Right, so the great building project has moved decisively into the next phase. That phase is defined by the erection of large steel structures which represent the major aesthetic addition to the house. And also by the first two major snags – one the fault of some previous swimming pool builder and one the fault of our architect.

So, this is what the structure now looks like:

Some pretty impressive steel work going on there. However two problems are visible in this picture to the observant eye.

1. The pool, it turns out, was skew. It’s always been skew. Or the house is skew. Or something is skew. But upon erection of a wall next to the pool this became obvious. The brickwork you see in the pool is the rather costly undertaking of changing the orientation ever so slightly. I am now convinced the “changes” to the pool are costing more than an entirely new pool.

2. The steel beams are too high! Turns out the 3D drawings were just “artist impressions” and the fine steel work is, in reality, large thick steel beams. That’s ok – but someone’s measurements were off and they are now towering over the house instead of sitting nicely under the eaves the way they were supposed to.

The design, if one refers back to the 3D renderings, had these two “glass boxes” pushing out from the front of the current dining room/new library, and in front of the kitchen. This was to create the effect of having added a modern section onto an existing house. With the steel as it stands here, we actually have a steel structure towering over the front of the house and obscuring the entire existing structure (well in front of the kitchen anyway).

So…

To make a long story short, the architect did some fancy footwork and has redesigned the house “on the fly” as it were. His enthusiasm, after some initial wariness on our part, worked. And we are now officially excited about our redesign.

You will notice – if you’re still with me – that the roof facade now includes a stepped level with a skylight. This roof will also, I’m told, extend forward and over the pool.

So – challenge faced. I should also add that our architect has offered to cover any additional costs incurred by doing this – which is pretty excellent of him, and once again makes me feel good about who we are working with on this project.

Well, this photo says just about all of it:

What you will see poking it from behind the rubble is our first new wall, rising from the earth like a volcanic mountain range. So that’s encouraging. The rest looks pretty apocalyptic, I’ll grant you. But it’s coming along.

I thought I’d share five insights about building that I have now learned. These will not be the first five insights I learn and I suspect they may become increasingly hysterical as time goes by – but here they are anyway:

1. It is possible to budget fairly accurately

The common wisdom about building is that the budget will be missed by anywhere between 50% and 100%. So when you are approaching a building project you are warned to expect calamity.

So far – and granted I’m not all the way through yet – I think it is possible to create a fairly accurate cost. You will never, ever be able to account for everything (I just spent R3000 taking out a tree, for example) but you can commit your contractors to a fixed cost and provided your architect has done a good job of specifying everything it’s actually not impossible to come in close to your estimates.

Having said all of that, I advise spending time with someone who has recently renovated and going through their finished cost tracking sheet so you can remember all the things that are sometimes forgotten.

2. Glass is f*$%ing expensive

Our design has a lot of glass in it. These days you are forced to come up with energy efficient glass designs given that we no longer have a functional electricity provider. And it costs serious, serious cash. A full third of our cost estimate is the glass doors and windows.

These days a lot of home design has a lot of glass – and no wonder given that it’s awesome to have a lot of light and view of garden from your home. But if you want to do a renovation inexpensively you need to use glass sparingly.

3. Simple

A very clear design trend – it’s everywhere – is minimalism. This is good news from a building complexity point of view, but it’s surprisingly hard to accomplish, particularly in SA. Why? Because a lot of the stuff out there – from tiles to window frames to furniture – bucks this trend. There is so much frilly, elaborate crap available and very little stylish, simple stuff. And – ironically – the simplest, cleanest stuff costs the most.

I think creating something singular and simple is a wonderful challenge and a beautiful aesthetic. But be prepared to fight the fussiness of what’s on the shelf.

4. Live at Home

This is controversial, but I’d advise living on the property you’re building if you possibly can. The number of small tweaks and insights we keep having just by seeing what’s going on is immense. And being available to the crew on a daily basis to field questions and provide guidance is invaluable.

It is not fun. Our architect has told us to move out a dozen times. But we have structured the building program in such a way that we can live here while its going on, and it feels like a smart move.

5. Browse

To create something wonderful you need to fill your head with wonderful things. You are not an interior designer (unless you are). And you are not an architect (unless, again, you are). So you know nothing about what makes a beautiful space or structure. Unless you have a gift for it – which probably comes from having immersed yourself in design for years – you’re going to have to study up, and fast.

I will post a list of resources at some stage that we have used but needless to say the three obvious ones are:

– Websites – like houzz.com and similar. There is endless inspiration, albeit frequently not that well organised or searchable.

