Investing in your dream In one short year locally based Divali Natural Lighting Design's range of wall lights went from concept through development and initial marketing to wow the décor and design business sector as well as the public at the 2003 Decorex Show in Johannesburg. "We are very proud of our product, but were overwhelmed by such a positive response during and after the exhibition" says Carole Carr of Divali. Sisters Carole and Andy Carr decided to sell up and move from Johannesburg and Cape Town respectively, to invest in their dream of living on the Garden Route while developing a business where they could put to use both their business acumen and their artistic talents. Together they designed the light fittings, mapped out a plan to set up a factory studio on their property, train staff and market their product. Within 4 months they had forged through most of the teething problems of design, getting the lights SABS approved, staff training, establishing a relationship with local suppliers and services for their business and finally setting up distribution points around the country. The plan was firstly to come up with an original product (these type of lights are not manufactured anywhere else in South Africa) and keep the range of designs simple, yet varied enough to suit any architectural or décor style. Secondly, set up a factory studio and train staff to be able to build up stock and keep a steady flow of production in order to assure customers a reliable service. Thirdly to find suitable distributors of their product so they could begin marketing. "To date no lighting shops, consultants, architects, designers or passers' by who have seen the lights have given our product anything but praise for design, originality and quality. Nevertheless we are constantly on the lookout for new ideas of how to improve the quality and versatility of our product and client service." says Andy. By investing in an ideal working lifestyle for themselves, the Carrs have not just started another small business in the country, but by doing so, they have created an original, quality product, brought new business to the area by acquiring all their supplies from local businesses, as well as creating 7 skilled jobs so far within the local community. Divali's "Earthlights Range" of hand crafted, unglazed clay lights consists of 26 classic designs of interior and exterior wall lights. They come in natural clay white and clay cream and may also be painted to match the walls. To date Divali have distributors in Knysna, Plettenberg Bay, Johannesburg, Cape Town, Hermanus, and Nelspruit. Lindsay Stewart