SHOW biz

Twenty years ago, Kamers Vol Geskenke (Rooms Full of Gifts) started out as a small market with 40 vendors in a Stellenbosch home. Today, Kamers/Makers is the largest artisanal pop-up event in Africa

- LIESL ROBERTSON

When Wanda du Toit first heard about Kamers Vol Geskenke in 2003, she was annoyed. 'At the time, I had a bricks-and-mortar shop and I thought, "How bloody irritating - taking my customers." She laughs. By year three, Wanda had sold her shop, and Amelia van Zyl, the original founder of Kamers, asked her to come on board to do merchandising. She jumped at the opportunity.

Magdel Kemp joined the team around the same time. She'd lived next door to Amelia as a student, and one day they ran into each other and started chatting. She told me about Kamers, and she said, "We've been going for two years now, and every year everyone thinks they're going to quit. You know, we make money, but we don't know where the money goes, and in the end we don't know whom to pay." As someone who loved sorting out the admin side of things, Magdel thought this sounded like the ultimate fixer-upper project. I'm very, very good with detail, budgets, admin, logistics, that kind of thing,' she says. 'So I offered to get involved.'

'Without Magdel we would still be wondering, "Where did that money go?" Wanda says.

Wanda acquired more and more shares as the years went by, and by 2015, when Amelia decided to pursue other interests, Magdel bought her out and became a co-owner with Wanda. 'I honestly believe we only took the name,' she says. 'Which we then changed! The way we’ve grown the business and transformed the business… I’m very proud of our team. We have only five permanent staff members: me; Magdel; Heleen, my creative assistant; Yolandi, the project manager; and JeanneMari, who does our books.’

Going places