WORDS Michelle Marais PHOTOS Letitia Lerm
Joburg’s Woodlady plans to save nearly 50 hectares of trees in 2014 by producing its beautiful retro-inspired handmade products exclusively from recycled wood! We spoke to the two eco-friendly entrepreneurs behind the company, co-founders Letitia Lerm and Laré Birk, about their design philosophy, educating clients and juggling multiple careers.
Recent developments saw the Gauteng suburb of Linden experience a creative boom. How do you find working in an environment filled with other creatives and what impact does sharing a space with Ceramic Factory have on your vision?
It is incredibly exciting to see Linden boom and to be part of it. Sharing an environment with creatives inevitably influences how you see things, do things and even more so, aspire to do things. The most exciting thing about working in Linden must be to witness the way in which young businesses support each other. We have a beautiful relationship with The Whippet, a coffee shop across the road, with whom we have collaborated on a number of projects. Equally so with Ceramic Factory (read our article here) who we share a space with – our product and theirs complement each other beautifully. We have learned to be open to partnerships. By working together businesses can flourish.
With such a strong emphasis on sustainability, what is the Woodlady design philosophy and how do you ensure that it translates through every produced piece?
Simplicity and functionality. We approach the design process with these two factors in mind. The simplistic-nature of our offerings enables our clients to explore with paint techniques themselves. We have learned a number of things from our clients and we try our best to take inspiration from this. This allows us to build wonderful relationships with them. Having said that, we take great care in identifying and designing products that we ourselves love and would use. We design products unique and identifiable as Woodlady. Brand identification is important to any business. Keep it simple. Keep it original.
With both of you having other occupations – creative director and actress respectively – do you find it difficult to switch between your career and the new business, and how do you stay motivated?
We have achieved a balance. Woodlady has taught us many business, even life, skills that we can implement in our respective careers. As young female entrepreneurs we are learning and developing at lighting speed, because that is what is required to run a successful business. We are close friends and support each other in business, our creative careers as well as personal life. We motivate each other.
Woodlady prides itself in only using recycled wood to produce various products. However, wood can be very vulnerable. Upon purchase, do you educate your clients on how to take care of the products?
Yes, we do. We notify our clients of the specific eco-friendly treatments we use, and advise them to take care of the product accordingly. We put a lot of love into it. Love is important.
When designing the furniture, do you design by range or at random? What is the turnover time from concept to completion?
We have both ranges and individual pieces. The magic lies in our approach – we design retro-inspired pieces that are small enough to fit into your tiny Johannesburg apartment but make a statement in your loft in Cape Town too. Because of their simplicity, all our pieces compliment each other. We communicate a lead period of four weeks to clients. Recycling wood takes a lot of work. Because we believe in doing it right, it takes patience and effort. We want to produce products people will appreciate and love as much as we do.
What’s your dream for Woodlady?
We have big dreams for the brand. We are hoping to supply events management companies with our products soon. We believe in the power of process and would love to collaborate with more creatives to produce bespoke, quality products. South Africa is host to the World Design Capital 2014, after all.
Woodlady, Shop 59, Fourth Avenue, Linden, Johannesburg, www.woodlady.co.za
Keep in touch with the ladies by liking Woodlady on Facebook and following them on Twitter.