Now Showing | Te Water House x Evolution Product Textile Exhibition: An Interview with Jen Rubidge of Te Water House
Nestled in the heart of Graaff-Reinet, Te Water House is a place where history lives in every beam of yellowwood and spills into rooms that hold generations of stories. Once home to Jen Rubidge’s grandmother’s beloved antique shop, the space has been reimagined with a deep respect for its past, transformed into a heritage-filled haven.
As Evolution launches a special pop-up exhibition in this beautifully restored home, we sat down with Jen to explore the lineage, landscape, and love that shaped Te Water Huis — and the vision she now carries forward as its new custodian.
About the artworks
As part of this exhibition, Evolution shares a first preview of new wall hangings inspired by the glass-plate photographs of William Roe - the man who documented Graaff-Reinet’s landscape and life for nearly sixty years. His images, considered among the finest records of the Karoo, form the basis of a collection that will launch online in the new year.
We have long been inspired by historical printing techniques, and Roe’s glass-plate photographs have always held a particular resonance. These pieces, interpreted through our Call of the Karoo lens, form part of a forthcoming collection that will launch online in the new year. This exhibition offers the very first glimpse.
The original glass prints are housed at the Reinet Museum, and this collaboration has been made possible in partnership with the museum’s Head, Anziske Kayser.
Interview with Jen
1. Te Water House has such a unique atmosphere. Please share some background about this beautiful new space you’ve created. What inspired you to reimagine it in its current form?
The building started whispering to me first. We were sorting out all my gran’s antiques for an auction. Through the process, opening doors I had never seen open and discovering outer rooms I never knew were there. The building became filled with light, and the yellowwood started chatting to us as we moved through the old dame, dusting her off.
I started imagining what we could fill her with, as she was just too beautiful and held such a calming energy. When the auction was over and the last pieces of furniture collected, all the ideas came bubbling out and my family said I simply had to give it a try.
So here we are — 8 months of restoration later and 3 months of trading. It’s just so incredible to see the old house so alive and light-filled now. Holding space for the locals to connect, road trippers to experience some Karoo charm, and for everyone to wander through a delightful heritage home.
2. You mentioned that this was originally your grandmother’s antique shop, which you lovingly revamped and reopened earlier this year. Could you tell us more about your family’s history with this building?
My gran, Eira Maasdorp, acquired Te Water House roughly 40 years ago. She had been trading in antiquities for a couple of years and jumped at the opportunity to own her own space, where she traded very successfully until the end of 2024.
Te Water House had been on the market for a couple of years and had multiple offers, but none lived up to gran’s expectations for the building — only wanting to pass it on to an owner who would cherish its heritage and preserve its structure.
3. Through our research, we discovered that this home was built around 1820. It was originally the residence of Andries Stockenström and later, in 1854, became the home of the Te Water family — the name it still carries today. How does this layered history influence your connection to the space?
Yes, the home was built in 1818 for Andries Stockenström, and in 1854 the Te Water Naudé family took ownership for a couple of generations. There are some great stories of two of the Te Water sisters living out their last years in the home.
Then another deeply rooted Karoo family, the MacNaughtons, took ownership and converted the home into a space of business. My gran then bought it, and now I am the new custodian.
I feel so honoured to spend my days here — I can see how my gran loved coming to work and entertaining clients in these old walls. I feel very humbled and grateful to be involved in a space that has such an enormous generational history. I am always meeting customers who knew my gran or are relatives of the Te Water Naudés and MacNaughtons; it’s the real essence of life in the Karoo.
This intertwined fabric of families who, for generations, have loved the expansive Karoo and added their stories to the buildings that make up Graaff-Reinet.
4. What is your long-term vision for Te Water House? How do you see the space evolving over the next few years?
I see the space evolving into a local and creative hub.
A starting point for tourists and road trippers to meet the locals and experience a sense of the Karoo community.To cultivate connections between creatives and hold space for thought-provoking and innovative workshops.
To provide a special space that locals would want to host their events in.
To offer a platform for authentic Karoo entrepreneurs to sell their products from and nurture their growth.
5. From December right until the end of January, we will be launching a special pop-up exhibition with Evolution Product in your store. What excites you most about this collaboration, and what can visitors look forward to experiencing?
