Welcome to another episode of our serious SLDB Dabs by Superlox Regroup, where we connect with some of the most interesting players in the luxury market. My name is Alvaro, and today we'll be having with us our very special guest. His name is John Case, and he's the director at ARK, and I claim Design Studio in Cape Town, South Africa to talk about interior architecture, interior design, and the core that really finds laid-back luxury. John also will be sharing with us how technology has helped them stay efficient during the pandemic and maximizing all the international projects, including Miami, all the way from South Africa.
He's currently great insights on how to maximize creativity, technology, and relationships to get yourself into a successful journey. I hope you enjoy it. John, my friend, how you doing? Hello, everybody.
Thank you very much for having me. Wow, love the glasses, John. Thank you. No, when you get to the scene, you need glasses to see.
No, no, I love the background. You definitely set it up perfectly for our conversation about interior design next level, so very excited. This is my creative space. What is it behind you?
It's a mural that I painted. I think during lockdown, I felt I needed to carve out a bit of space for me to work from, so I got a bit carried away and the rest is history. I also put it in my shoes. There we go.
Finding it convenient. No, that's incredible. Very nice. John, thank you again for joining.
I was making a quick intro about yourself. You know, Director at Arc, which is one of the most proclaimed and interesting, disruptive interior design studios with that laid-back luxury feeling. You guys are currently in Cape Town in South Africa, which is very interesting because most of your most remarkable projects, they are not even there, right? Yeah, look, I think it's been a very long road.
I've been with the company now for 16 years, and I began working there and at the time, Arc was doing mostly local work. I mean, in fact, I think the majority of our work was local. I think Cape Town itself is such a worldwide tourist attraction that we've made a lot of people that used to come here and stay in the villas and the homes that we designed. And before long, the international guests used to sort of ask us to do some of their projects overseas.
And that's really how it started. I mean, we're at the bottom of the world. And yeah, at the moment, we'd be working out there on every continent, I'm not the second. Wow.
And I really like that you touch based on that because obviously you need to set yourself a foundation, but the moment that you start building those relationships, automatically people start requesting to work with you, even though it's in different continents. So tell me, John, how do you guys have been transitioning through this year and everything that is going on because you were already working remotely with all these projects that you have going on? As you mentioned, I think, Archvault for many, many years has been working primarily in international projects. So we're sort of in the background and subconsciously preparing ourselves for what 2020 had to offer purely because I think we were so used to not being near our projects that we were quite used to working remotely.
And I think unknowingly at the time, because of the nature of where we are and if you look at Cape Town and the world map, we equally far away from everybody. We literally smack back in the middle of the middle of the road. So we spent many, many years refining our design process to allow us to communicate very visually and allow us to have that distance between us in order to get the project realized. And technology is a very, very big part of that.
How do you see that playing a role in the real estate industry? Because I know this is something that eventually will happen that a lot of people are skeptical still to implement all these virtual tours. I think, again, I mean, COVID has taught us that we're not allowed to be close to each other at the moment. So being able to connect in a virtual world is obviously a lot safer, at least for the moment.
And I think that technology has allowed us to really push the boundaries of design. These are the kind of things that I think will be a big driver in the property industry moving forward. Great point, John. And I think those are really valid things to have in consideration for those that are trying to reinvent the business a little bit.
Because right now is the time to really drill down into technology, because this is what's going to be heavy, especially in our industry. So well said, well, we'll be some kind of a little bit on some of the projects that you currently have going on. And what are some things that you're currently innovating on? We've busy with two projects in Miami and potentially starting another one, all private high-end builders, those three projects.
And then what we've just done are projects, a Pentas in Zaha'i, Hadid, 1000 Building, which obviously was a lovely project. We just finished that. And then on the other side of my US experience at the moment is that I'm doing quite a lot of work in Los Angeles. And I'll release our firm is and working with some amazing architects and some amazing collaborations.
But Miami is a wonderful place. I mean, Miami has an energy about it that really resonates with our aesthetic. We really like to give people their own private resorts. And I think that it's something that I think is a real signature of the kind of work that we do.
It's a great setup that they have here in Miami. And I know some of the projects that you're currently working on are working the past and they're beautiful. In fact, I can see them here from my window. So it's very spectacular to see the end results.
And as you mentioned, there is some of the well-known architects here, like Ralph, good friend of mine. And we're actually very close. And by looking at the projects that you guys have done in the past or that you're working on, I can see the city of Miami reinventing themselves when it comes to luxury. And that tropical feeling is very important.
Absolutely. And you, John, that's based on luxury. And you do something called the laid-back luxury. So what really is luxury to you?
