘that’s it I’ll have to wait for the bank to open.’ I however logged onto Capitec’s website and tried a little bit here and there, and they actually phoned me. They helped me there and then to change my password so I could continue with my work,” said the business owner.
A ‘Peace’ of Art runs workshops through the week, and hosts craft classes ranging from resin and acrylic pouring, to mosaics, scrapbooking, beading, and cement art on Saturdays. To mark Father’s Day, they invited popular Umhlobo Wenene radio presenter and breakfast show co-host, Pastor the DJ, to the space along with sons Phawu and Lwethu.
In addition to being a dad and working on one of South Africa’s biggest radio stations, Pastor, aka Sisanda Phawu Nozewu, is also a music producer, entertainer, and MC.
As it turns out, the Eastern Cape born dad and his boys are naturally curious and enjoy getting creative. With some guidance from Nelmari, they got crafty with paint and enjoyed uninterrupted quality time together.
“In the last two hours that we were working on this project I noticed how focused we were. It was comfortable, peaceful… and therapeutic to a certain extent. It’s something that I’d love to come back and do again. Perhaps giving yourself an hour or two a week just to sit down and focus on something. It really does heal. There’s just something about it that calms you down,” shares Phawu.
“My hope for A ‘Peace’ of Art is that it brings some love and tranquility to the people that visit us. I want this to be a place of hope. Where people can come to relax and break away from their everyday problems, and realise that there’s still a lot of hope to look forward to,” ends Nelmari.
