Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to another S.L.G. Meetup, your host, Alvaro, to bring you another exciting guest to talk about different areas in the luxury space. And for that, we're going to have the director of ARK. His name is John Case, and he's going to be telling us all about incredible projects that his company has been working on.
Anyways, John, please, and that himself. I love you. Thanks for having me again, Alvaro. It's really, really great to be live with you again.
I've really enjoyed our last chat. And so much has happened since then, you know. So it's really, really good to connect and let you know what we're busy with and what we've been up to. But how are things for you, how are things in Cape Town, South Africa?
Tell us a little bit about what is going on. Well, I think, you know, looking back over the last three years, there's so much to take in and so many lessons that I think we've learned as a company. You know, when we first started working in the international market, I think there's so much new to kind of absorb and to kind of understand and process and culture. And, you know, the kind of expectation and the kind of clientele that we were attracting was something that was very new to us, you know, a number of years ago.
And I think we've obviously had a few years in the international market now. So we've definitely learned, you know, a lot more about process, a lot more about the kind of projects that we believe we could add value to. The US specifically has been amazing to us. I think the logic and the kind of the way that we design, you know, really kind of resonates with a lot of our clients, a lot of our American clients.
Main and humble, staying grounded, really getting your hands dirty. So is there a specific approach on how you make sure that the entire group of people that work together remain that way? Yes, I think, you know, a big part of this is the recruitment strategy that the company employs. You know, having a great portfolio of work kind of gets your foot in the door, but it doesn't secure you the job.
A lot of that is the fit, you know, is the work ethic and the understanding. I mean, we work really hard, you know, our teams are so highly skilled that, you know, these guys are so dedicated to design it. It's quite hard for new people to fit into that level of strategy, you know, and I think what we always try to do it, which was, you know, in really invest time in mentorship, in training, in building up the kind of, you know, we always say we're trying to create seconds. I'm always looking for my replacement.
Tell me a little bit about what are some of the latest projects that you have. Looking in the States, you know, for example, we're working, as I said, we're working, I think, in 46 countries at the moment, which is a pretty astounding number. Yeah, I would like to speak. I think a big part of that is, in Cape Town, in part of the challenges that we face is that, you know, I'm working in the US Times Zones, you know, so my day is sort of starting, you know, calls now, and these are all things that we've had to learn and develop.
And expansion, expansion for us was always, you know, well, you know, maybe one day we'll open an office in Miami or Los Angeles or wherever it might be. And, you know, those are some discussions that we have. But, you know, ultimately, in South Africa, we kind of, our home base is equally far away from everywhere. So, you know, we're able to kind of, you know, equally far away from everybody.
And so, African's are great applying. But we've seen a bit of a trend start developing in the last, I would say, 24 months. Is that, I think through COVID, and people spending a lot more time at home and a lot more time in, you know, their own personal spaces, whether it's a holiday home or their own private residences. You know, there's this big push towards wellness.
You know, a lot of our homes are not, you know, the sort of far kind of wellness, beauty, kind of aspects are growing. And I think they're also kind of lent itself to the locations that we're now working in. Miami, there's another big project that we just, we just signed recently. I can't really talk about it at this point, but it's going to be amazing.
It's going to be absolutely phenomenal. And the client, the client that we're working with is such an icon and such an amazing person. And him and his wife are just phenomenal. And I'm really, really excited about that project.
You're going through the process, you know, the process of onboarding everything is, do you give them some feedback on what you've seen overseas that you could implement it here and create something completely different? I think I think I think, you know, and this talks a little bit about, I would say, design trains. I mean, you know, I think if you say to most more experienced designers, when we talk about trains and bringing influences into projects and being influenced by the things, I think a lot of designers kind of, you know, sort of negatively look upon trains. In other words, we're trying to be unique.
We're trying to, you know, come up with something new. I think when you be in the industry, as long as I have, I think you learn that there really is this sort of distilling of your experiences, your work, what the client has shown you that they enjoy. The cultural narrative of the site and location is a number of things that start coming into play into this sort of recipe that forms the concept. But I do think that I do think that I personally, my experiences in life and my travel experiences and working around the world and all of that has kind of got me to this point.
They have all been little clues to get to the designer that I am today. And I think that, you know, is something that continues to evolve. What's the best approach to really promote your brand and your product services? I think, I know, that sounds kind of like a bumper sticker, but you know, it is so much of it is about being true to yourself, which is my bumper sticker moment.
You know, and that means sticking your neck out. That means taking risks. You know, I think, I think, I think back to a number of projects where I was pushing forward on a design because we knew it was the right thing to do, you know, was very, very stressful. It was, you know, on the point where the client saying, you know, these guys on for me, you know, this is not working out, you know, maybe, like, is not the right team.
And I think that, you know, I've had amazing mentors in my life. I mean, it's definitely being one of them, Mark Riley, you know, Greg and Philip, all the senior kind of directors of Soto and Arc, I grew up under them, you know, so it was like, you know, partly being under the wing of a dragon. You know, you learn, you learn the hard stuff, the hard way very often. But so much comes from confidence.
So much comes from speaking in a manner where you can communicate and you can get the message across. And I think that design is very much lost in translation often, you know, and I think that comes with experience. I think that, you know, we didn't get this far by just arriving here by because of one good project. What was the biggest mistake that you were like, holy shit, what did you learn from it?
