Home is home, work is work

PHOTOS DOOK PRODUCTION Annemarie Meintjes WORDS Lisa Johnston

By having separate entrances to her home and shop, Des Armstrong successfully juggles her personal and professional spaces – something she’s managed to do in different incarnations for more than 20 years.

As you walk into the multicoloured courtyard of Des Armstrong’s retail space, Hadeda, there’s an inscription above the enclosed patio section with the words “mi casa es su casa” (my house is your house) – a phrase that is echoed in metal scrolls dotted around the space. While it might not be the shop-owner’s intention to invite people into her personal cocoon, the phrase takes on particular relevance when visitors become aware that this property in Parkwood, Johannesburg, is both a place of work and home to Des.

Making the shift between the personal and professional can prove challenging for people who run businesses from home, either because household chores take on a nagging priority, or because the over-dedicated worker finds themself unable to step away from their desk and therefore never actually leaves work. The secret to successfully negotiating these territories, Des believes, lies in clearly delineating her work and personal spaces.

“My work is divorced from home. The one has nothing to do with the other,” she says. “The secret is division – having separate entrances to two buildings allows me to make the shift. I also keep strict office hours and very seldom deviate from them. I prepare for my day as I would if I were going to any other office job.”

It’s a juggling act that Des has had plenty of experience with. When she left the corporate world more than 20 years ago to start importing art, craft and decor items from Central and South America, she started the business from her dining-room table in Dunkeld. As the business expanded she moved into her garage, until eventually she built a customised retail space on the property. It was almost unheard of in Joburg suburbia at the time, but she was able to capitalise on the novelty factor for a number of years before moving the business to a bustling section of Jan Smuts Avenue, close to the famed Goodman Gallery and bristling with other smaller art spaces.

Her unusual decision to move her home into her workspace a year ago was once again based on practicality. “When my husband fell ill we moved into an apartment, but it seemed senseless to pay rent to someone else,” Des says. The solution was to put fewer of the same stock items out and move the surplus into storage to make space at Hadeda for a small but comfortable apartment. “The saving on petrol has been fantastic,” she says. “And I don’t have to contend with rush-hour traffic and aggressive drivers.”

Although the entrances are separate, Des’s signature style acts as a thread running through her home and the shop. So much so that she has had to tape a printed page with the word “private” on the red door to her home to prevent customers from wandering in.

Adorned with ornate mirrors, bright motifs, heavy pewter lights, dangling hearts, candles, Day of the Dead skulls and ornaments, as well as large antique bureaus showcasing various decor items, Hadeda has a beautifully landscaped garden and a comfortable, homely feel ­– in spite, or possibly because, of the cheerful collusion of colours and patterns. Pink, blue, green, yellow and red statement walls live side by side and form the backdrop to a multitude of art and craft items imported from Mexico, Peru and Guatemala. Yet, there is a sense of order that keeps items in check and prevents the clutter from becoming overwhelming. The key, Des insists, lies in proportion. With a background in marketing and advertising, Des treats the space like a kind of enlarged layout, balancing the colours and elements against one another.

Bright colours and bold patterns are also prevalent in her home across the corridor, but are more subdued, with some of the walls painted in cooler colours and a more deliberate and quieter placement of objects. The decor and artworks collected over years of travel and living are more eclectic and cosmopolitan than what appears in Hadeda, yet still clearly demonstrate how this brand of decor can be incorporated into a lifestyle.

Although it isn’t the norm, Des does occasionally “cheat” and allow certain customers into her home, to give them ideas on paint effects or other solutions that they could try in their own homes. “Many people are curious about how I live,” says Des. “Customers often wonder how to live this lifestyle, they wonder if my home is as garish. I offer them ideas about preparation and colour and give advice on proportions to create harmony.”

So what does Des do to escape the property? “I go shopping,” she laughs. “Well, not just shopping. I visit friends or go out for a meal or a movie.” And with her home and office based down the road from the restaurants and retail hub of Rosebank, she couldn’t be more perfectly situated.

011 788 5774, hadedashop.com, hadeda@iafrica.com