Vargafon Sample Publication 1

Hinterveld “Nothing is more important than quality. Nothing at all”.

Hinterveld (based in Uitenhage) is the latest evolution of the group, where six generations worth of knowledge and experience is brought to bear in the art of processing, spinning, dyeing and manufacturing the ‘Diamond Fibre’, Mohair.

Mohair South Africa The rest of the world is downright infatuated with it, in a way that is feverish and desperate.

Since the early 70’s the headquarters of the Mohair Industry was nestled securely in the heart of Port Elizabeth’s fibre industry in close proximity of the brokers and the buyers. Today it is the home of the South African Mohair Trust.

Lindsay Humphreys, Marketing Manager at Mohair SA explains that many iconic props and costumes in movies and television have been made from mohair. Remember the orange couch from Friends? The one they used to sit on in the coffee shop?

That’s made from mohair. The Chewbacca costume from Star Wars? That’s a blend of half Yak and half mohair.

There is a lot of science behind this industry.” Says Anle Marias, Marketing Manager at Mohair SA. “We work closely with research organizations that perform bleeding edge market research and macro and micro trend forecasting, in order to anticipate and predict which way tastes and styles will go.”

2014 has big things in store for the local market, as Anlé explains. “The central theme for us this year is to share the green and sustainable aspect of what we do in our industry internationally. Telling the story of mohair and all the people associated with it, such as the sixth generation farmers and the communities that work alongside and support them, is a huge priority for us.

The immense amount of respect we have for them cannot be expressed in words.

The Karoo has so much depth and beauty.”

And the awesome thing is that at some time or another just about ALL the mohair in the world is produced or passes through Port Elizabeth and the Eastern Cape. So the Friends couch and the most famous Wookee in the world has quite a lot of the Eastern Cape woven into it.

Bridge Street Centre Simply put, it’s about feeling good, and keeping it that way.

Sustainability is a hot topic currently being bandied about, but what does it really mean? Ask anyone, and they might say that it’s something to do with the environment; perhaps saving Rhinos. Or maybe even about recycling. Sustainability is the potential for long-term maintenance of well being.

Something Good The roadhouse was what tied it all together.

Growing up, summertime in Port Elizabeth consisted of one all-important thing: The Beach. It had something for everyone.

The roadhouse is quintessentially American, like the drive-inn. And it became an institution I grew up with.

Little kids had their sandcastles; teenagers had the surf. Parents had an awesome place to take their kids that didn’t cost an arm and a leg, and Grannies and Grandpas got to laze in the sun.

“You must understand, that this incarnation of Something Good is not just a simple re-opening of the doors. We took the time to really do our homework on this one.” he explained. “Something Good has a pleth-

ora of deeply personal connotations associated with it. It meant many things to so many people. So we’ve done our research, and taken great pains to re-capture that special something that made this roadhouse such an iconic and much loved landmark in Port Elizabeth.”

It is a mindset that must be embraced and made one’s own in order to be truly effective. And the best place to start thinking in sustainable terms, is the home. After all, a home is a place we spend the majority of our time in so it makes sense that we attempt to change habits in an environment we frequent the most often.

The good folks at Bridge Street Centre ‘walk the talk’ in terms of sustainability.

The beauty of coming to a centre like this is that the businesses are all knowledgeable in our own fields and we work very well together. It is also extremely convenient as we offer so much under one roof.

Camden Leading the local high quality hand-made scene.

Camden carries a signature ensemble range of homewear and decor personally chosen by owners Donné and Nikki.

Think of Richmond Hill, and you think of Camden. Sisters Donné and Nikki were part of the first wave of young and edgy entrepreneurs prepared to risk it all in what

Hanson’s Meat Pantry and Deli Synonymous with locally sourced good quality meats.

Let’s go back to the origins of the business for a second to put everything in proper context. The original store was a butchery which was started and run for many years

by Val and Rod Hanson.

It was on Shelley’s return from a stint working in New York that she decided to start her own enterprise using Hanson’s as a

base. She started a very successful Deli section, and then went on to open a branch in Walmer.

There are three awards on the wall behind the counter. “These are Cleaver awards.” explains Shelley. “It’s a national quality control competition run by the Meat Board of South Africa and there are many differ-

ent categories. The criteria you are judged on are many. It’s things like hygiene; quality of product and service. They arrive unannounced and inspect everything; wipe your surfaces; inspect your prep areas; your bathrooms and so on. We won three times in a row as a family.”

has become PE’s lifestyle hub. It took a lot of hard work, but what started as a little slice of retail heaven has since grown into one of the Eastern Cape’s best kept secrets.

Our focus is heavily on keeping our clients happy by giving them the levels of qual-

ity service, something not usually associated with smaler retailers, but we feel this should be the norm locally.

After all these years I still get goose bumps when we get emails from happy customers.” smiles Donné. ”It’s like ‘yeah man!’ and high fives all around.”