Xtraordinary Women Magazine April 2015 | Page 23

Marica and I kicked off as Design Monarchy in middle 2010 and have been building this new business ever since. It was only in 2012 that the realisation dawned on me that I could safely claim to be an expert in my field. Seeking an avenue to share this valuable expertise, combined with my love for writing and Marica’s love for graphics, The Design Tabloid, our company blog was born. I am SO enjoying my work right now. I am so enjoying being “on purpose” as Gwen likes to put it. I am so enjoying learning what it means to build a successful business. Which, I might add often times also intimidates me – because it is way outta my comfort zone. So, ladies – watch this space – we are developing some exciting new services. Okay, I’ll let the cat outta the bag just a little bit: there is something we call “Decorate by Numbers”. This includes workshops, online decor services, Skype consultations, and something cool – taking peeps on jaunts around some of Cape Town’s awesome decor and specialist interior venues. There is even talk of interior-themed tours abroad. All for your heart’s pleasure and delight. From 1999-2003 I held various senior positions at some of Cape Town’s top players in the interiors trade – both furniture and soft furnishing. I have trawled factories, workshops, suppliers etc. and gotten to learn all I could from them. In the year 2005 the most exciting opportunity came my way – hotel interior design and decorating in Ireland. I put together a task team and within 6 months we had secured a multimillion rand project. It covered various facets of 5 hotels. The task team became a company – Razor Interior Design, operating from Cape Town. It was then that I became completely familiar with the interior design side of things – learnt all about drawings, site jargon and hung around the designers as they worked for us. Now, although I don’t do the technical stuff myself, I can include interior design into my “can do” list as Marica, my fabulous minion, is the qualified, super talented designer. And remember that you are beautiful within and that beauty within should always be visible without. If you believe that, but don’t know how to express it into your home or office interior – then let me be your guide and your mentor! EMAIL: [email protected] WEBSITE: www.designmonarchy.co.za Sadly, 2010 saw the closing of Razor with partners and some staff going their own way. Nevertheless, all was good. We were heading to where our destinies needed us to go. BLOG: www.thedesigntabloid.com