– Books – go and spend hours in Exclusive Books or at bookstores like Warm & Glad and just look at things. There are also countless magazines to browse although I’d advise against spending too much time with international publications featuring beautiful products that you cannot buy here

– Shops – where the reality sinks in. Get out to wherever your furniture and fittings mecca is in your city and just start seeing what is available. Kramerville and Fourways in Joburg are musts, but there will also be a lot of small places all over with useful things to see.

Bathrooms, kitchens, tiles, fabric, furniture, flooring – the choices you will be called upon to make will be countless. It’s easier, eventually, when you have a mental catalogue.

Well. It’s been a good long while since I updated this blog. Some of that can be attributed to the long wait for Heritage and Council to pass our plans. Some of it is due to overseas travel and other delays. But we have also spent a good deal of time getting our heads around this project, and, of course, getting the quote. More on that in a later post.

For now I am happy/terrified to report the construction phase has begun. And, like all good things that go up, the first step is to break shit down.

This project can more or less be broken into three parts:

1. The reconstruction of the old “cottage” space into a new master bedroom with a new storey and viewing deck

2. Modifications to the main house – primarily to open it up and join it to the new master bedroom above – currently these are entirely separate structures

3. Changes to the garden and outdoor area – primarily to open up the space which is quite oddly designed at the moment so that the garden and home feel like two different spaces

Because we plan to live on the property throughout (yes, I realise this is insane) we have decided to do the project in phases beginning with the cottage to master bedroom evolution. This will mean, in theory, that we can move into that space while the modifications to the house are being done.

The builder estimates this is an 8 month project. Yeah right, I hear you say. Add two and double it. Well, optimism is a rare thing and so I plan to cling to it as long as I can. Two days in and I have nothing to report in this regard.

This is where the cottage began this week:

And this is what it currently looks like:

(Cool, right?)

Demolition is a fast acting agent. Needless to say (why do people say that if it truly is needless?) it’s going to be quite some time before I can post a picture of the new structure. “Builder’s holidays” (different enough from everyone else’s holidays so as to have their own name) are in full swing and so getting materials isn’t likely. The builder himself – who seems great by the way – is keen to work through but I suspect this has more to do with wanting the income than enthusiasm for the project or a protestant work ethic.

So – next step is to check whether the foundations of this structure can support a double-storey. For this a mysterious character called the “engineer” (think: Prometheus) will turn up at some stage to make an inspection. Based on that…well, we shall see.

It’s an exciting prospect to see a physical space you know so well transforming into something entirely new. It’s less exciting to watch your funds slowly leak out of the bottom of your bank account. I believe this is the see-saw I’m going to have to get used to being on in the next year of my life.

Not everyone planning a renovation can afford to have an architect to do the heavy lifting for you. But if you decide to spend the money you get the enjoy the magic of seeing your new house rendered out into some pretty lifelike.

There are some ambitious ideas here: creating much more flow between the house and the garden; putting in a natural filtration pool; and putting in large, glass sliding doors and windows across most of the front of the house.

 

 

The idea is to then turn what is currently a cottage/gym into the master bedroom, with a new storey and viewing deck (Craighall Park actually has some lovely views if you can find the height and position). So here we will put in a wide set of steps and again create a glazed room that enjoys the views onto the garden (which isn’t visible here but which is lovely with established trees).

So the pondering now begins. Oh, and the quoting – which no doubt is going to curtail much of this 3D revelry.

One the craziest thoughts we’re having in this renovation is putting in a wine cellar. We both love wine and so this makes some sense although the costs and usefulness are still to be determined.

In terms of Wine Cellars I’d say you have three basic options:

1. Dedicated room at house-level

There are many examples of this kind of wine cellar. Below is a typical example of a special room converted or constructed as a wine cellar. You’d see this kind of thing in many restaurants.

Often (as here) these are glass-walled rooms with shelves, a bit like a walk-in closet (in fact our current walk-in closet has been earmarked for a possible conversion).

The thing about wine cellars is that they have to be carefully temperature controlled. If you can find a naturally cool place that’s great. Otherwise you need a special cooling system which doesn’t come cheap.

2. Underground Wine Cellars (Classic)

Of course the term “cellar” puts one in mind of something you have to descend into the earth to find. With stone walls and maybe a few spiders. The nicest of these options you could actually eat in – I’ve eaten in a few before. Here is a particularly amazing example of one of these:

This is not a particularly practical option as an add-on to a house I wouldn’t think so I’m imagining this is a wine cellar for a different building project. One on a wine estate maybe.

3. Underground Wine Cellar (Modern)

Some very innovative wine cellars are now available that can be installed into a giant hole anywhere in the house. Bizarrely enough the local supplier of these is in my very road and so they are certainly the first place we will be visiting to find out more.

