Art from the Heart

Watching blacksmiths at the forge, painters at the easel, cabinet makers at the chisel, and wandering the woods with a famous calligrapher in small, bespoke gatherings is what the Prince Albert Open Studios project is all about

- CHRIS MARAIS

Everything about Kashief Booley, the Blacksmith of Prince Albert in the Western Cape Karoo, says Old School. And watching him work in the Striking Metal smithy on a rise overlooking the village, with the majestic Swartberg range sweeping across the Prince Albert Valley and westwards all along the Klein Karoo, is to segue back a few centuries.

There’s a flaming forge, rows of handmade tools, hulking anvil, hissing water bucket and the all-important hammer. But then there are signs of the times – T-shirt and blue-denim jeans with the Bruce Springsteen cut, gas burners and angle grinders.

When I was a kid, it was, of course, all about being a cowboy one day when I grew up. Maybe a fireman. Now I’m a ballie, and all I really want to be is the village blacksmith. This guy. In this place.

The relatively well-heeled citizenry of Prince Albert and distant Cape Town fancy their custom-made goods, so there’s always a commission available for Kashief – a beautiful hand-forged set of hooks, door knockers, gates, balustrades, tables, stools and decor items of whimsy that look perfect somewhere in the cottage. He’ll tell you, “When that forge is lit, I go into another place.” It’s a place where an ancient craft meets a modern creative mind and together they make something special.