Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Hand-crafted cars are an art form, says artisan
NOT everyone can make beautiful hand-crafted wooden car toys, and even if you have the skill and talent, it can take years to perfect it.
Malawian Happy Mvula, 35, describes the craft as art. And he knows what he is talking about because has been hand-crafting model cars since he was young. However, for the past four years, working with his brother, he has been selling his creations to customers around Pretoria. Using mahogany wood and glue, Mvula makes hand-crafted wooden vehicles such as excavators,
graders, land cruisers, vans, buses, planes and helicopters.
Mvula learnt the skill of wood crafting from his parents. Mvula said he made seven to five cars a week, but since it was a mixture of glue and wood, the final products may not be 100% done in time.
He says prices for the cars differ depending on their size. “It is works of art, so it all depends on how big it is and how long it took me to build it. I still have to buy glue and wood, so that also determines my prices,” he said.
Mvula’s work is widely shared on social media and has attracted customers from all corners of the country.
“This helps me to get orders from as far as Cape Town and that really makes me happy,” he said.