MEET THE TEAM
Nelleke van Heerden
Nelleke van Heerden, along with her team developed Kaapsche Hollandsche Homeware Collection. She took inspiration from her Hollandsche past and Kaapsche present. Born and raised in the Netherlands and rooted in the Cape Winelands, Nelleke has a passion for the beauty of both these places and for passing on an inheritance to the next generation.
Michelle-Lize van Wyk
On 1 December 2025 Michelle-Lize van Wyk became the owner of Kaapsche Hollandsche Exclusive Homeware Collection. Extremely grateful for the work and love Nelleke and her team put into this beautiful range of products, Michelle-Lize is looking forward to further explore restorative, thoughtful and beautiful living.
OUR STORY
We’re passionate about Kaapsche Hollandsche history and heritage and believe that we can add value to the next generation by offering a wide range of beautiful Exclusive Designer Homeware Collection products to keep the stories around the table going.
We can help you to make your home and table beautiful and you will be supporting a local Cape Winelands brand that wants to empower women to celebrate each other as sisters and not as rivals.
Our dedication to Natural Fabrics and Eco friendly printing puts sustainability and transparency in the limelight . We trust our high standards will help to protect and enhance our world to make it more beautiful.
SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
Kaapsche Hollandsche is committed to working together with KIN CULTURE as they share the same passion for “loving strangers into family”. The ultimate goal of hospitality.
“We believe in family in its most beautiful, expansive, inclusive and redemptive sense. We believe in family where guests become relatives, where homes are opened and love and burdens are shared. This bigger, more beautiful picture of family is what the church can offer the world – a family of families to vulnerable children. As such, our mission is to build and support a community of loving, generous families to provide homes for vulnerable children.”
Helping to build and strengthen family in our community is a core value of Kaapsche Hollandsche and that is why with every purchase, a portion of the sale goes to KIN CULTURE in support of creating sustainable living and offering orphan kids a brighter future in South Africa.
Your Kaapsche Hollandsche purchase contributes towards our CSR initiative; we commit to a monthly donation to projects that uplift and empower the vision of KIN CULTURE community.
SUSTAINABILITY
At Kaapsche Hollandsche , we acknowledge that our activities have a potential impact on the environment and, therefore, we have a duty to ensure we implement sustainable practices and, as a company, adopt a strategy that is both responsible and ethical.
This is an evolving goal for us and, while we acknowledge that we’re not perfect, we want to make a real difference and contribute proactively to the welfare of our planet and people. We’re learning day by day and we are passionate about sharing our journey with you.
We are truly committed to reducing our environmental impact by working hard to ensure that every aspect of our business incorporates the principles of sustainability and both social and environmental responsibility.
Our packaging is made from recycled Tablemat wastage. We use eco friendly ink on all our Linen printed products.
The process of digital printing requires less water than ordinary printing.
Our products are produced in limited runs and designed to be cherished for many special table talks to come.
In supporting the local sowing industry and the work of talented and skilled artisans, Kaapsche Hollandsche aims to promote a more conscious and sustainable approach to tableware.
A STORY ABOUT LINEN
Linen is one of the oldest natural fabrics in the world. Throughout history linen has been the choice fabric among Royals, Pharaohs and upper class. It is made from the flax plant.
Why is Linen more expensive than cotton?
To put is simply, manufacturing linen is a laborious and timely process, from harvesting in the fields to fabric construction on the factory floor. From sowing to seed to harvest takes about 90 days. Linen fiber is inelastic and easy to break in the production process, so great care must be taken when spinning and weaving. As a result, these machines have to run at lower speeds, giving lesser yields and increasing costs. Other interesting facts about linen include:
- Linen does not only absorb up to 20% of its own weight in moisture and still feels dry to the touch, but is also 30 % stronger than cotton.
- Pure linen is also extremely durable and can last for decades. It grows softer and has natural creases and a relaxed appearance after each wash.
- Natural Linen is Hypo- allergenic. It captures less dust and allergens than cotton.
- It is highly breathable, anti bacterial, heat conductive and has water absorbing properties.
- All kitchen linen products in our online shop are not only beautifully designed, but also gorgeous when washed and faded out for that well worn vintage sought after look.
At Kaapsche Hollandsche, we follow a minimalist approach to the design as it perfectly complements the true natural sophistication of linen fabric. We also made extra sure that all our apron straps are generously long. They are double folded and hand stitched to make it last! We want you to be able to wrap it around your waist and either tie it in the front or at the back for your convenience.
Our various 100% Natural Linen Royal aprons will let you stand out in the crowd. Do not think twice to venture out in them and be assured to receive compliments upon wearing such amazing Designer Ware like a Pro.
As we all want to take the best decision when it comes to buying quality and Exclusive Homeware designs, we ran into several questions asked by people all around the work regarding linen.
As we are confident about the great natural eco friendly colour prints of our produced range and ease given by this fabric, we want to share the most asked questions, regarding linen, and also give you an answer from our own experience working with this fabric. You’ll be surprised to see that linen gets softer and softer every time it’s washed. We actually make all our designs slightly longer than what is shown on the label.
For the hospitality industry and hard wearing jobs we have an extra option to print on Mock Linen/Cotton Weave for you. This print option is synthetic and more colourfast then the natural way.
As Linen has a tendency to shrink over time, we give you more fabric to help counter the effects from slight shrinking later on.
How does linen feel?
While linen may seem stiff at first sight, it is actually soft, comfortable and unbeatably fresh. These properties make linen feel nice on your skin, therefore linen is used not only for clothes, but also for bedding, kitchenware, and bathroom necessities. Linen has a frequency of 5000, it gives energy to the body. (Read more about this super fabric- lifegivinglinen.com, see also the work of Dr Royal Raymond Rife)
Is Linen durable?
Linen is highly durable. Actually, it is one of the strongest natural fabrics. If compared to cotton, it's almost three times as strong. It does not accumulate static electricity. Even a small addition of flax fibres to a cloth is enough to eliminate the static electricity effect.
What is the difference between cotton and linen?
Cotton is made from a cotton plant and linen is produced from the flax plant. Although cotton drapes well, linen is recognized thanks to its particular texture and rumpled look. Yes, you can recognize linen from slight wrinkles, but it recently became a sign of status.
Is linen soft?
Naturally linen fabric has a rough texture. Especially when talking about clothing and houseware products. The fabric can go through special softening procedures. That's how it gets that soft and wrinkled texture. It is called stone washed, literally beaten into softness.