The Consumer Protection Act

The South African Institute of the Interior Design Professions (The IID Professions) held a workshop for its members last week on the Consumer Protect Act and how this affects those in the Interior Design and Decorating Field.


The IID has formed a close relationship with Write Rose-Innes Inc. Attorneys, who have travelled to the various regions and held these workshops for IID Members. Members who attended had the benefit of not only learning more about the Act and how it affects their businesses, but also got to ask some in depth questions and had many of their concerns put to rest.

The CPA seems to have become a word that creates fear in the hearts and minds of all those who run their own business. However the experiences I have had over the past few months with contractors and suppliers has left me disheartened and I can actually see why the CPA has come about. The consumer has put up with so much rubbish service for so long now that I think it has come to a head and the result is the dreaded CPA.
Some examples of the service I have received in our line of work recently on just one project:
1) My client saw a dining room table made of a stainless steel base and a glass top at a show recently in Durban. The client asked me to order this for her from the supplier at the show, but wanted the glass top in a 1600mm diameter top instead of triangular as seen at the show, the supplier agreed and I promptly ordered the table (in writing). Low and behold the table is delivered with a triangular glass top, but the supplier kindly wrote 1600mm diameter in black marker on the glass top. Perhaps he thought by writing it there the client would be fooled into thinking it was round!? Of course I complained, the top was removed by the supplier and a few weeks later a round top was delivered, but this was now a 1500mm diameter top – not the 1600mm diameter I ordered. Of course the client is now loosing patience and somehow this has become my problem (even though I didn’t even attend the show in question). So The 1500mm diameter glass top was removed and a few weeks later (now over a month late) a 1600mm diameter glass top arrives on site with a beveled edge (which I did not order but by this time I could not care that it was beveled), but the top edge of the glass was not polish… you could have cut your finger off on this glass edge it was so sharp. The glass top has now been rejected and another company is making this for us.

2) At the same house (the house is jinxed I tell you… jinxed!) I ordered a chaise with a right hand arm. We ordered the fabric, delivered it to the chaise manufacturer, but when it arrived we saw it was a left hand arm chaise. Of course this was duly returned. The upholsterer agreed to remake the chaise but wanted Jossi Design to pay for the new fabric… But why, we did not make the mistake! Of course we eventually got this concept through to the manufacturer and now a new chaise is being made, and lets hope it arrives with the arm on the right side.

3) Again at the same house… (I kid you not) 2 upholstered bed bases are delivered. They arrive with oil marks all over them, of course I send them back. They arrive again with the one now clean, however the other one is still marked and now has a tear in the fabric. When we complain the supplier collects the bed bases while the client is out, I later get a call from my very confused client to say that they collected the wrong bed base! They took the one that was perfect and left the damaged one behind. We had to wait 3 days for the bed base to be returned (complaining daily) and for the damaged one to be collected. The supplier has since called Jossi Design to complain that they now believe the fabric is inferior. I have tried repeatedly to tell them that not only is the fabric contract upholstery weight but each bed base had fabric for different fabric houses (surely the common denominator here is the supplier and not the fabric). But of course when a supplier wants to be stubborn you can argue till you are blue in the face and they will never admit that it might be a problem on their side. Somehow both fabric houses delivered marked fabric to the supplier, that makes much more sense!
What I want to know is, is there no quality inspection done BEFORE the items are delivered? Does no one take pride in their work today? This is just and example of what we deal with on one project, and I have at least 10 projects going at one time. It is incredibly frustrating.
All I can do is apologies constantly to my clients for things that are out of my control. No matter how well Jossi Design is run, no matter how hard we try to please our customers, it seems we are constantly being let down by our suppliers and contractors.
It is time for a change, perhaps the Consumer Protection Act is the answer, perhaps it is the dreaded monster we all fear. As it is still new and relatively untested, we will just have to wait and see.

Jossi Interior Design - last week of August 2011

We are making headway on the new bar/ lounge area that Jossi Interior Design is working on, this is on Florida Road in Front of Spiga D'oro but will be the Upstairs section.

It is always fun working with creative and passionate people, and this is definitely the case here.  We all want to see this come together so we are hard at work choosing pantone colours, fabrics, stain samples and finalising designs, as well as tweeking the budget of course!

Another of our projects is moving along, this is the house right on the beach in Glenashley.  The views from this house are fantastic and I can't wait to get the furniture and finishes in.

Yesterday I had a brief meeting with the client and the shopfitters for this same hosue, we finalised the designs of the Bedroom headboards, dressing tables, BICs and tv units.  The end result should be impressive.  I then forwarded on the paint colours for the exterior walls to the client, I am hoping to see the builder painting these samples on the walls next week so we can make some final decisions here.  Next week I need to look at the fabrics, carpeting, interior paint colours, wood finishes and sprayed supawood colours.  Lots to do!

