The 'mood wall' in Frances's studio is covered with a selection of her current inspirations from the Karoo landscape, ranging from seed heads to twigs and plant stems adorned with tiny greygreen foliage. Natural, undyed, hand-spun skeins of mohair in various yarn thicknesses are stored in the baskets on the floor.
Frances continually experiments with colours and yarn weights, as well as with the ways these might be blended together in a single rug design.
A rug in progress on a loom. Each individual rug produced by Frances V.H is the sort of very contemporary luxury item that Frances describes as “rare, once-off, sustainable, trend-free, timeless, unique to the individual's taste, and handmade.”
And as this is a working farm, there’s plenty of everyday administration, logistics, packaging of orders, and fixing of equipment forming an inevitable part of running a business such as hers too. Reflecting both the uniqueness of the Karoo’s everchanging landscapes and her personal passion for mohair as a fibre, Frances’s rugs demonstrate her view that “South African mohair should be recognised in the same way cashmere is in Scotland or alpaca in Peru—and to achieve this we need to create exceptional locally made, finished products.” This is why Frances V.H creations are luxurious in the most contemporary sense: not as a result of being costly, but because Frances’ captivating rugs encapsulate what she describes as a “worldview” that is all about “clean air, open spaces, an appreciation for nature, meals around a table with friends and family, and building a home in which you feel safe, calm and functional.” 56 Rare Magazine
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