Volstruis Paleis WAS SKILLFULLY HANDMADE BY FRANCES v.H Studio IN SOUTH AFRICA
PART OF THE 'Are We There Yet' COLLECTION.

Here’s to the ostrich industry in her heyday. She not only dressed royalty she herself lives in a palace at the foot of Red Hill country. The ostrich boom of the 1800s, resulted in an ontploffing of wealth in Oudsthoorn (for some) and lead to the construction of what became known as Ostrich Palaces (Volstuis Paleis). Because, as we know, when at the top, one must construct a golden oval office. Oudshoorn was spogerig and very voor-op-die-wa until the invention of the automobile. Overnight fashion trends changed as women no longer wore large, feathered hats in open-top cars (because they flew off, darling, and you can’t have that). Nor could they get their hats into closed-top cars (how utterly unbecoming). Out with the hats! And just like that a little town in Africa suffered the most financially devastating fall from grace. Who said globalisation is a new age mengelmoes – O Aspoestertjie nee… We’ve all been connected since the chicken laid the egg and the egg (you know the story).