I think the big, that's the easy one, actually. It's funny that I was talking about the colleague yesterday. I think our biggest mistake initially was seriously undervaluing our abilities because of fear, because of fear. A lot of it was around, can we do it?
Can we compete? You know, I mean, you know, all of the designers that I grew up, you know, drooling over, you know, the, the, the, all those companies were so far away from something I'd ever reach that you kind of start devaluing yourself to a little bit. And I think us being South African and us kind of getting this opportunity and my first international project was a project in Paris. And the client was someone that is an African client and I'd done a number of projects for it.
And the opportunity came up, he said, listen, do you guys want to take a shot at this? And my first reaction was like, absolutely not. We have no idea what we're doing. We can't work with French architects.
We can't speak a language. You know, you start doing hurdles in your way. You start kind of trying to give yourself reasons to turn it down, you know, just in case you fail. And I think the biggest mistake we made in those years was we thought that we maybe went good enough and maybe we weren't experienced enough and maybe they weren't like the kind of the work that we do.
But then you kind of, as you start doing, I mean, we took on that project and it was amazing and I worked with French architects and I learned a little bit of French, my French is terrible. But that's kind of how the ball started going. Tell me about the word luxury, right? Because it's so overutilized, it's obviously, it's different for everybody.
So what is really for you guys? Mine, mine, my sort of definition of luxury, I think it's a change. It does change. I think the core of luxury is initially about the best in life, you know, having everything that you need, living in spaces that inspire you, which I could, you know, that's kind of what I think most people would say luxury is.
I think for me and I think a lot of the people that we work with in our team, luxury is being able to offer somebody the best, a place where they can be the best versions of themselves. You know, and let me give you an example picture for you very briefly. I mean, if you think of some of our clients, these are people that are incredibly well traveled. They are well-rated.
They are well-educated, majority of them. They are very much their own personalities. They've worked for an endless amount of time to get to where they are in life. And my job to give those people have luxury.
Their life is all surrounded by luxury. So in my version of luxury, and what I would always perceive as luxury is, I imagine that person on a Sunday morning reading the newspaper with no shoes on, you know, sitting in his beautiful lounge, and being the best version of himself is most relaxed, most intimate self, surrounded by things that inspire them. And I think that for me is what real luxury is. I remember one of my first big jobs in Miami, you know, across the road was a top designer.
And here I was, you know, getting out of the Uber, you know, walking onto the sights. I mean, our client was amazing. I mean, I still hold him hugely in a beer place in my heart. And I think he took a shot.
He took a shot at us. He saw something that other people hadn't seen yet. And I think that really was where we started kind of seeing, well, this is actually what luxury is. This is not just about making this place look pretty or be a magazine cover.
And there's certain publications out there that I believe capture that really well, you know, aiding, for example, you know, like, you know, is a magazine that I think captures those little quiet moments of luxury. Those beautiful little nuances, those little kind of defining characters of a project. You coming from a position of passion, because you do everything from your heart. You are by that.
I mean you and your team. And that's what it looks like from the DNA of arc. And then that's inspiring the client to really feel, wow, I can be my best version through this. And that's where the light becomes the nucleus of what everything is doing there.
So as you were saying, I was just picturing that on myself. I'm like, well, what's your version? No, I mean, I'm going to design it for you. You don't know it yet, but it's going to happen.
You know, I live right in front of that island. So when I went to that, that's my routine. That's my routine. I always go outside in the balcony and I picture that.
I'm like, that's my beautiful home. I always need to redesign it a little bit. I'll make it as you said, inspiring to be my version. But no, I think that what you just said is phenomenal.
And I really appreciate everything that you've shared with us today. It was a really deep and great conversation with really gold points. So I do appreciate your time. Thank you.
I'm going to see you very soon here. I'm going to be. Is there anyone you want to share with us? Look, I mean, I think, just to personally thank you for this opportunity.
I always love chatting to you. You're a great guy. The brand that you built is phenomenal. And it's something I always refer to.
And I think for us, you know, and then again, it's simply to some of the logic that you would be an art employer. I mean, you're this outgoing creative person. You've got this amazing ability to talk to people. You're a person that people really want to follow.
Because you're always doing amazing things. I'm often very jealous. And I think that that's really what the world is about nowadays. It's untropping your ship.
It's creating your own lane. And I think that's something that I think a lot of people that follow your channels are resonating with. And I think arc as well. Now, arc resonates with that too.
So a big thank you to you and the super luxury group. We always follow on and see what you're up to. And to watch this space, guys, please follow us. We've got some very exciting things coming out.
And there's some amazing projects on the go. I can't wait to share them with the world. I'm pretty sure they're going to lead to new exciting adventures. So thank you very much.
I appreciate it. I love it. What you just said is this phenomenon. Those lines that we walk together, they most times connect interconnect now.
And that's why collaboration becomes important, which is one of the reasons that you've succeeded so much through collaborations. And I really appreciate what you just said. So thank you again. Wishing you well and we'll see you all the best.
All the best. Bye-bye. Bye. Just cheers.
And thanks again for everybody tuning in today. We hope you enjoyed it. I remember embracing its beautiful success in life. My name is Alvaro and I'll see you next time.