After some interesting journeys where Suzan was exposed to marketing, PR and social media, her role has evolved into heading up Inkfish Design Studio as the Managing Director. Suzan brings with her a passion for design, love for processes, networking and green thinking. Born and educated in the Netherlands, Suzan has lived in and around Cape Town since early 1997. She is an out-of-the-box thinker, loves coming up with unique and creative solutions for specific clients’ needs, not only in design but also in traditional and online marketing. In her free time you might find her pottering in the garden, collecting shells with the family or most likely, thinking about a new crazy project.
If you were a fruit, what would you be and why?
I would be a passionfruit – climbing as high as I can get, with a pretty flower and lots of pips inside. In Dutch, they say when you have (a) pip, it would translate to being feisty.
What’s the furthest you have been away from your place of birth? Describe how it was?
I currently live the furthest away from my place of birth. One of my wishes when I was twenty was “to live and work in a foreign country”. I had no idea it would be South Africa, nor that I would stay this long – going on 16 years now!
What work experience from the past is a job you would never do again and why?
When I was a student I earned extra cash cleaning hotels as well as counting traffic for safety surveys. I could count traffic again, but it’s not a secret I hate cleaning with a passion.
What is your best idea to date?
I am an inventor of reusing trash. My latest inventions are a non-turning compost heap out of car tires and a boardwalk through my garden out of old pallets. Haven’t found either one of them one pinterest!
If you could have any pet in the world, illegal or not, what would you get?
I have been whining about having chickens but ideally I would have ducks. They eat the snails out of my garden and the ducklings are just too cute.
Which continents have you been on? Where?
I recently went to Istanbul and spent one afternoon in the Asian part – this bring the continents I have visited in 4 – Europe (grew up in The Netherlands and travelled extensively) Africa (travelled the Southern part a bit) America (visited New York) and now Asia. Our planned trip to The Phillipines early 2015 will put Asia properly on the map!
Have you ever eaten Ethiopian food? Vietnamese? Korean? Nepalese? How was it?
Ethiopian food is very nice. We even did a website for an Ethiopian restaurant – however the owner was really picky!
City or nature person? Why?
Love to visit cities and catch the vibe – but will never return to live there. I love getting my hands dirty in a big garden, see birds and be close to the beach. After a stressful day I just need ten minutes surrounded by nature and I am relaxed again.
