A few months back I noticed these metal art works on the side of the road at the traffic lights just down the road from where I live in Johannesburg. Then this pop up shop vanished and only reappeared yesterday as I suppose he was busy manufacturing what he had sold from the last time he was here.
You just never know what you may find as South Africa with their open border policy attracts many foreigners who have skills that are not available locally. This guy who I presumed right being Zimbabwean as they have some serious craft skills supplying the tourist industry. We bought some soap stone pieces years ago and you just don't see those types of items around in these parts.
The metal work animals are made out of Chromium and nickel which is a hard metal that leaves a silvery greenish color which can be highly polished. This obviously takes time to create and the large Kudo was told takes 7 days from start to finish. The smaller metal works like the wishing well, buck and the poppy take around 1 day. When he mentioned 1 week for the big Kudo I presumed they would be very expensive, but then again we are in Africa and prices are relative so you would be shocked. How much would you expect to pay in dollars if this was at your local garden center?
I was expecting to be quoted possibly R15K ($800) for the big ones at least, but no they are R5K ($250) and if you buy 2 they will be around R4K each which is around $200.This is seriously cheap considering the quality of the workmanship and the time taken. This guy obviously has some serious skills and is using his skills to make a living. I know in the past the police have chased these types of pop up shops away so I don't know what the future holds for this as he has no guaranteed lease or anything like that.
I could see people putting the smaller metal works in their gardens as these are 1000 x better than the garden gnomes. I have noticed one of the houses in my road has a big Kudo in their garden and it does look stunning and is a great feature and a little different.
I just find it kind of crazy as if this guy was supplying garden centers in the UK he would have a thriving business yet here he is making peanuts for what these are worth. The $200 could easily be worth 4 or 5 x that amount in the right market and possibly even more.
This is his entire range on show and would have taken months to create which is the problem as he could never make enough to make it a viable business. I am considering buying 2 or 3 items and sending them to the UK to test the market as this is very different and different is what sells.
