Sean Williams – Sean Williams Contracts

Sean Williams was born in Johannesburg in 1971. He attended K.E.S. in Houghton and gained a Diploma in Marketing and Management at Birnum Business college. He’s spent most of his life in South Africa, a country he loves, but travels extensively to  indulge in a passion for wildlife: gorillas in Uganda, polar bears in Canada and tigers in Thailand.

How did he develop an interest in design / furniture?
Says Williams: ‘I began with a company that imported furniture and accessories for retail stores like Foschini, Woolworths and subsequently I joined Innovation Furniture Contracts. Later I headed up a new division; Innovation Contracts, focusing on hospitality and patio furniture for interior designers and their corporate clientéle.

‘When Innovation closed in 2002 I decided to go it alone and started Sean Williams Contracts, now in existence for almost a decade. I’ve always enjoyed cutting-edge design in both fashion and furniture and have accumulated experience of imported collections and how they are made. But also how they can change spaces, both corporate and residential.

‘My personal preference is for modern furniture and I’ve elected to retain my exclusive agencies, which have expanded greatly in the past four to five years via quite stunning ranges. I leave it to them to predict trends, colours and forms; my focus being to market them in SA. Key for me is that these collections are eco-friendly whenever possible.’

Contact: (CT) 021 448 2252 / (JHB) 011 447 0901 or visit: www.seanwilliamscontracts.co.za

Paco – PACO Rugs

Paco admits that the rug industry is currently experiencing hardships. He explains: ‘Labour and material costs have risen steeply. The prices of wool and cotton have increased by more than 70% in the past 12 months. This has in turn resulted in the majority of workshops closing their doors. Only boutique companies, those that have developed and empowered their artisans,
are surviving.’

This designer / manufacturer has just completed three and half years of renovation in his Greenside, Johannesburg showroom. He maintains that now PACO is the single largest showroom in the southern hemisphere and adds: ‘I am continuously working to build the most socially responsible set-up in Nepal, while developing a unique collection of art pieces for the new showroom.’

Born in Iran, Paco moved with his family to Hamburg, Germany at the age of seven. He attended primary and secondary school in Germany and started from an early age to work in his father’s rug warehouse in the Free-port of Hamburg. This city was a global rug trading centre at the time and Paco grew up engaging with clients from all over the world sourcing oriental rugs.

Contact tel: 011 646 0542 / 011 486 0542 or visit: www.pacorugs.com

May/June 2011 Issue

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