SHOWBIZ SCOPE

BRINGING INTENTIONAL DESIGN HOME

How to create a thoughtful and timeless space that reflects your values and aspirations through carefully considered colour, finishes and furniture choices. While there will always be space for innovation and pushing boundaries in design, the relevance of creating homes and decor that emphasise purposeful choice, quality craftsmanship and enduring style is more powerful than ever. Interior designer and founder of bespoke furniture design company Soft&Co, Brenda Hart has built her career around intentional design. With more than two decades experience in creating spaces that speak to people’s needs and values, Brenda is adept at meeting people where they are at. “More and more people want to live with intentionality, whether in the way they eat or the way they spend their time, and this definitely filters down to the spaces they occupy and the items they surround themselves with,” Hart explains. For a designer who has built a practice around quality, craftsmanship and timelessness, this focus on thoughtfulness is a deep-seated daily practice for her and the Soft&Co team. She shares some practical ways to focus on bringing intentionality into your space: FUNCTION FIRST, THEN FORM Function is always the foundation – ensuring that the space is practical, comfortable, and usable for everyday activities is always our priority. By considering your daily routines, priorities, and values before making design decisions you are more likely to craft a space that enhances your life. But a focus on form is essential too. The Juno bed end we designed is a perfect example – it was conceived from the understanding that a bed end bench is not just a place to sit, but also a significant focal point in a bedroom. With this in mind, the design married both form and function. TIMELESS TRUMPS TREND Trends are fun and can add spice to any space, but they are temporary and will date. Rather lean into fashion through smaller décor or accent fabrics and reserve major investments for pieces with enduring design appeal. Relevance is also timeless. If a piece or design choice serves a practical purpose or holds personal meaning, it’s more likely to remain relevant over time. EMBRACE THE STORY Craftsmanship is at the core of my design philosophy because it represents both the quality and artistry that define truly exceptional design. There is such a high level of personalisation and narrative inherent in handcrafted work that makes it all the more meaningful. QUALITY COUNTS High-quality, well-crafted furniture may require a larger initial investment but offers superior value through a quality-first approach, inherent longevity and a timeless appeal. Whether it’s the structure of a piece of furniture, the choice of materials, or the attention to intricate details, quality-focused, handcrafted items have an individuality that mass-produced products can’t replicate. HARMONY AND LONGEVITY Years and years of design and production experience keeps Hart coming back to visual references, textures, tones and materials that are inspired by nature and create a sense of harmony. Different timbers, stones, linens, and wools not only add texture and warmth but also contribute to a serene, welcoming and intentional atmosphere. “Longevity is just as crucial. I prioritise materials that are not only beautiful but also durable enough to stand up to everyday use,” she says. Above all, the purpose of a space and the needs of the end-user are at the core of the Soft&Co focus. “When creating spaces and designing furniture, my approach to balancing form and function is rooted in understanding the purpose of the space and the needs of its users. I prioritise elements like flow, accessibility, and ergonomics to ensure that the space or item serves its intended purpose effortlessly,” says Hart. Each custom-designed piece in Soft&Co’s Cozy and Voguish ranges is an exercise in marrying both form and function. “An intentionally designed chair not only looks appealing but also offers ergonomic support and comfort tailored to the user’s daily lifestyle. Intentional living is about committing to living mindfully in every aspect of your life and we love being able to act as conduits for people to do just that in their homes.”

Self-Reflection for Success: Closing Out Your Year With Intention

International performance coach and leading business strategist, Alvin Govender, has created a guide demonstrating how to assess the past year with balance, compassion, and purpose to set the stage for future success. Annually, as October arrives, we all feel it approaching… We feel mounting pressure when we spy the first sets of Christmas decor in our local shops. The fact that it’s the last quarter of the year dawns on us, and we are hurtling towards ‘Silly Season.’ I want to challenge the notion of the season being silly. The end of a year is often just as meaningful, if not more so, than the beginning, and I like to use this time to take stock of the most significant moments in the year. The power of looking within It’s important as a first step to define self-reflection. With my coaching experience, I have produced a definition. Firstly, it’s going inward and reflecting on your progress and challenges while reserving self-judgement or criticism. It’s a task where the desired outcome is focused on growth. The average person spends up to 90% of their time giving most of their attention to the external world, focusing on task completion. What too often gets lost is how other people encounter you: your tone, body language and how you respond to others. These ‘blind spots’ are normal for everyone, as most of our behaviour is rooted in the subconscious. However, it’s important because this is how the rest of the world experiences you. Through self-reflection, I want you to tap into your own ‘blind spots’ and try to understand how other people may develop their understanding of you. Once you gain this awareness, self-reflection will be easier to adopt and will help you lead and behave more consciously. There is a wealth of knowledge to be gained through self-reflection. Looking back at both good and tumultuous times to re-examine yourself, unlocks key learnings on your strengths, as well as crucial conversations you may need to have. Why self-reflect now? The end of the year leaves everyone feeling stretched but allowing yourself the time to reflect is a crucial element of self-care, forcing you to be an active participant in building the future you desire, with less room for excuses. Taking ownership of introspection builds your emotional intelligence, a key factor that aids success. The grey area between the end of a year and the start of the new one, where we all lose track of the dates between public holidays, is one of the best times to commit to this practice. There are fewer distractions, with more leisure time available, and prepping yourself for the start of a new year with tangible goals helps to alleviate pressure when the normal pace of life resumes. Balancing out compassion and bias Often, I have taught leaders to reflect on a team level, and it’s a similar process to internal reflection. I have standard rules for mediating these sessions: ● Don’t be too harsh. If a mistake was made, acknowledgement is key but moving on from that is more important than sticking to that error. Focus on what could be done differently in the future. ● Always start with the wins. When we look back, often a spotlight gets put on the negative, and your emotional brain is designed to highlight that negativity bias. Try to challenge that process by focusing on what went well – this sets a more productive tone as you move into what could be done better. ● Set goals based on the limitations identified as part of the reason goals or wins were not achievable. ● Reflect with compassion. Compassion is a sub-value of love, and the basis of self-reflection indicates that to properly engage you must possess both self-love and acceptance. Create a blueprint for growth As much as I encourage you to use this time of the year for self-reflection, I also want to emphasise that this technique should be used continuously, hopefully becoming a powerful tool in your professional arsenal. The most powerful growth technique I employ in the professional space is self-reflection. But it’s paramount that this not be used as a once-off exercise. I learnt an incredible lesson from a CEO I once worked with. He carried a notebook with him daily, and at the end of each day, he simply wrote down two things: ● What wins did I have today? ● What could I have done better? This book guided his quarterly reports, and these two simple questions did a lot to clarify the gains and roadblocks, also helping to identify patterns of behaviour or persistent problems. The questions you ask must be open-ended, and not simple yes or no questions. Other examples are: What is this experience bringing me? Why am I going through this? What could I have done better? How do I guide my team through this? Step forward with intention Habits are hard to break, so I suggest using this year-end period to form a new one. Try to engage in one or two open-ended questions per day. You can choose to do this in a comfortable place, and I suggest clearing a few minutes to either meditate or journal as a part of this practice. Try to complete this exercise at the end of your day or in your car en route home, so you don’t allow lingering negative energy to affect your family. Journaling and reflection are best done when you are calm, so if you are agitated, find someone to vent to, or write down your feelings with full permission to throw these pages away if they don’t reflect how you truly feel.