THE AFRICAN QUEEN STUDIO'S unique products are completely handmade and original. Due to the frequent power outages in our rural area in South Africa, we were made very aware of our dependence on electricity for production.

Hence we had to think out of the box ........ I noticed the seedpods which were lying on the streets of our nearby town of Robertson, which is graced by avenues of Jacaranda trees.

The beautiful forms and shapes of these seedpods inspired me to work with them. We started experimenting, and ... Voila ... the magic began!

The African Queen Studio specialises in creating unique high quality handmade chandeliers, jacaranda pod framed mirrors, and other décor items using natural material, which are embellished with beads, crystals and other interesting pieces.

Now, the jacaranda seedpods are collected by local residents, then cleaned and processed in our studio in Mc Gregor, before being strung into exciting chandeliers.

This labour intensive process creates more employment opportunities, desperately needed in our small rural community. The work is simple and requires minimal skills training.

Absolutely no power or machinery is required in these production processes, and the carbon footprint is practically nil.

The gold of nature is lying on the street, one just needs to pick it up!