09 March 2007
	SHOPPING Antiques and delectables By Heather Formby

A chandelier of monumental proportions, resurrected from a northern French convent-turned-hotel, a 100-year-old Dutch print and a 3,2 m-high gilt mirror from the south of France are just some of the striking objects to be discovered in One on One. ONE ON ONE Address: Shop 8, Parktown Quarter, corner 3rd and 7th avenues, Parktown North, Johannesburg Tel: (011) 880-4949 www.1on1antiques.co.za One on One sprang from an idea sparked when Riaan de Villiers and his architect partner Joe van Rooyen were searching for new space for Van Rooyen's business. They discovered a stairway leading down from the premises they found on the first floor of the new Parktown Quarter. "It was perfect and we decided to fill it with things we would have in our own home," says De Villiers. Their focus is on Victorian and European antiques and contemporary items, all of which have the theme of being elegant and classical, eclectic or rare. One of Van Rooyen's clients introduced the two of them to a dealer in Holland, and, as De Villiers says: "We shopped until we dropped." While flying home, De Villiers saw a picture in a magazine and said that was the shop he wanted. So he copied parts of it, creating a space you don't want to leave, with support beams from a railway yard, a sisal and wood-slatted wall and screed floors - the perfect background for old oak tables, armoires and dressers, chandeliers, mirrors and objects. De Villiers says he doesn't really want to sell the large Louis XVI gilt mirror on the back wall, so he has priced it at R155 000. "But if someone loves it so much - and is willing to pay the price - he or she is welcome to it." Other less expensive, but just as beautiful items include a Marrakesh platter with 12 candleholders (R5 500) and, the least costly, Dutch photo frames (R160 each). De Villiers sells to a combination of decorators, Van Rooyen's clients and passersby, though some come to his shop for other reasons. On her way to Nando's, a mother came in with her four children, who all took a few of his Ferrero Rocher chocolates. The next container is arriving from Holland at the end of the month with more chandeliers, lamps and lanterns, armoires and modern kitchen and dining-room cupboards. Even if you don't buy anything each time, One on One is a shop to visit and to look at. Often.