People: meet the talent behind Design Joburg

Launching a successful design event in South Africa, Sandra is a passionate advocate of quality design and, despite being exposed to the best and most exquisite creations; her favourite pieces are still the ones closer to home. We also discussed South African Christmas and lifestyle… Just try not to be jealous…

Tell us about your work at Media 10.
Media 10 South Africa is a small team of 3 permanent employees based in the beautiful city of Cape Town. We run Design Joburg featuring Rooms on View, which is an amalgamation of a successful long-standing exhibition called Rooms on View with a bold new brand entitled Design Joburg. The show is based on the award-winning shows Design Shanghai and 100% Design. Launching a new show is never easy, but with exceptional support from the UK, we managed to pull off a very successful exhibition.

What are the plans for Design Joburg 2018?
The premise of Design Joburg featuring Rooms on View is that each and every brand at the exhibition showcases a roomset. This is certainly challenging but does make for a beautiful show. Design Joburg creates the rare opportunity for South Africa’s prominent brands to access some of the country’s leading lights in design through the show’s CoLab features. These spaces include 10 carefully selected emerging and established designers and architects that are then partnered up with select brands to create a feature. Our upcoming show will also feature one of our countries best restaurants, Marble, as a pop up under the direction of chef David Higgs whilst we’re also introducing an architect’s gallery showcasing work from the country’s leading architects.

What was the most unconventional interview or business meeting you’ve ever had?
Mmm…it had to be on a beach in Cape Town with Lee Newton and Laraine (Newton). 7 bottles of wine later made for interesting conversation!

You are exposed to some of the finest creative designs in the country. What is your favourite piece?
To be honest there is just too much talent in South Africa to choose just one so I am going with my granny’s fine china dinnerware!

How did you start in the industry?
I started at a local exhibition called The Good Food & Wine Show then moved to London and was hired as Marketing Executive by none other than Rob Nathan in 2003 to work in a tech-related event. I was, and probably still am, the most un-tech savvy person around so working on this kind of show was interesting. Fast forward 14 years and I still report into Rob Nathan, all the way from South Africa, but thankfully not on a tech show!

How do you relax?
Definitely with a glass of wine amongst friends, chilling on the beach, or spending time with my wild 2-year-old.

And, because we are curious: how is a typical Christmas Day in South Africa?
Swimming, eating, drinking, more swimming, more eating and more drinking…we also love traditional Christmas meals, but with it being 30 degrees outside there are certainly no Christmas jumpers being worn!