Renowned wildlife and portrait photographer Veronica Coetzer and her daughter Monique Blofield, will be opening The Photographer Design Studio in the new Menlyn Park Shopping Centre on 24 November.
Combining over 40 years of experience and passion, Veronica and Monique’s new store will offer art, design and photography services, while also hosting workshops and exhibitions in the beautiful new space.
Throughout their lives, Veronica and Monique have faced numerous hurdles. Survivors of abuse and serious illness, the pair have used art and photography to heal the wounds of the past.
“After becoming very ill, I wasn’t able to work at all for three years,” explains Veronica. “I felt that I had lost everything as photography and art are a very important part of my being and are my way of expressing my emotions, my hopes, my fears; they really are my mechanisms of healing.”
Monique rushed to her mother’s side when she fell ill, and after Veronica recovered, Monique was confronted with more emotional strain.
“2016 has been the most challenging year of my life,” says Monique, whose husband has just been cleared of stage four cancer. “But, The Photographer Design Studio has been a mutual dream of mine and Veronica’s, and we think that it is so awesome that opening the new studio is the way we will be ending 2016. It’s our beacon of light for a new and brighter future.”
She says the new studio will provide new and returning customers with a plethora of exciting services. “We can finally offer our clients not only the best studio and environmental portraits on canvas, but a vast range of new exciting products printed on mediums such as wood, Plexiglas, glass and steel.”
The studio will also serve as a gallery space for Veronica’s artworks. Her photographic collages, which have been exhibited internationally, will be on rotational display, plus customers can commission works of their own.
“I have always dreamt about having my own studio and gallery from where I could photograph people, exhibit my art and be in a position to help people to see their own beauty and to heal through art,” says Veronica. “Since I started creating art that reflects peoples’ dreams in France, I’ve had a yearning to create art that tells not only peoples’ life stories but also to create art that speaks of their aspirations, ambitions and life dreams. I will now be creating these as motivational artworks for the home or office.”
Besides commissioning dream-based artworks or picture-perfect portraits, customers will also be spoilt for choice when it comes to design services. The Photographer Design Studio will offer services that range from creating corporate identities to dreaming up whimsical textile and surface designs. Larger design pieces, from furniture to fashion, will also be on display in the new store, and everything will be available for purchase.
Opening on Thursday, 24 November, The Photographer Design Studio is offering an opening promotion to all customers. For their first two weeks of business there will be no charge for family portrait shoots, and customers will only pay for their photo enlargements. At least one enlargement has to be ordered.
They are also running a competition on Facebook, where you can win a family photo shoot and framed canvas worth R10,000. For more information, and to enter, visit their Facebook page: @The Photographer Design Studio.
In support of 16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children, which runs from 25 November to 10 December, the Studio will hold a special exhibition. In future, healing art workshops will also be held in the store.
For more information, contact Veronica Coetzer on 0721956058 or Monique Blofield on 0712889415.
