[ The story behind it all. ]
When your brother and his wife’s dream is to get married on the farm – your family realizes the potential and decides to build a venue. But, we do it ‘ourselves’ with the help of men that have grown up with my father and a new community where nothing is too much.
What an incredible privilege and humbling experience.
The hope is that the joy and excitement of this very sentimental place can be shared with others.
A labour of love.
[ And frustration. And too little time. ]
The origins of this project was born from a stubborn sentimentality that prompted my dad to make the suggestion of building a venue that could later be hired out, rather than hiring a tent. It was a back and forth until 14 February 2024 when the final decision was made to build a venue for my brother’s wedding the 20th of April 2024.
And just to add to the challenge – the budget was tight and the structure needs to be disassembled in a few years and moved to a new location. With this in mind my dad sourced old oregon trusses that were to be used – which arrived in pieces… and then had to be redesigned and rebuilt.
These trusses and the structure’s temporality determined the design of the venue. The aim, however, was to bring the outside in and to highlight this little piece of heaven – die erf.
So, many late nights, KFC runs and a few tears later – Die Erf was built.
Why ‘Die Erf’ and why it’s only a pop-up?
The story behind the name ‘Die Erf’ –
Once upon a time… the year 2007, my dad bought a farm to one day settle on (when he leaves his day job) – Vierfontein – and on this farm was nothing but veld and an old mud brick house with 3 rooms. As my dad started cultivating the land, my mom began renovating the forgotten house into a home ‘for now’.
After years of exploring the farm and finding a deep love for the land, my mom found a place where she wanted to build her forever home. A place that has an indescribable peacefulness about it – ‘n stilte sal sy sê – my erf.
This dream, however, became part of the five year plan… that keeps renewing every five years. Fortunately, my brother’s wedding came at the start of one of the 5 year cycles allowing ‘Die Erf’ venue to pop up. Built to be disassembled in a few years, Die Erf venue will one day find a new location to make way for my mom to finally build her home on her erf.
If you are going to go big… go massive.
The front door of steel was actually a gate in its previous life.
Too heavy for the motor and wobbling dangerously when in motion, this gate stood open and unmoving for most of its life. Until my dad had the great idea to re-purpose it, instead of building an entirely new door of steel.
Unforgettable, especially for those who had the difficult task of getting it to where it belonged.
And so this pivoting giant, along with its frame, came to be.
Pivoting Giant.
[ What a love story. ]