I am a Cape Town boy, matriculated at Westerford. After that I did a three-year degree at AFDA in Production Design.

I have always enjoyed making objects, working at Conrad Hicks’s forge in Obs in Grade Six and taking over my father’s tool collection at that time.

I am also a musician, playing Double Bass in the South African National Youth Orchestra and the Cape Philharmonic Youth Orchestra.

I love fantasy and sci-fi, having read Terry Pratchett and Tolkien at an early age, and watching all the Star Wars Movies several times.

There is joy in learning to make something new, and I have taught myself many skills, including woodwork, forging, resin casting and making realistic objects from scratch. At AFDA I usually made the props for the films I was working on myself – ranging from fake sawn-off legs to space guns.

I have also built plenty of sets, from a gritty sci-fi space ship to a post-apocalyptic dive bar, even experimenting with forced perspective!

Hard work and new challenges inspire me and I look forward to the next challenge.

Jan Gelderblom