I am excited to hang up these linen artworks and watch them come alive on the huge walls of Te Water House. I feel the exhibition will add immense value to the space and, in a way, bring home the prints and imagery to their prehistoric and heritage birthplace.
Viewers will enjoy rich storytelling through fabric and have the opportunity to experience the old yellowwood dame soaked in fresh energy.
6. You grew up on Wellwood Farm, where your family discovered and collected extraordinary fossils over many decades. Could you share a bit about that upbringing and how it shaped your appreciation for heritage, landscape, and storytelling?
So unbeknown to me was my unusual upbringing surrounded by five generations of heritage and a great-grandpa who amassed a fossil collection so important to science. When asked about it growing up, it was just normal.
Only coming back to the farm after my studies did the reality of it all really sink in. Wellwood really is a very special place and I am so incredibly grateful to have grown up there.
The farmhouse, built in 1843, was all I knew — thick walls, creaky yellowwood floors and ceilings, and antique furniture. Our days were spent outside or on the back of the bakkie trying to keep up with my daddy in the veld while farming.
Sitting on the porch watching a rainstorm with all the lights off so we could see the lightning — oh, and the smell, the smell and relief of the Karoo rain, there’s nothing better.
Only now do I understand the gravity of those core memories and how they have grounded me throughout my young adult life. My mum would show the fossils to guests regularly, always followed by tea and interesting conversations about evolution, land, and people.
As a kid, listening to these chats expanded my view of the world and my yearning to go experience it.
7. It’s truly inspiring to see how you’re continuing your family’s creative and historical legacy in Graaff-Reinet. What motivated you to stay here and invest your energy into this community? What makes Graaff-Reinet such a unique place to call home?
Phew… never did I plan or imagine myself back in this Karoo dorpie. The universe knew what was best for me and guided me back here gently.
After a fast-paced Cape Town existence, I ended up back on the farm for lockdown — what a blessing! My love for the open veld reignited, and being surrounded by the familiar places and faces of my childhood was exactly what my soul yearned for — an expansive landscape and its humble community that truly holds you.
Working in a shop, you meet new and old acquaintances, and the feeling is unanimous: the old ways of this ancient Camdeboo landscape really do ground you and allow you time and space to think — a commodity that, in my opinion, carries the most value these days.
8. For visitors who are planning a trip to Graaff-Reinet, which stores, galleries, museums, or local experiences would you personally recommend?
Karoo Origins — the fossil centre; grab a coffee and be transported and humbled by an unfathomable time.
Somerset Street — peruse the wonderful shops, sit down, have a meal, and experience the local town flow.
Karoo 360 — book a tailored experience with Dawid: hikes, veld braais, and camp-out adventures.
Mountain Drive — take a drive, park at a lookout spot, and wander into the veld; part of the national park.
Jan Rupert Art Centre — the new exhibition “Faces of Modernism” is excellent.
The Coldstream Restaurant & Graaff-Reinet Club — enjoy the view of the Grootkerk and peek into the bar, one of the oldest clubs in the country.
9. Evolution’s “Call of the Karoo” collection draws deeply from the landscape, memory, and heritage of Graaff-Reinet. Do you feel the narrative of this range resonates with the town’s identity? And what impact do you believe designers can have when creating collections rooted in the narratives of towns like Graaff-Reinet?
The symbiosis is warming and resonates with Graaff-Reinet hugely.
Designers — and what they put into the world — remind and connect us to a space or memory, emotionally pulling us out of our busy lives. Visually making our memories tangible — a gift.I feel this collection, once introduced, will connect Graaff-Reineters to a tangible part of their identity as residents of this oulike dorpie and celebrate the enormous amount of history this town holds.
10. Please tell us your address and your trading hours over the December/January period.
You can find us at: 32 Somerset St, Graaff-Reinet, 6280
The show will be open throughout December and January.
From 7am – 3pm, possibly longer depending on flow.Special dates:
• 16 Dec: 7am – 4pm
• 24 Dec: 7am – 1pm
• 25 Dec: Closed
• 26 Dec: 7am – 1pm
• 31 Dec: 7am – 1pm
• 1 Jan: ClosedWe usually close on Sundays — but will wait and see what December brings.
