Words: Melissa van Rooyen
In the year 2000 the small farm, that was to become Kleinood, was very different from what it is now. Although its inherent natural beauty and charm was always there, it was, sadly, just a run down and neglected little fruit farm in a beautiful valley against a backdrop of majestic mountains and a river running through it. But it stole our hearts and we decided to give it our best.
Kleinood, the Afrikaans word from Dutch and German origin, means “something small and precious”.
In good time we established vineyards and an olive grove. We then built the winery and started producing wine and then olive oil. The rest of the farm was left wild, or planted with fynbos and roses and vegetables and fruit trees.
Over time, Kleinood has become a personal and highly individual project where no effort was spared in striving to produce a thing of excellence and beauty underpinned with a holistic philosophy dedicated to explore, develop and use the full potential of the farm and human skills in order to produce the best Kleinood is capable of.
Now, twenty one years later, Kleinood is known amongst those who value attention to detail as the home of coveted Tamboerskloof Wines and de Boerin Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
As the Kleinood gardens grew, and became more bountiful with each new spring, the flowers and scents brought the need to create objects and extracts that capture the delight and beauty of these enchanting moments.
INTRODUCING THE DE BOERIN COLLECTION
An ever-evolving collection of Goodly Things, inspired by and hand made on Kleinood Farm.
PART I: THE PANTRY
Produce from Kleinood farm tended and harvested by capable hands
and made with generosity and care.
Because of the nature of Kleinood, where everything happens organically and often by pure coincidence, the acclaimed de Boerin Extra Virgin Olive oil was orig inally the only de Boerin product. De Boerin Verjus followed a few years later and only when our bees were settled did we start harvesting and bottling the much loved de Boerin honey.
PART II: THE FLORILEGIUM
A gathering of flowers, or collection of fine extracts from the Kleinood gardens.
As the Kleinood gardens grew and became more bountiful with each new spring, the flowers and scents brought the need to create objects and extracts that capture the delight and beauty of these enchanting moments. And so the Eau de Parfum, the candles, the soaps, the mists and so much more came into being.
PART III: FROM TIMES WHEN PEOPLE STILL HAD TIME
Because made by hand matters the mindfulness, the simplicity and one pair of nimble hands.
Since its small beginnings, Kleinood has taken pride in the hands that make it grow. It has become part of the ethos of living close to and off the land. Thus everything de Boerin has to offer is made individually and by hand. Every apron, mitten, frock, blanket and bib was made by de Boerin women who wish to make real things, from real fabrics and yarns in real-time.
Goodly Things by de Boerin is exclusively available from The Cupboard of Curiosities in the Kleinood tastingroom, or via the brand new Kleinood Online Store.
PRECIOUS GOODLY THINGS
From the new de Boerin Collection, here are a few of our favourite things:
Bath Bouquets:
a warm bath on a cold night
a cool bath on a balmy afternoon
a soothing comfort
for heart aches
and back aches
and burnt skin and bruises
for happiness
and mornings after
for spring in winter
for making the world a better place.
Dried flowers, herbs, roots and fruits foraged on the farm, tied tightly into the softest muslin. A set of 7 bath bouquets – one for each new day. Simply add to your bath water.
Opsit Kers: A candle which was burned to determine the length of a suitor’s or sweetheart’s visit.
Uit die tyd
toe dinge nog eenvoudig was
en ‘n kêrel
goed geweet het sy kuiertyd is haas verby
en hy sy ry moet kry
wanneer die kers
sy laaste flikker gee –
of dan
altemitters
maar die kat
in die donker
knyp…
A set of 4 dinner candles made with a blend of bees- and soy wax and scented with natural organic oils inspired by the Kleinood gardens and forest. Lovingly poured by hand into a rusty old tin mould from the 1700s, and cured in salty water.
Pure Soap: “Cleanliness is next to godliness.”
pure, unscented
soap bar
handmade,
with extra virgin olive oil,
beeswax
and sheep’s milk
for your body,
your hair,
your hands
your baby,
your jerseys,
your undies
and just about everything else.
600g Cold process soap. Poured by hand and cured for six weeks.
Felt Hottie Bag:
From times when people still had time…
For a snuggle,
for headaches, bellyaches, cramps,
the cold, a cold,
and aches that don’t answer to “Where does it hurt?”
for heartbreak and self-doubt,
Mondays, elections or a regrettable amount of limoncello.
Like a fireplace,
or down comforter, you can’t improve
on the charming, harmless old hot water bottle.
Pure wool felted hot water bottle cover.
Kleinood Eau de Parfum:
Composed and developed of all the whiffs, scents, fragrances, perfumes, bouquets and balms of the pure and natural essential oils found in plants that grow on Kleinood farm.
On a balmy summer afternoon, walking along the dam wall planted with Cape Fynbos, indigenous grasses and reeds and overlooking the vineyards, formal gardens and olive groves, we were seduced into the project that was to become Kleinood Eau de Parfum.
It was to capture this little farm, with all it stands for, through the scent that hung in the air at that moment and on so many other late afternoons. Not only to capture the scent, but also, the heat, the breeze, the sounds, the peacefulness and the warm nurturing soil underfoot.
On Kleinood we have always put terroir first in the wine we make. So too, it is ever present in our olive oil and honey. Why then, if one could taste terroir, could one not wear it and smell it and smell of it?
Then followed hours in the garden, picking, smelling, crushing leaves, developing ideas and discarding them for new ones, smelling, discussing new discoveries, thinking in scents and images, re-discovering the garden, the mountain, the sky, the heat and every moment of every summer afternoon on this little farm that we love with all our hearts.
Natural Parfum, 50ml
THE DE BOERIN CUPBOARD OF CURIOSITIES
Kleinood is not only about wine.
The Cupboard of Curiosities does not have the vaguest resemblance to the traditional concept of the “encyclopedic collections of objects” or “Wunderkammer’; but is quite simply, a Pandora’s box of unassuming, authentic and sometimes unapologetically voluptuous handcrafted de Boerin ware to smell, to taste, to use or to give …
Find it in the Tastingroom on Kleinood Farm.
MORE ABOUT DE BOERIN
Annetjie Boom, the wife of Jan van Riebeeck’s gardener, Hendrik Boom, was the first innkeeper and restaurateur in the Cape Colony in 1665. She too was the first woman to own land. Annetjie Boom was a dependable, capable and innovative businesswoman and successful farmer, far ahead of her time. She was highly respected and well-loved by the small community of the Cape of Good Hope. The Kleinood de Boerin was derived from the nickname, Annetjie de Boerin, as she was fondly called by the Dutch burghers.
The image representing de Boerin is not of a successful and enterprising woman, but that of an unassuming peasant woman working the land, alone against a stark and bleak landscape. The image, by Vincent van Gogh, depicts her as a humble person quietly going about earning a meager living. She is not downtrodden or pathetic, but grounded and authentic. She is unapologetically voluptuous. Her skirts are ample, and her hands are firm and able. She too is a capable and dependable woman.
Visit Kleinood at www.kleinood.com | Shop online at www.kleinood.com/store | Contact Melissa van Rooyen: melissa@kleinood.com