meet the HENDRAS

KNOW THE NAME, SEEN A FOR SALE BOARD, PERHAPS EVEN A BRANDED VEHICLE – NOW MEET HENDRA ESTATES MD WAYNE

HENDRA AND WIFE TARRYN, AND SEE HOW PROPERTY CONNECTS WITH CREATIVITY, WRITES ANNE SCHAUFFER

Meeting on a trampoline isn’t the most common of Aha! moments for a couple, but for Wayne and Tarryn Hendra, that’s what happened. Of course, if you grew up in Durban, it’ll make perfect sense – back then everyone hung out at the uMhlanga Rocks Hotel, swam in the pool, played in the games arcade, and, well, jumped on the trampoline: “We were always best friends,” grins Wayne, “I was even the mobile DJ for Tarryn’s sixteenth birthday.”

Wayne’s parents founded, owned and ran Hendra Estates, but he was entrenched in the IT world, working for corporates such as Bidvest. Tarryn and Wayne progressed from trampolining to juggling work, marriage and children, and settled in the area in which they’d grown up.

Growing up in a “real estate family”, it’s almost inevitable that at least one child joins the firm. Contrary to expectation, that was Wayne, who not only brought a fresh, youthful perspective to the 25-year-old estate agency – the oldest brand in the region – but found himself becoming enamoured with property and people. Matching people to homes: “Tarryn and I had both worked in the corporate world, so we found ourselves ‘taking the good stuff’ we had learnt there, and introduced it to Hendra. We’re both ‘systems’ kind of people, where structure and blueprints streamline business and create an efficient working environment which works for everyone.” Today, it’s a tight-knit, boutique-sized and focused agency, where everyone works together for the greater good.

Tarryn’s career path was quite different from Wayne’s, but their paths converged in unexpected ways. She’d qualified in interior design at the then Durban Tech, spent a few years steeped in the fabric world of Upholstery & General, then another 10 as a homeware buyer for the Mr Price Group, before venturing out on her own: “I’d always been fascinated by structures, and it was time to get involved in that aspect of interiors. Nothing excites me more than breaking down walls and turning cramped spaces into inviting open plan ones.”

Tarryn rolled up her sleeves. Hendra would get a sole mandate on a property, and she’d declutter the space – this was particularly useful for holiday homes, where clients lived elsewhere in the country.

Tarryn opened Calla&Taia Interior Design & Renovate, and her comfort zone just kept on expanding. She moved between residential and corporate, reinventing spaces, moving from construction to project management, new builds to old, design and decor, and even designing customised furniture for clients. Tarryn also has the wonderful ability to reuse and recycle, and she’s always focused on sustainability, no matter how big or small the project.

For Hendra, Tarryn’s creative input set them apart – it was a wonderful add-on service which the real estate agency could offer clients.

This is where her work path connected with Wayne’s: “It began gradually,” he says. “But quite often, Hendra would sell a property to a client, who then wanted to renovate – have a fresh interior or a host of other services. At one point, we sold a series of beach apartments, and Tarryn renovated three of them.” From construction to project management,

Wayne and Tarryn have two young daughters, Calla and Taia, so trampolining gave way to juggling. Property is their passion, only from different perspectives, but between the two of them, they have it covered floor to ceiling, garden to garage – and beyond. Wayne at Hendra Estates, and Tarryn at Calla&Taia Interior Design & Renovate. “In a nutshell,” grins Tarryn, “we both love making people happy. That’s where our joy comes from!” *

FOR MORE INFO

Tarryn: hello@callaandtaia.com; www.callaandtaia.com

Wayne: 031 562 8899, 083 955 4708; wayne@hendra.co.za; www.hendra.co.za