Hello there!
Thank you for taking the time to visit my creative library.
I’m Irene, writer and aspiring illustrator living in the Southern Suburbs of Cape Town with my husband, Daniël, and our balcony plant babies.
I grew up on a farm, with 3 sisters, near an extremely small town called Tolwe in the Limpopo province. Growing up, I loved taking long walks on the farm, picking wildflowers, listening to the wind dancing through the dry yellow grass and watching the birds and insects go about their lives.
Wondering if a magical world similar to that found in the Children’s Book series The Spiderwick Chronicles and Narnia is hidden somewhere between the thorn trees and red sand of the bushfield. Even now as an adult, I still find nature so beautiful and inspiring!
After High School I went to study in Stellenbosch, where I met my husband when I joined the church choir, Canticum Novum. In 2015 I finished studying for a BA degree in Language and Culture (major in Afrikaans & Dutch and English Studies), followed by an Honors degree in Afrikaans & Dutch in 2016.
Since then, I have had a variety of work experiences, ranging from Afrikaans and English tutor, Afrikaans translator, Afrikaans language consultant, office assistant, branch manager, facilitator, educational content moderator, book reviewer and online writer. For a more detailed overview, please visit my LinkedIn profile.
Now, I’ve decided to stop waiting for someone’s permission to create my own stories and to just start my own personal projects. I’m currently working on an Afrikaans fantasy novel based in Stellenbosch, along with an illustration project about insects and animals living on a farm called Weltevrede.
If you would like to follow my progress on these creative projects, please subscribe to my newsletter or follow me on Instagram or YouTube.