What is really smart about this is that it can be retro-fitted and takes a small amount of space. It’s pre-fabricated so once you have right size hole you can plop it in and off you go.

The local supplier is Urban Cellars.

 

As with everything on this project we are merely in the discovery phase but the idea of wine cellar, which started as a silly fantasy, is at least sounding somewhat possible now.

Check out the rest of our idea board on Pinterest.

For the next year or so this blog will be dedicated to the renovation and rebirth of my home in Johannesburg – now newly occupied by myself and my partner Sarah. Her move to Joburg and our decision to stay in this house, at least for the foreseeable future, has prompted us to re-imagine the space.

I am no stranger to renovation, having been a part of four office revamps in the past fifteen years. I am aware, of course, of the pain and expense ahead of me. And of the many treacherous decisions that have to be made – structure, space, fittings, interiors. The disappointing service providers. The missed deadlines. The endless Pinterest boards of homes more beautiful, more lavish and more impressive.

However I have also always want to create my own space – to construct something bespoke which suits my idiosyncrasies. I now have a partner who is up for the challenge and equally excited about the outcome. And so, we begin.

I will post here all the contractors, options, stores and suppliers as we go along and I will do my best to offer some advice where I can.

The house itself is in Craighall Park and is a fairly typical home in this area. It has been renovated previously so that much of it is fairly modern, although some corners were cut. In particular the exterior “cottage” is actually in the prime position on the property whilst the house itself sits somewhat uncomfortably up against the road and behind a beautiful, but huge, oak tree. So it lacks both sunlight and view which are both easy to imagine from the cottage.

So the overall plan – at this early stage – is to move the main bedroom and some kind of living space to the cottage, join it and the house, put in some kind of deck from which to enjoy the sunsets, and then refit and refurnish everything. We are determined to create a space worthy of a Pinterest board rather than just inspired by one.

Wish us luck.

In this piece I’m going to pick on Dan Patlansky a bit. It’s not entirely fair but he is the catalyst for my writing this so he’s just going to have to bear up. I’m quite certain he doesn’t care what I think anyway. But for those of you who think he’s some kind of guitar demigod: be warned.

Patlansky had the honour – a rare one I’m told – of opening for Bruce Springsteen at the Johannesburg concert earlier this month. Given that Springsteen played for three hours and had brought three – four including himself – world-class guitarists with him, Patlansky was unnecessary in both temporal and auditory senses. Nevertheless, there he was.

Without doing a detailed review of his performance let’s say two things. First, he is technically a very proficient guitarist. His phrasing is clear and precise, and he is passionate with the instrument. And secondly his material is utterly derivative and unoriginal. When musicians use the word “blues” to describe their music, in 2014, they are telling you to prepare yourself either for cover songs, or for painful attempts to add to a genre that is already too crowded. By and large, I mean. Every style of every art still has space for new geniuses. Unfortunately Patlansky isn’t one.

During the concert I tweeted that Patlansky had both listened to too much White Stripes, and not enough. As a fairly obvious example of how a guitarist, with blues roots, can completely change the musical landscape, look no further than Jack White. That said, this is no more helpful than saying “look no further than Picasso”. White is a genius, both of the instrument and of composition, and is placed into this scene as a point of comparison. An unfair one perhaps, but I did warn you I would be.

Patlansky offered up to the enthusiastic crowd at Soccer City every rock and blues guitar cliche ever invented. There wasn’t a single sound or note that wasn’t an imitation of something else. I know there is no such thing as “truly original” in music, or anything else, but there is a difference between technique and mimicry. Mastering a scale but deploying it in a surprising way is, in effect, taking something played a million times before and playing it yourself. Lifting, wholesale, phrases and sounds, and piecing them together is more akin to remixing than invention. And even then we must demand novelty rather than simple competence.

And competent he is. As I said above I can’t fault his physical technique or delivery. If you want to hear someone trot out blues and rock cliches one upon the other, at times with superb athleticism, Dan’s your man. His vocal skills are less impressive and his band merely capable, but his guitar playing is excellent.

The problem here is that he – like so many talented South African musicians before him – is failing to innovate. And, like many South African musicians, plays crowd pleasing music that has the tin ears of the general SA public vibrating in ecstasy. We too, you can hear them thinking (and read them tweeting), have our Peter Green; our Stevie Ray Vaughn. Indeed, our Tom Morello. Yeah Dan, rip up that stage.