And tomorrow I am meeting a client about their wallpaper options for their Lounge area of their House in Zimbali.  All the other rooms have been confirmed in terms of the decorating but now the entire lounge scheme hangs on their wallpaper decision.  And after this I am meeting a potential client on Silverton Road...

What a week!

Jossi Design, the IID and KZNIA

Jossi Design has been working closely with the IID regarding important seminars, contractual documents and legal matters that may concern IID designer and decorator members.

The IID has now managed to negotiate with their attorneys to host a seminar on the Consumer Protection Act and how this may affect Interior Designers and Decorators and the way they conduct business.

I am very happy that we have managed to bring this together. IID members are going to greatly benefit from this. I am also extremely happy that it has come about in time to be announced at the IID ZKN General Meeting this evening. This evening’s meeting is being hosted by Cobra Watertech and The Dawn Group. The Dawn Group are now founding members of the IID which is a great achievement and we look forward to a close working relationship there.

Jocelyn has also been busy speaking with KZNIA regarding their upcoming events and functions as this may be of interest to IID Members as well as Interior Designers and Decorators within the KZN Region. There are some upcoming functions that we are now greatly looking forward to such as the Annual Architectural Education Conference, this year’s theme is Architecture, Education and Housing. Speakers include Peter Rich (giving his Sopia Gray Lecture) and notable Mexican Architects Oscar Hagermann and Paloma Vera. This takes place on Thursday 15th September 2011 all day at the Innovations Centre, UKZN. Attendance fees to be approx. R650 for non-members. Kindly contact the KZNIA for more information.

For more information on the IID please visit www.iidprofessions.com and for KZNIA and their list of events and functions go to www.kznia.org.za

This Zimbali Holiday House is one of my favourites.  Going on for 4 years now it has become a project that has slowly evolved and the results are finally starting to show off all our hard work.  We are still confirming the furniture with the client, but otherwise the house is finally complete.

The bathrooms look fantastic with different feature tiles and mosaics used to make each of the 4 En-Suite's unique.  The stained Panga-Panga timber floors have a glossy finish and reflect the light beautifully.

 

Colours and finishes vary in each bedroom to ensure that the same look is not repeated.  We are looking to add in some wallpaper and other features to some of the bedrooms, and once the headboards, casual seating, dressing tables, artwork and scatter cushions come in the effect is going to be amazing.

The bathrooms have a hotel feel about them which is great for a holiday home.  The large vanities and mirrors add a dramatic but elegant quality.





More pictures will be posted once the decorating is complete so watch this space.

Advice on Choosing Paint Colour

The most common request from clients is for the interior designer to help with the selection of the paint colours.

Repainting walls is the easiest way to give your interior a new look and add new life to the space.  However choosing the colour and making that commitment is often extremely daunting.  This is probably due to the fact that there is such a large variety of paint colours and finishes available and there is also a sense of permanence about painting your walls that keeps people second guessing their choices.  That is, once you have painted the colour on the walls you are going to be stuck with it!

Even as an interior designer, specifying paint colours for an interior, and exterior for that matter, is always a hard task as these colours can change so much depending on the time of day and the way the natural light and shadows fall on the area being painted.  Often the colour, when painted on the wall, will look different from how you remembered it on the paint swatch in the paint showroom.

Here are some tips when choosing paint colour:

1. Before you go to your local paint supplier, try to visualize your ‘dream room’, think of the furniture, fabrics, and the paint colour on the walls and the overall effect you would like to create.  Taking a picture with you of an interior from a magazine is probably an easier solution.

2. Know what you are looking for before you get there, do you want to stick to the neutral colours, are you adding in any feature walls?  When you are faced with a huge selection of colour it can get confusing so stick to the colours you have in mind and don’t get side tracked.

3. Look at those colours that appear to be made up of a mixture of more than two colours, in other words the colour should not be a primary or secondary colour, it needs to be a bit more ‘complicated’, often the muddy colours work the best.  Even if you are looking for a beige or sandy colour you will find a huge variety and this tip might help you to make a decision.  The ‘simpler’ colours are great for a child’s playroom and sometime will work well on a single feature wall in the room.  Otherwise the more complicated colours will add interest to the room. 
   
   
4. Narrow your choice of colour to a minimum of 3 colours and ask for sample tins.  These sample tins are charged for so do not get too many.  Go home and paint large squares on at least two of the walls within the room.  Remember the colour will look slightly different depending on how the light hits it so try one wall that is in the natural light and one wall in the shade.  Try turning the lights within the room on and off to ensure you are happy with the results.


5. Choose the best colour of the 3 samples on the wall and go buy the paint.  If you are not happy with any of the colours try again.  Rather get it right than paint all the walls in a colour you are not happy with.  Ask other people’s opinion of the samples on the walls if this is going to help you make up your mind.