African Queen Chandeliers

WORDS Tracy Greenwood PHOTOS Shavan Rahim

These exquisite chandeliers are fashioned from bleached jacaranda pods picked up off the streets.

Lorraine Piers, founder of McGregor-based African Queen Design Studio, has found a striking use for the thousands of jacaranda pods that drop from the trees in the town of Robertson each year. The pods are bleached, painted and then strung into show stopping chandeliers and lamps interspersed with beads and crystals.

The first wave of rolling blackouts the country experienced in 2009 got Lorraine to thinking about how dependent her business was on electricity. She also pondered ways to repurpose ‘waste’ products to create great designs.

‘Jacaranda pods were readily available in the Breede River Valley where we are based and because the jacaranda trees bloom annually we are guaranteed a steady annual supply of raw materials,’ says Lorraine. To top it all, no electricity or power tools are used to create our lamps and chandeliers.

Lorraine, who studied art restoration in Germany, moved back to SA after 21 years away to set up her own business. We found out why.

Why did you settle in McGregor?

I wanted to live in the country and be surrounded by nature.

What makes your seed pod

chandeliers special?

They are quite exquisite functional artworks. We only use waste materials and our aim is to create awareness for the need to be more circumspect and creative with the world of nature that surrounds us. Nature is the best artist.

How do you foster job creation in your community?

The chandeliers are labour intensive to put together thereby creating employment opportunities for unemployed locals.

For more information, visit africanqueen.org.za.