Without lifting a paintbrush or knocking down a wall, tribal art dealers Mark and Christine Valentine of Amatuli have transformed their cookie-cutter industrial apartment into a friendly and functional home.

Dramatic leaps of faith appear to be the norm for Mark and Christine Valentine. It was one such leap that saw them start their tribal art dealership, specialising in found objects in southern and South Africa, 25 years ago. 

“We were one of the first tribal art dealers in South Africa,” explains Mark. “At the time there was no understanding of the kind of utilitarian objects we were collecting; it was the 80s and everyone wanted figurative pieces. Then they became cool and now everyone wants them.” 

These days their business, Amatuli based in Kramerville, Johannesburg, has grown to include photographs, figurines, textiles and furnishings from all over the world. 

But while the Valentines’ business and travel obligations have increased, their household has shrunk as their children have left home, which has led to another leap of faith – their move from one of Joburg’s original five-bedroom farmhouses crammed full of their collections, to a slick three-bedroom industrial loft apartment. 

Their new home is the polar opposite to the family home they’d occupied on Kyalami Estate. The custom-built apartment block, The Lofts in Dunkeld West (bordering Melrose), is the epitome of efficient contemporary convenience. From the neat, clean parking garage on the ground floor to the secure apartments requiring minimal upkeep and boasting lock-up-and-go convenience. 

“Our biggest question was what to do with all of our stuff!” exclaims Mark. The “stuff” in question is the Valentines’ prolific hoard of ever-rotating treasures: carved wooden headrests, walking sticks, shells, skulls, tribal chairs and stools, animal-skin rugs, early Zulu earplugs, carved doors, family photographs, beaded bowls, fossils, pipes and spoons… to mention but a few.

“We looked at the loft only once before we bought it,” Mark goes on. “Every house we have ever bought has been the first house we looked at. As long as the bones are reasonable, you can do anything.”

And the bones at The Lofts are excellent. The ground floor is delineated by steel beams, which create clean-cut lines dividing the open-plan space into dining, sitting and kitchen areas. A sliding glass door can be closed to hide the kitchen’s work surfaces and utilities. The high ceiling allows for a sense of airiness, which is emphasised by glass doors leading out onto the patio area, creating a continuous flow between the indoors and outdoors. 

The apartment is also an example of how good architecture can cater to a multitude of tastes. At face value the Valentines’ array of natural-textured furniture, objects and rugs should be at odds with the white tiles, stone kitchen surfaces, exposed lighting conduits and raw steel beams of the industrial loft. Instead, through sensitive positioning of the furnishing and carefully curated groupings of their artefacts, the warm feel of a well-loved and lived-in home has been achieved.  

To fit as much of their prized collection as possible into the smaller space, the Valentines have made use of every available surface. Even the cable conduits have become display surfaces for carved wooden headrests in the downstairs area, and as a hook for two decorative Indian umbrellas in the girls’ bedroom upstairs. 

What saves the space from potential clutter is the clever architectural use of every available source of light. The sand-blasted glass wall in front of the staircase allows maximum light while maintaining privacy from neighbours, and large double-glazed windows in the upstairs bedrooms cut out traffic noise from the busy, nearby Bompas Road.

Their move to downscale might have been a leap of faith, but what they’ve managed to achieve is a lifestyle that many can only dream of – an eclectic space that speaks of their passion for found objects and travel. The convenient security also frees their nomadic tendencies to act on a whim.

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Amatuli has grown from a fleamarket venture to a major decor hub in Kramerville, where international clientele can browse and buy objects from all over the world. In the new April/May 2014 VISI, we featured the house of Mark and Christine Valentine, owners of Amatuli.

The modern world owes much to nomads and traders. From ancient times the silk and spice routes played a major role in the exchange of goods and raw materials as well as cultural and artistic ideas that have shaped the world as we know it today.

While it might not exactly be Palmyra or Petra, in the eyes of Amatuli’s owners and nomadic traders – Elize van der Merwe, Mark Valentine and Christine Valentine – the innocuous peri-industrial land of Kramerville, Johannesburg is transforming into an important node on an international decor and design route.

“On any given day you might meet a top international designer, a New York antiquities dealer or a Cameroonian trader who has come to explore here. It’s a fun place to be,” says Mark. “The area is growing organically into a legitimate design hub… It’s developing from an ugly place in a great location, into an exciting area with a diversity of bars and restaurants.”

As one of the original decor businesses in the area – situated conveniently close to Rosebank and Sandton – Amatuli is at the centre of this cross-pollination of designers, architects, foodies, fabric houses and furniture suppliers. Crammed full of beads, baskets, heavy wooden furniture, masks, figurines, light shades, vases and just about any other object you can imagine, Amatuli is an ever changing showcase for beautiful found objects and aesthetic treasures. 

To step inside the multi-storey warehouse is akin to browsing an international souk with tribal antiquities from Africa, Asia and India rubbing shoulders with curios and knickknacks. Amatuli’s owners all embark on frequent buying trips and try to personally obtain their objects as close to the source as possible. “We love to explore, the world is our playground,” says Mark. “If someone can’t find what they are looking for we say ‘come back on Thursday’, our stock changes all the time.” 

The only certainty seems to be that the owners will continue to have fun while their business grows around them. The additions of Katy’s Palace Bar and the recent launch of Sir James van der Merwe Wednesday Bar Nights is as much about adding to the new vibrancy of the area as it is about the owners’ social needs. “We wanted to create places where we want to hang out,” says Elize.

“As a small operation this is the most exciting business around,” says Mark. “We experiment and explore. Most of the time we don’t know what is going to happen from one day to the next.”

Amatuli, 6 Desmond Street, Kramerville, Johannesburg, 011 440 5065, amatuli@global.co.za

See inside Mark and Christine Valentine’s house in our April/May 2014 REWIND REDO RENEW edition, now on shelves.

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