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www.thevillagenews.co.za
10 February 2021
LOVE A LITTLE LOCAL
Who knew spectacles could be this chic Writer Hedda Mittner
W
hen Bierman Malan Optometrists moved into their new premises on Station Square at the beginning of December, co-owner Liandri Malan and her team could not have been more thrilled – and with good reason. The chic, minimalist interior design has turned this historic building (known in earlier years as The Farmhouse before it became Savannah Café and more recently, Puzzles Pub) into a bright, modern space bringing world-class eyecare and eyewear to Hermanus. Previously known as Bierman Britz, Liandri bought out Lizette Britz when she emigrated to Canada in 2019. Bierman Malan Hermanus is now one of three practices in the area, with the other two being in Gansbaai and at the Whale Coast Mall. Originally from Bloemfontein, where this small bundle of energy graduated from the Free State University with a Bachelor of Optometry degree, Liandri completed her practical year in a rural town in the Eastern Cape near East London before venturing even further, this time to the Caribbean, where she lived and worked in Trinidad and Tobago for two years. She also spent time in New Zealand and it was on a trip to Argentina that her husband, Gys Malan, proposed to her. The couple married in 2012 and eventually settled in Durbanville, where Liandri did locum work while starting a family. A few years later they moved to Gys’s father’s wine farm near Stanford where their second daughter was born (they are now 6 and 4 years old). After working at an optometry practice in Sandbaai for two years, Liandri started teaching physics and chemistry at Hermanus High School while also helping out at Bierman Britz, then located right next to Woolworths. A year after she bought into the business and the name was changed to Bierman Malan, Liandri saw that the building across the square was for sale. The pub that had been there at the time had not
survived the lockdown and she and her partner, Wikus Bierman immediately set out to purchase the building in October 2020 – and then to completely strip the interior and renovate it to their taste. Although Liandri is very proud to be part of a dynamic family-orientated group of independent practices in South Africa (Bierman Optometry Group) with high professional standards, providing personal and professional eyecare to their clients, she is even more proud of their community projects. “Giving back is so important – now more than ever before,” she says. “All three of our shops give eye tests to three learners per month, from both Hermanus High and Gansbaai Academia, plus lenses and a frame at a nominal fee of R150, as well as one free pair of glasses to a needy adult every month. Bierman Malan also sponsors the Hermanus Primary hockey team (Liandri loves the sport and was a hockey coach during her teaching years at the high school). “It is our aim to find a solution to every customer’s problem, be it enabling them to read to their grandchildren, see on the blackboard at school, or to see, look and feel good and wear their spectacles with confidence. We also have a wide variety of branded sunglasses that always include the most up-to-date fashions.” All the Bierman Malan practices conform to the strictest Covid-19 protocols. Appointments are scheduled one hour apart, everything is sanitised between clients and the spacious premises allow you to shop around for the right frame while keeping more than the required social distance from others. This practice is certainly a delight to visit! Find them at 25 High Street (opposite Woolworths in the bright red building). Call them on 028 312 1810 or follow them on Facebook and Instagram so as not to miss out on their fabulous specials.
ABOVE: Bierman Malan Hermanus moved their practice to this bright red building in December. BELOW: The Bierman Malan Hermanus team in their new premises on Station Square: from left are Liandri Malan (optometrist and co-owner), Sarah Clark, Caroline Ryan and Ingrid Martin (all three optical assistants), Adrian Chimphalika (dispensing optician) and Petré Celliers (optometrist at the Gansbaai practice). PHOTOS: Gillian Coetzee