This is not to say that South Africa has never produced great music or great musicians. Depending on your tastes, and your generation, you can point to some examples of bands that have done something unique and have gained international acclaim as a result. But the truth is that in a country of 50m+ people, 20 years after sanctions ended, we have produced hardly any really world class acts. In fact, I’d go as far as to say we have produced none. We have no U2 or Sigur Ros or Crowded House (to name three of thousands). For international recognition we have some Apartheid-era icons like Johnny Clegg or Hugh Masekela. And we have the sorry examples of The Parlotones and Goldfish: horrible me-too acts that, like Patlansky, are all trying to epitomise something they overheard.

The fault, it must be said, is with the audience more than the musicians. As a public, as a culture, we are content to hear someone quote Hendrix and Jimmy Page. We mistake that for greatness. We are connoisseurs of craft, instead of champions of originality. I see this in many parts of our art and culture (with obvious, but telling, exceptions that prove the rule). It’s as though we were so starved of this kind of thing during the Apartheid years that we believe it is sufficient to simply keep up with the Joneses. And as long as we do that we will never have an iconic world band emerge from this country.

It is wonderful that young South Africans are so supportive of local music. From Hip Hop to Rock, Metal and RnB we have lots and lots of love for local music. Credit must go to radio stations, venues and people in general for snapping out of the belief that South Africa has no talent. We have, in some ways, drifted to the opposite extreme. We now think we have so much talent that all we need to do is show up and throw empty beer cups at one another. We’re great so what’s the problem?

The problem is that we are going nowhere with all of this. There is no emergent culture or style in the way that kwaito, or even boereorkes, was. There are just white guys, with fake American accents, aping acts from times gone by, who were blessed with more talent and the benefit of being pioneers. It’s kind of tragic when you think of it like that. Or, if not tragic, then at least self-defeating. I’m not taking away from the fact that everyone in the stadium had a jolly old time when Dan laid down his blue notes against a 4/4 rhythm. But having fun and growing culture are not the same thing.

We have to start supporting musicians whose goal is not to be a great example of something but to create something new. And whilst they too will be derivative and inspired by others they will, in the process, create something that is an expression of our country and our culture. Something we can export with pride and be the world’s best exemplar of. Springsteen took to the stage and utterly, effortlessly, erased any memory of Patlansky within one song. And well he might: he is the best in the world at being what he is. We stare, as South Africans, in wide-eyed wonder as much at his fame as at the object lesson. He cannot be dismissed. This is what we need to encourage and nourish in our own land.

The digital marketing industry is, in my view, one of the least transformed and most chauvinistic I have encountered. It’s ironic because we are supposedly the most progressive, groundbreaking and mould-shattering of all industries. And yet there is not a single large digital agency with a female CEO, and precious few women in senior roles in any part of our industry.

I take as much responsibility and blame for this as anyone. The Native VML Exco has one woman on it; the DMMA Board has zero, not counting our non-executives. It’s a tragic indictment of a white, male culture that has to change.

So in the spirit of this I would like to celebrate a few people in our business that rarely see the limelight but are every bit as critical to our success as the men, like me, whose names are constantly up in lights.

Diane Wilson – Native VML CFO

It would be impossible for me to exaggerate the profound importance that Di has made to the three businesses she and I have been a part of. Starting with humble roots in interior design and a stint at a network cabling business, she joined VWV Interactive as the first kind of project manager working anywhere in digital in SA. She has gone on to write the textbook on how to manage digital projects, operationally run a web development and digital agency business and structure its finances. She has not only learned everything by experience but has taught hundreds of people over the past two decades how its done.

Di hates public attention more than just about anything – and as a result has remained one of our best kept secrets over all these years. You will never see her at the Loeries or The Bookmarks, and she leaves agency parties early. But she has a remarkable ability to bond with people in their language and at their own level. She has never felt comfortable with a C-suite title, and would choose to sit around talking about physics with some of our back-end geeks over presenting at a Board meeting any day. But there is no-one I know who has a sharper, more insightful, more courageous view of the world. She has 20-20 blindspot vision and has never been daunted by a single problem, no matter how hopeless, in all the years I’ve known her.

For me personally she has been my partner and comrade-in-arms for 17 years – she has enabled me to do whatever useful things I have done professionally and I honestly believe I would be nothing without her. I wish she had more ambition and desire for public recognition because she could give pretty much every man I know a run for their money.

Jacqui Maroun – Native VML Head of UX

Another long-time shareholder and seminal part of all three of my businesses, Jax has risen from a great content writer to one of SA’s foremost experts in the burgeoning field of UX. Having built what I suspect is the largest UX team in any local agency, with some of the best people, she continually amazes all of us with her patience, insights and exceptional work. Even more gratifying is the fact she has brought a number of new women into this industry, and given them the kind of clear, purposeful mentoring that has begun – I have no doubt – any number of incredible new careers.