Look, I think for me, luxury can be many things. I think the kind of projects and the kind of clientele that we have, these are people that are captains of industry or women that are travel the world. They have very busy, stressful lives. So the kind of home that they want to come back to is a place where they can really emosse themselves in all of the creature conferences I mentioned earlier.
They would enjoy. But at the same time, be themselves. Really relax, really have an extended lifestyle. And I think our whole designer aesthetic is centered around the idea of a lifestyle and to be able to have a design that responds well to your needs and your taste.
So luxury to me is not necessarily expensive materials. Luxury to me is having a design that can actually be centered around you. Wow. You said it amazingly.
I'm definitely going to just pick up this part of the focus and just have it because this is really well said. So thank you for sharing that. And not just this, but also all the knowledge and information about the interior design and everything that you guys have been working on because I find it very valuable. And this is a very personal business.
This is not a one time transaction. And that's it. You're actually building a relationship because you need to get to know them deeply to understand the type of lifestyle that they want to have and give them a purpose of meaning behind. So how important for you has been building relationships throughout those years that you've been in the business and how do you keep up the context and building upon those things?
Look, I think South Africans, we have a very, very, what's the word I'm looking for. Very stringent work ethic. I mean, we very hard workers. So a lot of that trust and a lot of those contacts came from a lot of blood-swicking tears and really working hard at relationships with these people.
As a designer, you have a responsibility to be able to earn your clients trust through your visual communication, but also the words that you speak and vocabulary that you use and the literature that you read, whatever it may be, whether it's music, fashion, et cetera. These are the things that resonates with us as people. And that's what you create connections with. I mean, absolutely also being yourself is something that I think you can't just say, design something if you're pretending to be something that you're not.
So, very well said. And it's important to find that angle to really connect and build upon that because relationships is the key of every successful business and definitely you are an example of it. So, well said. What are some ideas or what was the word?
What do you expect out of the 2021 when it comes to this issue? I'm trying to keep a very level head about 2021. I think we came out the blocks of 2020, absolutely not knowing what to expect. I think when we all started January this year, we expected 2020 would be fruitful.
I even personally remember the 1st of January 2020 and all the ideas I had for this year. And they were very, very quickly taken all out the window. So, I think 2021, I think I'm going into 2021 and our company is going into the next year with a renewed focus. I think the focus that we've had this year has been incredible.
I mean, my team and the designers that are in our office, everybody has really put their shoulder to the wheel. And funny enough, we're physically apart, but I think it's the closest we will be to being, I mean, we talked all day long, we're collaborating. And I think 2021 is going to be a year of where this is continuing. But I think I hope to go into 2021 with this year.
I think those are also great takeaways for those that are listening and tuning in today. And definitely the mindset to overcome what's been a really difficult year and to jumpstart 2021 the right way. I think it has taught us a lot this year. It has really pressured us into a way that we became stronger and better.
So, it's turning the industry, not just of the interior design, but in general, into an upper scale, where you need to reinvent the wheel and to make sure that you're using the technology that already existed and that is coming up to really leverage those relationships and your product. Now this is very important to promote yourself out there and to show the value. So, well said. Now, is there any other thing that you would like to share, John?
But I would like to add, you know, design is something that is not a career. It really is a lifestyle. It really is something that you have to be able to inverse yourself to a point where, I mean, as I said, I've been in the industry now for 20 years almost. And, you know, it's I think this year, and you mentioned, you know, this idea of learning a lot.
I mean, this year I fell in love with design again, you know, to be creative every day, all day, and be on the top of your game is tiring, you know? So, you know, we're all human at the end of the day. So, my advice to anybody is if you want to get into design, if you want to, if you want to, if you have a passion for architecture and interior design or fashion design, or any creative, any of the creative industries, you know, try and get mentors that can, you know, really kind of, you know, give you good advice and really teach you, you know, really, really good practice. If you don't know us, I mean, go check out our website.
Please follow them. And I'll put all the information on the Instagram. You can see the work that we do. We're a bunch of humble people.
We're absolutely obsessed with design. And I hope you that I work. I can I can back that up. I mean, you guys are phenomenal.
I love your team and the work that you guys do. And as you said, super humble and hard worker. I'm especially passionate, you know, when you're so passionate about what you do, it reflects in the results. So very nice.
Everything that you've shared with us today, also very inspiring. I think that everybody that is tuning in today have gotten lots of value. And yeah, for those that will watch it later or listen to it later, I will also put in the comments, everything about your company so that they can check you guys out. And yeah, thank you very much.
Amazing. Thanks again for your time. Keep that passion flowing. It really reflects.
So keep up the great work. I'm looking forward to seeing you soon. Thank you very much. Have a great day.
Have a great day. And take care. Bye bye. And thanks again for everybody tuning in today.
We hope you enjoyed it. And remember, embrace it's beautiful success in life. My name is Alvaro and I'll see you next time.