Having spent 15+ years teaching Creative Arts in Cape Town, my husband (Garth) and I (Lauren) chose to leave the city hustle and raise our young children in the slower, small coastal village of Kleinmond.
My first year there (2023) was spent in the trenches of Toddler Parenthood, learning the invaluable importance of Creative Play. While I love the Montessori approach of open play, their ‘beige’ coloured toys did not appeal to my little ones; they wanted colour – and lots of it.
As a new mother, I was challenged through the question, ‘what is the legacy you will leave?’ – I didn’t want my legacy of parenthood to be a mountain of plastics in a landfill. I have always loved wooden toys, but sadly didn’t have the budget to afford them… and those that were affordable were often cheap foreign imports – not the sustainable, eco-friendly option I wanted. So I began to make my own. By that I mean, I designed them, and Garth quickly upped his wood work skills to cut/ construct them. I finished them off, painting all the designs by hand. We currently work in our home studio.
In June 2024, we took a huge leap of faith and applied for a local Winter Market which resulted in the Hermanus Country Market organizers inviting us to join their weekly markets. Since then, we have supplied bespoke ranges to Great White House in Gansbaai, Grootbos Nature Reserve in Gansbaai, Cheverells Farm in Elgin, Tokara wine farm in Stellenbosch, and created a range of toys for Babylonstoren. We are looking forward to joining the KAMERS family in October/November.
Wholehearted Workshops began as an extension of our Homeschooling Journey. If I was doing fun, creative activities with my daughter, perhaps there were others who might want to join? We now offer creative hands-on twice a month at coffee shops in and around Kleinmond. Find out more about our upcoming workshops HERE.
As we gain confidence in our Homeschooling journey, so I will be releasing the resources I have created and covered with my daughter. They are filled with worksheets and practical activities that cover the necessary CAPS aligned subjects. We are currently covering Grade R. Join us as we grow! Find the downloadable resources HERE.