As the driving force behind an initiative, which started from a place of love and joy, a Somerset West small-business duo aims to spread the wonderful sensation to those who come across their uniquely crafted product.
Amanda du Plessis (50) and Jerusha Chetty (35) combined their shared passion for creativity and embarked on an entrepreneurial journey that culminated in the establishment of My Gnomes last September. The small-business venture was inspired greatly by Amanda’s travels to Europe, family holidays and inherent love for sewing, which she fondly nurtured as a hobby by making gnomes for gifting to loved ones. “More recently, my daughter and I used to make them as a tradition for Christmas,” Du Plessis pointed out. “However, due to increasing interest and numerous requests, we started marketing our products as an offering in December. Our passion for creating new products allowed us to join forces with Jerusha and realise the My Gnome brand.”
As the business name suggests, personalised gnomes – by name, by event and by occasion including Easter, Christmas and Mother’s and Father’s Day – is what the pair has been offering for the past seven months and continues to bring them most joy.
The entire production process starts and ends with Du Plessis and Chetty, and entails a creative image that is digitised and embroidered before the pair get together to hand craft each gnome individually. The most intricate item made by the duo was an Easter gnome with the Thorn Crown, and the funniest one the Christmas saying “Don’t get your tinsel in a tangle”.
My gnomes pride themselves in being unique and standing for good craftsmanship, allowing Du Plessis and Chetty to sell more than 50 personalised Christmas gnomes the past festive season. They attribute their success to “God’s favour and blessings over us and what we do”.
While Chetty, who is originally from Durban and boasts a master’s degree in Public Relations Management from Cape Peninsula University of Technology, has always dreamt of venturing into entrepreneurship focused on the creative industry, Du Plessis took to it out of life’s need for a more personalised take.
She said: “It is important to personalise life and give your view and stamp on it. Entrepreneurship has impacted me a great deal, in terms of hours and focus, and being grateful to do something to put a smile on someone’s face.”
Du Plessis, originally from Lichtenburg, North West, has qualifications in credit management and bookkeeping obtained through careers skills programmes and the University of South Africa (Unisa).
Asked how the business connects with the type of people they are, Chetty responded: “I have always had to create or design something new to fit the requirements of my customers. Creativity knows no bounds; you always have to push the limits to discover new challenging ideas and concepts. It teaches you something new about yourself everyday.” Du Plessis, in turn, said: “I love sewing and serving people (guess that’s why my birth name is Martha), and what better way to combine the two.”
Chetty and Du Plessis, armed with their delightful gnomes, are a welcome sight at numerous local markets, including the popular Triggerfish Farmers Market at the Paardevlei Precinct. Their latest offering of Easter gnomes were a hit at last Sunday’s (2 April) market and market goers can look forward their new range of Mother’s Day gnomes, which are currently in production.
“My Gnomes is a small business that is Proudly South African, with unique locally produced items that are designed for each customers needs. We love to bring our gnome love to your home, by making them unique and let them speak for themselves. We appreciate the love and support of each gnome fan that has come our way.”
