Daily Despatch 09-Oct-08It took a Portuguese man who worked in baggage handling at Johannesburg International Airport to spot the gap and turn the humble ostrich egg into the iconic tourist souvenir it is today.
Carlos Garcez, who was born in Mozambique, has built up a very successful business in the little Karoo town of Aberdeen. He creates a variety of images on the eggs, from African animals and world maps to more arty designs.
The process is an intricate one and it can take up to eight hours to paint one egg, excluding drying time. These decoupage eggs have become a huge hit among foreign tourists, and are even exported to countries such as the United States, Dubai, Germany, Holland and the Czech Republic.
Garcez’ work is also displayed at the local art gallery and other establishments. Eggs with world maps sell for about R740 each and the others for R970.
Garcez, who was taught the basics of decoupage and expanded his knowledge through reading, said he did extensive research before embarking on this business.
“I went around to selling outlets in Johannesburg and Cape Town to see what they were buying,” said Garcez. One woman apparently told him she would never buy a decoupage ostrich egg as it was ‘kitschy work’. But despite this, there was a market and he set the ball rolling.
Garcez said he always wanted to do art and wanted to move to Italy as a youth to become a textile designer. “In Mozambique, if you studied art you were seen as very left wing and that just made life difficult. So instead, I had to go into the family hotel business,” he said.
As a ‘Jack-of-all-trades’, Garcez believes curiosity is the most important aspect in life. “Without curiosity you will go nowhere, but curiosity should be branded with responsibility,” Garcez said.
After moving to Johannesburg in 1972, Garcez worked as a baggage handler at the airport and soon worked his way up to marketing and sales manager. When his wife died, he decided to follow his curiosity.
“I had enough of people telling me what to do. I’m a bit daring that way and I’ve always loved the Karoo,” he said.
Initially he settled in Graaff-Reinet, but then decided Aberdeen was the place for him and has been in the town for 12 years now.
“When I first came here, I had to find a source of income,” he said. A friend suggested doing decoupage ostrich eggs.
He has now built up a little empire selling over 1700 eggs a year, and has even created several much-needed jobs.Decoupage is the art of decorating an object by gluing coloured paper cutouts onto it in combination with special paint effects, such as gold leaf, before covering the object with varnish.
Article By: Nicolette Scrooby & Cheri-Ann James (Copyright Daily Despatch)