Approaching the farmhouse on Alkmaar, 16 km from Mbombela (formerly Nelspruit), you are met by a welcoming party of five dogs, four cats and numerous chickens and ducks. Wendy Sippel makes her way to the gate, dressed in earthy tones and cradling a wooden box of eggs. She’s been gathering them for breakfast. As we seat ourselves on the stoep, the scent of frankincense wafts through the kitchen window.
Wendy has lived in the Lowveld for 35 years; her husband, Arthur, has been here longer. They met through the University of Pretoria’s hiking club, when Wendy was studying English and Arthur horticulture. She completed a two-year post-graduate lectureship before moving on to Mbombela. There she tought at Lowveld High School and Penryn College for two decades – after which seh offered her services as an educational consultant and created educational databases.
The idea for Crafted Cosmetics took root in 2014. Wendy’s daughter, Elizabeth Tristram, also an artist, suggested something fun for Christmas: a market for the Alkmaar farming community. “We vacated our Rosemary Cottage, which was once a guesthouse, cleared the rooms and created a pop-up market. At that stage there weren’t really any markets in the Lowveld.”
Selling art was an obvious decision, but Elizabeth convinced Wendy to also put on offer the creams and room sprays she had been making for years – a true family tradition.
“In 2015, a market was