Jacqui has repeatedly re-invented how we work and how we think – and in the process produced some iconic pieces of the South African web. She also happens to be one of the nicest, kindest and most supportive people I know – even in an industry which can turn anyone’s heart to stone. Loved by clients, admired by colleagues and an inspiration to her team, I feel exceptionally lucky to have had her in my life and business all these years.

Danelle Stiles – Native VML Head of Project Management

It is rare to meet someone in the midst of their carefree youth, hire them into the most junior role in the business, and be able to honestly say they have risen to the top. Dan is the person I am perhaps proudest of from my working career. I like to think I have been a part of her success but the truth is she has earned and owned every step herself. Unlike many young people today who expect success to fall into their laps, Dan has worked her butt off for over a decade, from receptionist to HTML developer to project manager to shareholder. She now manages a 15-strong team of project managers across two cities. Moreover she is the person who is increasingly responsible for Native’s services billings – a huge task in one of SA’s largest digital agencies.

I truly believe that Dan is someone the industry will get to know in years to come. She will be one of the women who rise to be a role-model to others. She is self-made, self-motivated and brilliant at what she does.

Tracy Cabrita – Native VML Head of Traffic

If there is part of an agency that is invisible when the awards roll around it’s the traffic department. Digital traffic is not the same as traditional agencies. With the heavy production focus we have, traffic people have the unenviable task of dealing with account managers, project managers, creatives, programmers, social media people, content producers, UX designers – the list goes on. The mix of knowledge and skills these people need, with the resilience, patience and fortitude to deal with a thousand curveballs a minute makes them as rare as a creature as its possible to imagine.

When the Native merger happened Tracy was running operations for Brandsh. She also had a small child and another on the way. Unlike the others on the list above – none of whom have children yet – Tracy has managed to take on the traffic function of a busy, growing, demanding agency while having two small kids. More than that she has been able and willing to collaborate with people like me who are constantly trying to re-invent the way agencies work. This is interesting work but it’s also disruptive and adds tremendous stress. I don’t know another traffic person who would spend 5% of the time Tracy does in trying to innovate and improve. She is uniquely dedicated, loyal and a really good person. And leaves every other traffic manager back in the dark ages.

Vanessa Gibb, Native VML Head of HR

Once in a decade or so you meet someone in your professional life who so exceeds your expectations that you consider retracting your endless pronouncements about being an atheist just so you have someone to thank for your luck. Vanessa is one of those rare finds – an HR and OD person who is not about leave policies and petrol claims but is about finding great people and making them happy. She is also open to the denizens of insane experiments I constantly inflict on her in an attempt to build Native’s unique culture.

If she doesn’t end up writing a book about building organisational culture and managing so-called Millennials she will be robbing the world of her insights and accumulated wisdom. I will also be really disappointed. I expect at least a footnote somewhere in that.

Digital skills, in SA, is almost an oxymoron. Vanessa is re-defining the role of talent and culture in the industry, and in so-doing is helping to reshape the future for hundreds of young people.

Leanne Godden, Liz Janse van Rensberg, Chantal Brunette (respectively below)

With a little more public profile to their names, our three Group Account Directors, that head up several of our largest accounts, are the best of their kind in the country. I know this because two of them have already won Best Client Service person at The Bookmarks – an accolade no other agency can claim. But in one of the toughest and often thankless roles, these three women defy the stereotype of both women in digital and client service people. They’re completely clued up, technically proficient and passionate about their customers. Since an agency depends on its customers more than anything else they hold  key positions. Our clients couldn’t be in better hands.

Narrowing to a short list of shout-outs here is, thankfully, challenging. Native VML has a lot of great, strong women who shape our business and are challenging this male dominated industry. Some – like our Head of Social Media, Amanda Fairweather – need no introduction from me. Others – like our amazing Project Managers, Strategists, Finance team, Account Managers, Office Ops, Programmers, Creative Directors – are already on endless recruiters hitlists so I will spare them – and ourselves – that pain by not listing all of their names here. But we are determined to see all of them step up and change the face of digital in South Africa.

Whilst BEE is fundamentally important to redress the historical injustices in this country, the inequalities that women face risk being ignored or underplayed. This is both as a result of classic male chauvinism but also because many women shy away from taking what’s theirs. Thus all of us – men & women both – have a responsibility to shift the thinking away from this outmoded nonsense. Women are not better than men. They may not even bring something substantively different to the party. But they are every bit as good, as entitled to earn the same salaries and to be afforded the recognition for their part in the work.

I hope one day, at the end of my career, I honestly be able to say I have done my part to usher in this change.