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QUALITY IN QUANTITY

This antique outlet off the N2 at Great Brak River is big, very big.

The De Dekke antique shop of Annalene de Swardt covers no less than 1800 square metres of floor space. There are a number of different display areas, where some as large as a rural town hall are flanked by much smaller rooms, and all are filled to maximum capacity. Even the space along the wide passages are utilised.

"When I started in 2002, the shop was just a single room, and even I am amazed at how it has grown in a very short time to perhaps the biggest antique outlet in the country," says Annalene, who grew up in a Paarl home filled with antiques. "Now I can cater for both the individual buyer, or supply just about everything required if owners of a new boutique hotel or up market guest house want to recreate that old-world charm and elegance."

Good antiques are getting scarcer every day, and just sourcing the various items needed to keep the business flowing at a steady pace has undoubtedly become quite a major logistical exercise. Yet Annalene offers her clientele a special service, where she would find the right items to match a specific interior theme or simply to create a preferred decor ambience.

No wonder some of her clients even fly into George from as far as Cape Town and Johannesburg. After all, at De Dekke you can find just about anything, including a large variety of well made tables and chairs from various eras, classic old Cape jonkmanskaste, upholstered rusbanke and plain wooden benches, both straight-lined and more ornate large buffets, tall kapstokke, lovely bathroom tables, real rural koskaste and traditional linen-presses.

Walking through this sprawling complex you will also spot some beautiful old bookcases, a number of fine antique beds, as well as some very special display or writing bureaux that are all superbly made in top quality woods.

At De Dekke diversity is everywhere, like the one corner filled with more than twenty old hand-made wakiste, and in another a large collection of wooden foot-lasts. And scattered around the premises you will also find lovely old pianos and traporrels.

"We also stock superb copperware and excellent silver items, plus both functional and ornamental glass and porcelain," says Annalene. "There are fine Africana like wasbalies, karrings and stampers, plus ancient radios and gramophones, tin and enamelware, clocks, mirrors, frames, as well as old photos and paintings."

However be warned, a visit to De Dekke Antiques can never be conducted in just a few minutes, for you will need more than an hour just to view all the things that are on display. Just going through the fine collection of Persian and Kelim carpets can take that long.

For more details, call Annalene on (044) 620-2531 which is also the fax number, or cell 082 4955 011. Her e-mail address is dedekke@telkomsa.net