As Rialheim marks its 10th anniversary, its co-founder Rial Visagie is heading back to the source of his inspiration as he readies a large, new collection. Christi Nortier chats to him about farm life, ‘fun’ctional art and finding a heartbeat in clay.
I’m fascinated by ceramics because you literally take earth, fire and water and with those three elements, you create. You feel like a magician creating a miracle. I always say we shouldn’t try to control it – it’s done by a higher power,” smiles Rial Visagie, the co-founder and creative director of Rialheim. This artisanal ceramic studio, renowned for its fun’ctional art and decor, has in recent years expanded its range to include textiles, tiles and candles.
The studio has just proudly added a fourth element to the mix: sunshine. Rialheim is one of just a handful of studios globally that operates completely on solar power. Many people told him it simply couldn’t be done – but it’s working. “It’s been a lifelong dream for me to do that, because it brings in the natural element of the sun. I felt so bad, because I knew we were damaging the planet and I grew up with the value that you need to leave the planet in a better state that when you got it,” he explains. “It is such an honour to realise that we can allow nature to perform its own magic.”
And he and his fellow Rialheim artists draw inspiration right from the source, too. Whether it’s his love for dinosaurs or a friend’s French bulldog, muses are all around.
How did Rialheim begin?
I started my career working for hospice, especially with kids that were infected, and affected, by HIV/AIDS and other life-limiting diseases. People are my big passion. Working on job-creation projects in hospice made me realise that we can’t do anything until we’ve created jobs.
This is not a sexy story. When one of my favourite kids died, it really hit home for me. Hospice showed me there was a market for corporate gifts, so I started SA Gifts to tap into that market and create jobs. It was also where I discovered my creative eye. However, it limited my creativity so in 2012 I sold that business and went on a sabbatical. As my husband Daniel and I landed here from New York, I said to him that I felt an exciting new vibration about the future.
A few months later, I was asked to mentor a young ceramic artist. We went to a ceramic company to buy some clay and as soon as we walked in, the owner said they knew me. I didn’t know them, but they asked if I wanted to buy their business. I’d vowed to never manufacture in South Africa again, but as I walked out, I phoned Daniel and told him: “I think I just bought a ceramic factory”. He just went: “Okay, let’s do this”.
Looking back, it was an honour to do that. What I didn’t realise at the time was that it would set off an amazing journey. We started by stocking Loads of Living, then Woolworths and now @home stores —this year, for 10 years.
Rialheim’s mission is to make decor more fun. What isn’t fun about decor in general right now?
Products that are without a soul. I think that when you buy from, and support, artisans – you have the amazing opportunity to buy a piece created with heart, soul and mind.
I find it very unsexy when a product is plopped in front of me with no thinking or feeling of connection. South Africa is so rich in creativity —in my travels, I haven’t seen another nation so diverse in its creative activity. For me, I can’t buy products that aren’t made by an individual. Secondly, we need to make homes a place for storytelling. It needs to reflect the footprints of your life.
What does ‘functional art’ mean to you?
So often we buy art, put it on display and it never gets used. I think the magic of functional art is that you can use it every day. What humbles me is to hear how people connect with Rialheim products in this way. For instance, after we did the ‘anatomy of clay’ collection, I got a call from a woman who had just had a lung transplant. She told me how deeply connected she felt to our ‘Just breathe’ lung vase because it was part of how she told her story. On another occasion, a woman came into the shop and said she needed a pig fruit bowl immediately. She had encouraged her child to speak using the big bowl, so it was a centrepiece in their home. When it broke, she worried how her child would react: For the past three years, they’d told her to say good morning to ‘Sarah’ every day and have a little chat. This is art that can be part of people’s everyday lives.
Why do your pieces focus on animals?
Animals transport us into their world. Not only that, but we need to live in harmony with nature and it’s an honour to capture these beauties that live along us. I was lucky that growing up, we were encouraged to explore our imaginary worlds. For example, I believed that all the mountains were shaped by the dinosaurs that lay beneath them. I’ve always loved dinosaurs, which you see in our collections.
The Frenchie table lamp, for example, was inspired by a friend’s dog. We were having Sunday lunch at their house and the way the dog held a toy in its mouth caught my eye. I suddenly realised that it could be a great table lamp. The ostrich in the ‘African Farm’ collection is inspired by the one that chased Daniel the first time I showed him the family farm in Robertson. Inspiration like that requires you to be present and see it in the moment.
@rialheim Not to be dramatic, but our Parkhurst store is basically your home’s soulmate. 💅 Pop in. Touch everything. Fall in love. 📍 Rialheim Parkhurst – where your home gets its glow-up. #ParkhurstProud #CeramicAddiction #RialheimRetailTherapy ♬ original sound – Rialheim
What’s it been like to make the family farm your own?
The farm has been in my family for 200 years and every generation has used it to live out their passions. That’s why we joke and say it’s the home of dreamers. My family has always valued looking out for and caring for other people, and they’ve passed that on to me. This farm allows me to do that. To be its custodian is an unbelievable privilege. I’ll never be able to walk away from that. The farm, for me, is the place where the dinosaurs do come alive. It’s the place where I meet a praying mantis on my way to the studio. Its beauty just overwhelms you.
How is your home renovation going?
We’ve just finished renovating our Joburg home, but we’re putting it on the market as we move to the farm permanently. I’m getting older, so I feel I’m more ready for farm life than I was 10 years ago! This renovation has taught me, once again, how important it is to create spaces you love. It’s not just about beautiful objects but improving your lifestyle. This house showed us over the past five years what it wants to be and it’s probably going to outlive all of us. What a privilege to make something and to make a work of art.
The farmhouse, on the other hand, is a bit trickier. I’ve been taught that you can’t just strip away its 300 years of history. We’ve done some small renovations, like a beautiful pool and pool house, but I haven’t had the guts to renovate it more than that!
What’s it like to have one foot in Joburg and one in Robertson?
The farm offers me the sanctuary of my imaginary world. Joburg influences my imaginary world. I’m a Joburg boy and for me it’s an amazing space for collaboration and influence. I am very inspired by the African city. I love the fact that you can sit in a coffee shop, start chatting and make lifelong friends. People don’t want to hear it, but nature in Joburg is actually amazing. In Joburg my world is open, while at the farm I look more inward to create.
Rialheim Praying Mantis Tea Towel R599. Available from @home
Rialheim Riverine Rabbit Book Ends Black Bronze R899. Available from @home
So, what’s on the horizon for Rialheim?
We’ve just done a corporate merger, which allows us to move to Robertson and for me to focus on just being the creative director. We’re launching a new collection in June that’s a cohesive story. I haven’t had a chance in the past five years to launch a big collection like that – from a candle to a breeze block! I’m looking forward to the Rialheim tiles, which has always been a bit like the black sheep but we’re building on the success. I’m very excited for us to go back to the farm, take up our spot and be good citizens there and create jobs.
For me, the future is about being able to create authentic stories across mediums. At the end of the day, I’m just a little boy who loves to play. Rialheim allows me to keep doing that.
Prices correct at the time of print
By: Christi Nortier
Photography by: Supplied
Text courtesy of Livingspace magazine
Also read: How to break these decor rules
