The Daliwe Story

This very special little factory started in White River in the late 1990s, as a hidden gem making grass blinds for lodges in the area.

As with many rural factories, they had all the ideas and weaving skills but were finding it difficult to get onto the radar of the design industry in SA, let alone the rest of the world.

In 2004, en route to the Kruger Park, I visited the factory and, fell in love with the products, the people and the potential. After taking samples to a carefully selected group of designers, and hearing their encouragement and support for the product, we launched as Daliwe Designs and started bringing our samples to the designers of SA.

A few major projects quickly followed in 2005, such as the Kruger Mpumalanga Airport and Makuleke Safari Lodge. Word of mouth kept us busy and under the guidance of my brother mentor Jean Hubert, and the late Gawie Stoltz, the weaving team made hundreds of blinds, ceilings and lights as project followed on project. Our talented weaving team became specialists who could produce a great organic product, in quantity and on time.

Fast forward to 2022 ….we have just moved into a spacious new factory in White River, close to the source of our natural materials. All our grass blinds, ceilings and rugs are made here under the expert eye of Esther Wattie, veteran weaver and factory supervisor. Our head office and new woven lights facility is based in Durban, and I travel up to the factory every month.

We supply locally and internationally, and thoroughly enjoy the creative work we do. Most of all, we are driven to uplift the talented artisans we employ, by bridging that difficult gap to the market and bringing their crafts to the world, in finished products known for their quality.