{"id":870,"date":"2020-03-03T12:47:30","date_gmt":"2020-03-03T12:47:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/amanziguesthouse.co.za\/blog\/?p=870"},"modified":"2020-03-03T12:48:59","modified_gmt":"2020-03-03T12:48:59","slug":"victoria-yards-the-latest-hip-place-in-johannesburg","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/amanziguesthouse.co.za\/blog\/victoria-yards-the-latest-hip-place-in-johannesburg\/","title":{"rendered":"Victoria Yards – The latest hip place in Johannesburg"},"content":{"rendered":"

Joburg is full of surprising and innovative spaces to visit \u2013 and its fun to discover something new.<\/p>\n

Victoria Yards<\/a> is one of my favourite recent discoveries.\u00a0 It\u2019s a sprawling 30,000 m2 urban farm- like space of refurbished buildings, now galleries, studios and workshops for artists, artisans, and entrepreneurs. The architectural character of the original buildings built in 1924 remains intact.\u00a0 Victoria Yards is situated in Lorentzville on the eastern edge of Jo\u2019burg\u2019s CBD, and there is safe parking within the grounds.<\/p>\n

This commercial enterprise was the brainchild of developer Brian Green of 44 Stanley fame<\/a>.\u00a0 Brian says: It was both a dream and a passion to bring together an eco-system where tenants work together as a community. One of the main projects is the gardens, where row upon row of vegetables and fruit are grown as part of a skills upliftment programme.<\/p>\n

Best time to go is the 1st<\/sup> Sunday of the month when all the artists and artisans open their doors to meet and chat.\u00a0 It is open during the week but you might miss many of the artists.<\/p>\n

Last Sunday I took Jeroen Oerlemans and Scott Rodman, two long stay guests, to Victoria Yards.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Jeroen Oerlemans and Scott Rodman, two long stay guests at Amanzi Guest House.\u00a0 After a 17 month stay at Amanzi, Jeroen goes home to the Netherlands tomorrow.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We spent a happy three hours wandering along the brick paths, lined with edible gardens – vegetables, herbs and fruit, fig and apricot trees, mealies, verbena and more .<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Walkways lined with edible gardens \u2013 lemongrass, spinach, passion fruit (known in SA as Granadillas) Mulberry trees\u2026<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Some of the top artists in the country have their studios here \u2013 Blessing Ngobene<\/a>, Benon Lutaaya<\/a>, Ayanda Mabulu<\/a>, Roger Ballen<\/a> and James Delaney<\/a>, who with his team has renovated The Wilds, (see a previous blog on The Wilds<\/a>) a park that was notoriously dangerous and not used, and now walkers with or without dogs enjoy recreational time in this revitalized area.\u00a0 I spoke to James and he has a new venture happening at The Wilds<\/a>.\u00a0 We\u2019ll be walking there soon to check out what James has done.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
James Delaney outside his Studio Gallery, filled with a diversity of his art and sculptures.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We all loved Hannelie Coetzee\u2019s\u00a0 Hyenas<\/a> created out of bits of wood, an old tennis racquet press and other bits of \u201cjunk\u201d\u00a0 \u2013 she\u2019s just set up her Studio at Victoria Yards and it was her first open day.\u00a0 Hannelie told us she had been inspired to create the Hyenas when she heard about how they come into Joburg through the Green Corridor.\u00a0 Did you know that there have been several reports of Brown Hyenas spotted in and around Johannesburg? \u00a0\u00a0The intention behind her sculptures is to explore the relationship between humans and nature.\u00a0 Read this fascinating article on Hyenas in the Kloofendal<\/a> Reserve and West Rand region.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Hannelie Coetzee outside her new Studio at Victoria Yards<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

There are a variety of crafts and street food vendors on offer and colour and delicious aromas fill the space.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
The lady with the blue hair\u2026<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Street food vendors offer a variety of take away treats…<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
A whole bunch of people hanging out<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Including a Gin distillery. Scott insisted we test the Primal Spirits offerings – we sipped our gins around a rustic old table while Irvin Smith, owner, regaled us with tales of making gin\u2026 do visit Primal Spirits and taste their gins for yourself.\u00a0 Primal spirits use both green and red Juniper berries and other natural botanical flavorings.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Jeroen, Scott and Pam enjoying G & T\u2019s at Primal Spirits<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
The beautiful copper Gin Distillery at Primal Spirits<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I loved the ethos and story behind <\/span>Tshepo\u2019s Jeans<\/a> \u2026. So many of our young men and women in SA are influenced and raised by grandmothers, aunts or relatives\u2026<\/span>\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

It\u2019s an attractive shop with a wide range of denim jeans and Thsepo t-shirts for sale\u2026if you do pop in please tell Tshepo you read this blog and were curious to see for yourself.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
https:\/\/www.yoco.co.za\/blog\/article\/tshepo-the-jean-maker\/<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Then it was time for lunch in the courtyard at Foakes Coffee Bar, Roastery and bakery. <\/a><\/p>\n

Foakes source a variety of beans from all over the world.\u00a0 They hand-roast their beans, as needed in small batches.\u00a0 We had great cappuccinos and Baguettes filled with fresh veggies from the garden, artisanal cheese, all made on site by Happy and her crew.\u00a0 This time is was Jeroen who insisted on ordering and sharing a slice of cheese cake and the triple layered chocolate cake. Its the best cheese cake in town, according to Lorraine who works for James Delaney.\u00a0 We all agreed!\u00a0 There are lots of pastries, different kinds of breads, and other Foakes Deli specialities too.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Jeroen, Scott and Pam in the Courtyard at Foakes Bakery<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I\u2019m going back to explore more on the 5th<\/sup> April, the next open day\u2026\u00a0 There are tons of shops I didn\u2019t get to\u2026 hope to see you there too!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Joburg is full of surprising and innovative spaces to visit \u2013 and its fun to discover something new. Victoria Yards is one of my favourite recent discoveries.\u00a0 It\u2019s a sprawling 30,000 m2 urban farm- like space of refurbished buildings, now galleries, studios and workshops for artists, artisans, and entrepreneurs. The architectural character of the original … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":873,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[25,26,24,27,31],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nVictoria Yards - The latest hip place in Johannesburg - Amanzi Guest House Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/amanziguesthouse.co.za\/blog\/victoria-yards-the-latest-hip-place-in-johannesburg\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Victoria Yards - The latest hip place in Johannesburg - Amanzi Guest House Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Joburg is full of surprising and innovative spaces to visit \u2013 and its fun to discover something new. 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