Treasure hunters
UPCYCLING: THE STRYDOMS’ MAGICAL MAKEOVERS
A TV road trip looking for castoffs.
Meet Joe Strydom. He’s not your regular Joe, he’s an upcycling whiz and owner of Trouvé (a bespoke antique dealer) and a publicist for one of South Africa’s biggest TV channels. Now he’s partnering with his mom in his own TV show Skatjagter (Treasure Chaser) which is set to become one of the most endearing DIY shows SA’s ever seen.
Strydom and his Dorothy (affectionately called Dol) are inviting you on their road trip as they drive around to find buried treasure, unwanted furniture and items in need of some (or a lot) of TLC.
Of course, they also meet the people selling these sometimes delightfully odd things.
The show then shifts gears and shows you how they turn their finds into literal treasure.
Here’s Joe’s take on the show, working with his mom and his favourite projects. 1. In season one, we visited collectors, salvage yards and an auction around Johannesburg. We also went to Magaliesburg for two episodes. 2. The whole show is basically one long blooper reel, with some upcycling advice thrown in. My mom and I tried to keep it light and real while having fun. One thing I can say is that everything works 100% when you rehearse, and then doesn’t work when the director says “action”, but it all came together in the end. 3. We filmed all the locations over six days in December and the make-overs in the workshop for seven days in January. I pitched the original concept and was
Tell me about the places you visited? Were there on-set bloopers? How did this show come to be?
guided by the production company (Quizzical) to refine it into a feasible TV show. 4. I have presented other shows before, but its a whole new experience having my own show. 5.
What was the first day on set like? They say never work with family or animals, yet here you are happily presenting a show with your mom. What did this mean for your relationship?
At first, I wasn’t sure how my mom would handle the pace of shooting, but she was such a superstar. I think our relationship makes the show unique. It also brought us closer, and I can’t imagine doing it with anyone else. 6.
What are your tips for anyone who wants to give old furniture a new shimmer?
I would suggest that you do some research and know your style. It doesn’t help to upcycle a piece if you don’t like the shape of the item. Changing the colour is the easy part. Look at trends online and decide what you want to do with the piece. 7. One of my favourite pieces from the show is a candelabra I made from old furniture legs I picked up at an antique dealer in Pretoria. 8. I love using Annie Sloan Chalk Paint. It works on any surface, requires very little prep work and comes in many colours. 9. One of our collectors showed me a pocket gramophone player that is almost 100 years old, and it still works. 10.
What have been some of your favourite upcycling projects? Have you found any upcycling tricks that always work? Any weird finds during filming? Any design/arts and cra s TV shows you watch?