About us
Barry du Plooy Associates cc was founded in August 1995 in Cape Town by Barry du Plooy, a Chartered Accountant who had been involved in many different aspects of facilities management and services design throughout his varied career with Engen and Mobil. This included being a member of the design team for the new Mobil Court on Thibault Square in 1987. This building project was a South African first, with a pre-cabled interior that offered a data and network connection every 1.5 metres throughout the building. It catered for networks to run between floors, even before network technology had arrived in South Africa.
On leaving Engen, Barry started Barry du Plooy Associates cc to handle workspace planning and relocation management. His first contract was a five month project for Engen.
Katherine du Plooy
Having been inspired by a hand-drawn colour perspective of a restaurant, Katherine chose to study interior design. From the very first moment at BHC School of Interior Design, Katherine’s sheer artistry became clearly evident. The flair and quality of her creations is phenomenal. As a first year student she was nominated by the design school to prepare sketch perspectives for a client for their motorcycle outlet in the city centre, something that accentuated her natural abilities in artistry.
Since she started to work in interior design in 2002, Katherine has consistently created pure magic with her amazing ability with space planning and effective space utilization, together with her natural ‘feel’ for combining colour and texture in creating sensational interiors that work. She has an eye for detail and a level of perfectionism that ensures the highest quality of the final fitout and finish achieved on every project.
She is a confident natural leader, great with customer care and client liaison. She has a huge heart in embracing tight project timelines, and is totally committed and focused on meeting client requirements, no matter how high their expectations.
Her interiors are spectacular and most often result in visitors requesting the designer’s contact details from our client, resulting in a request for our services.
In 2015 Katherine took over as CEO of the business, ready to take it forward into a new era.
Growing and changing :
In 1998, his middle daughter Katherine du Plooy matriculated and expressed an interest in attending Boston House College – School of Interior Design having seen and been inspired by a 3-D hand drawn colour perspective of a restaurant at a visit to the design College.
Barry is noted to have said – “Do not come and work for me because all my offices have White Walls and Blue Carpets”.
Katherine attended Boston House College in Observatory, Cape Town from 1999-2001 and completed a Diploma of Interior Design (2000) as well as a higher diploma in Interior Design (2001). She also graduated top of her class at Boston House College. During 2001 she was nominated for the Design Achiever’s Awards which she attended in Johannesburg.
In 2002 she was offered a position as the junior designer on then as yet unbuilt Covention Centre commonly known as the CTICC. However whilst completing a particularly guellingly hot Cape Argus Cycle Tour, Barry took ill and asked Katherine to assist him with a relocation project in the week following the Cape Town’s famous Cycle Tour – and that is where it all began.
Thirteen and a half years later, Katherine is still with Barry du Plooy Associates cc – now trading as du Plooy Studios and none of our offices have white walls and blue carpets.
In 2015 she took over as CEO of the business ready to shift it into the new era ahead. du Plooy Studios has a dynamic and unique business, – offering fantastic solutions for our clients.
The Business’ catch phrase is one coined from Barry on many of his miraculous achievements on site.
“We make MIRACLES HAPPEN every day,
the IMPOSSIBLE takes a little bit longer”
du Plooy Studios has a dynamic and unique business, offering fantastic solutions for our clients.
Thanks to the legacy provided by Barry in the earlier years, we are a successful consultancy that provides practical solutions for our clients, within budget and on time.
du Plooy Studios have been great supporters of the
Noddy Charity Christmas Party over the last 8 years
assisting with raising funds and creating Christmas
Presents for the 200 odd children that attend the
Peninsula 77 Round Table Noddy Christmas Partie’s
– Charity night.
It is an honour for us to serve our community through
Charity works and fundraising.