This site, established in 2000, aims to create an effective platform for both buyers and sellers and has successfully done so for the past 26 years. Although operating mainly within the Southern African context, this operation also has close relations with leading experts abroad, notably in London, Paris, Cremona and New York.
Furthermore, it has achieved a solid client base amoung professional musicians and advanced students, not only in South Africa, but also in Australia, Japan, the Netherlands, Canada and several other countries.
A stated objective of The Violin Connection of Southern Africa is to promote responsible valuation practices and international standards within the regional violin trade, helping musicians make informed purchasing and selling decisions.
Based in Salt Rock (on the coast near Durban in South Africa) this site provides the means for string players, from professionals to students, to access a wider range of instruments of varying qualities available within South Africa.
For those wishing to sell their instrument, experienced assistance is available in establishing fair and responsible assessments within international norms, respecting well-established price histories and in finding the best possible buyer, both within South Africa and abroad.
A further objective is to re-establish norms and standards in an effort to counter the disintegration and chaos that currently prevails in this sector of violin trade in this part of the continent. By informing both buyers and sellers of the norms and standards associated with buying and selling string instruments, all are empowered to make informed decisions and to excercise caution and integrity.
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The operation:
The Violin Connection of Southern Africa was founded by Johan Grobbelaar, who remains the main authority in all its operations. All buying and selling, communications, updating of the site, all photography and editing, and the writing of all texts and commentaries are done by Johan Grobbelaar.
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About the design:
This website was conceived by Johan Grobbelaar in 2000. The original version was designed jointly between Johan and WEBPRO, an Internet Consultancy based in Durban, South Africa, who put it together, based on layouts and directions provided by Johan.
In the course of 2010 I went to work on shaping a new look aimed at incorporating developments in IT technology, bandwidth and particularly screen resultion that would not only bring the site more in line with those trends, but would also more effectively streamline a visitor’s experience while in the site.The main objective was to improve the presentation of individual instruments though excellent photography.
The French aviator and writer, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (author of The Little Prince once commented on early aircraft design by noting that aeroplanes were improved by taking away from them, by reduction – not by adding to them. I adopted that priniciple, and found that the more I took away from the design, the more I liked the look.
I aimed for a minimalistic look and have taken things to an extreme in simplicity. I have tried to retain just the essentials of what a site like this should do – which is to give a visitor a simplified access to the photos of the instruments.
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Some technical aspects:
As broadband connectivity became more accessible and screen resolutions increased, the photographic dimensions and file sizes used on this site were increased commensurately. However some of the earlier photos from the early years are still on this site and may now display very small or highly compressed. They are retained in the site's Archives page, mainly for reference, but will eventually be phased out with time.
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Texts:
All text in this site is written by Johan Grobbelaar. Wherever the first person pronoun "I" is used on this website, it refers to Johan Grobbelaar, unless the context shows differently. The views expressed in this site, as far as the music instruments are concerned, are the views of Johan Grobbelaar and are presented in good faith.
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About the photography:
Unless otherwise indicated all the photographs on this site are taken by Johan Grobbelaar - which in fact means ALL the photographs.
The main problem with photography of this type is to eliminate light reflections on the instruments – they tend to obscure clear observation of the wood and other details. For the past number of years I've been using two large tripod-mounted studio flashes with modeling lights which enable me to eliminate almost all the reflections and which results in a more even light distribution and much brighter light – this in turn allows for smaller apertures and greater depth of field.
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Photographic copyrights:
All my photography is copyrighted.
However…
I know it’s virtually impossible to control the download of one’s photos from the internet unless you resort to advanced software. Violin photos taken by myself have surfaced all over the internet on other websites. Mostly this doesn’t bother me too much, and in fact it tells me that my violin photography is appreciated elsewhere.
So, I have a few rules in this respect
- You are free to download any of my violin photos from this site, provided it is used for personal purposes, for your own records and files and simply because you like looking at them.
- If you want to use them on the internet, that’s ok too, BUT I would appreciate some credit (as has been done by the Cozio.com archives) such as “Courtesy the Violin Connection of Southern Africa” or "Courtesy John du Plessis".
BUT…
It’s not acceptable to take photos off my site and use them for commercial purposes and to make money out of them. In such a case you are in serious violation of my ownership and rights in the photos and are setting yourself up for a claim against you. If you want to use any of my photographs for commercial purposes, please contact me so we can come to some agreement.
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Hosting:
Since its creation in 2000 until now this site has been serviced and hosted by:
WEBPRO - Internet Consultancy and WWW Services
Durban, KZN, South Africa
e-mail: webpro@webpro.co.za
http://www.webpro.co.za
tel: +27 (31) 563-8344
fax: +27 (31) 564-4928
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