Few entrepreneurs work in the realm of fantasy. For Wilja Reitz, it’s the world she inhabits for a living everyday.
Reitz, owner of Ouland Royale, a ‘baroque barn’ in Plettenberg Bay (also known as Plett) in South Africa’s Western Cape province, has acquired quite a reputation for her couture hats, lampshades and restored antique furniture in this little town.
She has also been instrumental in giving the finishing touches to designer outfits sported by VIPs at some of South Africa’s most prestigious annual galas, including the J&B Met, Durban July, and internationally, even the Royal Ascot. Having run her own boutique, Decadence, in Cape Town for many years, Reitz relocated to her family’s Plett farm in 2013 where she built her “fantasy-inspired” baroque barn.
It was a dream many years in the making, as she had been stridently collecting curious pieces of baroque furniture, French mirrors, antique porcelain and crystal glasses.
“It was a vision in my head for about 10 years where I wanted to combine a magnificent space and cuisine. The farm belonged to my grandmother, we were very alike and it was the right place for me to create my living fantasy,” says Reitz.
To make this dream a reality, Reitz put in long hours and years of hard work.
“I don’t see work as a hardship; I see it as a blessing. If I can have it my way, I’ll work 10 to 15 hours a day happily,” she says. She has been plagued with setbacks enough times, but says she has always bounced back.
“I’ve dealt with a lot challenges in my life and in business. When you get knocked down, you have to refuse to be a victim of circumstance and get up, brush yourself off and move forward.”
She regards appreciation of life’s many trials and triumphs as key to business – and this she finds in the most mundane of everyday tasks.
“I like to push boundaries and don’t take anything for granted. Sometimes when I’m washing dishes I look at my hands and think how lucky I am to have hands to work and dishes to wash. I think gratitude is the key to success.”
With a sizeable female clientele, women’s empowerment is not too far from Reitz’s radar. She is rather outspoken in her belief that women need to be free of any patriarchal influences in society.
“When I owned my boutique, women would come in and try my hats. During those moments, a woman feels elegant and special; she becomes the person she wants to be. Women can end up living their lives for other people.”
The challenge she says is in balancing your home, career and dreams.
“The women on this continent are extremely powerful and there is a hell of a lot of talent in this country. But a lot of this is suppressed, as women are expected to play a certain role in society. A woman should be allowed to be who she dreams of being. I make sure the women who work for me feel powerful and special and that they can do anything.”
And the belief that anything is possible was intrinsic to Reitz’s childhood, which was filled with stories of fairies and fantasy. She translated this into her designs and to the baroque barn, her own fantastical space she built from scratch and that is now a sought-after venue for weddings and events.
At the barn, gilded furniture pieces create settings in which to relax, antique treasures are artfully placed, while chandeliers add timeless elegance and a myriad mirrors create the illusion of space.
“I spend hours and hours on the detail. I don’t look at magazines or anything like that as I prefer to create my own trends; my inspiration flows from inside. Being creative makes me feel worthwhile and I transform mundane spaces to something beautiful… I thought that if I can build my own fantasy space, I can use all my talents and I’m enjoying experimenting with food as well as flowers.”
Reitz is now adding a new antiques-and-décor boutique to the venue; she also undertakes orders for hats and lampshades.
“As with all artistes, my work is never complete, I will always strive to develop myself more and to use the talents I have been given.”
And the world she has created is a theatre of expression, for herself, and the people who walk into her store.