Women in Design: Sue Lederle

As we continue to celebrate women in design, founder of Lederle Collection and Lederle Design, Sue Lederle captured our attention with her style, innovation and approach to business.

1. Please talk us through your entrepreneurial journey?

If I could sum up my passion, which has also become my work, it would be exquisite spaces in beautiful places. When I look at my story, it had early beginnings. My parents were hoteliers so the hospitality industry, food, travel, and interior design were what I knew.

I trained to be a Cordon Bleu chef and a successful catering business was the result. After many years in the kitchen, I decided it was time to hang up my professional apron. My next business was an easy step and it was to fulfil my love of design. I started a company called Lederle Design (formerly Curtain Call) that creates beautiful interiors for clients from Cape Town, to the Kruger, London, Italy and beyond.

I had always had a love for travel so my next business venture was creating a luxury travel brand called Concierge Travel which curated five-star travel experiences for our clients. This company worked hand in hand with Lederle Design and was a great addition to my business portfolio.

My design work and love of travel have also resulted in my property portfolio called the Lederle Collection where I have created beautiful properties for others to visit and enjoy. These include Casa Di Led (Italy), Lodge 23 (Kruger National Park), Ukuthula House (Kruger National Park) and 188 on Second in the beautiful coastal town of Hermanus in the Western Cape.

2. How would you describe your style and your approach to design?

At Lederle Design, we take on an entire project from start to finish. Together with my team, we can assist with space planning, architecture, conceptualising a plan for your home or investment property. We take the stress out of home renovation with full project management from fittings and finishes to sourcing any decor item through our extensive list of suppliers. I have always been inspired by colour and and I always tend to use bold colours in my designs - colour can warm up a space and is such a powerful tool for a designer. My aim is to create a home, a space that is both beautiful but also functional. That is definitely my approach to design.

3. Where do you draw inspiration from?

I draw a lot of my inspiration from my travels as well as spending time with my family and grandkids. I have a deep passion for the bush as well as the bold colours of Morocco. I aim to create beautiful spaces fit for big families and this can also be seen in our Lederle Collection properties situated in Italy, (Casa Di Led), Kruger National Park (Lodge 23 and Ukuthula Houseas well as 188 on Second in the beautiful coastal town of Hermanus in the Western Cape.

4. How is the design landscape changing as the world continues to shift?

We have noticed that after spending more time in their homes with lockdown, many clients are wanting to update and refresh their living spaces. Also, many clients are looking to invest in properties out of town away from the hustle and bustle of the city which has lead to some great design projects for myself and the team.

5. What sort of challenges have you encountered during the ongoing pandemic and how did you overcome them?

Travel restrictions have been one of the biggest impacts on our business. I source many of my décor items from overseas and we had projects lined up in Europe that have been moved out. Within the Lederle Collection, we had to gear our rental properties towards the local markets with many international tourists not being able to visit our country. We have overcome this by focusing on local. We have run South African resident specials for our properties and focused on our local interior design clients. One of our biggest current projects is building a new lodge called Ukuthula House in Mjejane in The Kruger Park. With the onset of Covid, many builds have been put on hold so we have had a team of 80 on-site with everything moving at incredible speed.

6. What's your message to women to women in business this women's month?

Find something that you love doing and that feeds your soul. I started my design business 34 years ago and I still wake up and can’t wait to get to work, that’s how it should be if you have the choice.

Always remember to not give up. Businesses don’t always work from month to month.You have good seasons and bad ones and you have to ride the bad waves to reach the times where things just flow. Iff your business is having a quiet patch, don’t do what I have done on many occasions, panic and start another one! It’s also ok to take a holiday sometimes.