Lovely Marian

Earlier this year, Noreen and I spoke at Design Indaba in South Africa. Marian Bantjes was on of the other speakers and we all went on safari together. Marian is a perfect travel companion. I’ve always been a huge fan of Marian’s work. I’ve known Marian for a long time, but am guilty, like most people, of pre-judging her. I assumed that since she was Marian, and an internationally famous designer that she would barely deign to speak to me. But, if you know her, you know she is nothing like that.

After flying across the world, spending a week on safari, and worrying about being the opening speakers at a huge conference, I was exhausted. One night in the midst of a cocktail party, I realized I couldn’t be friendly to one more person, and hit a wall. I excused myself and went back to my hotel room to decompress. Five minutes later, Marian knocked on my door and insisted on having a quiet dinner with me. She spent the rest of the evening with me and we had dinner and watched a DVD on my computer. She could have stayed at the cocktail party, and then gone on to a fancy dinner, where she was the belle of the ball. This is the mark of a true friend and good to the core person. Marian may be one of the most amazing talents of our time, but to me she is a remarkable and rare person.

P.S., look for a big announcement from Marian soon.