Furniture manufacturers, distributors and suppliers that offer new furniture for sale in Johannesburg and elsewhere in South Africa, are always cognisant of the interesting facts, figures and even trivia that pertain to the history, origins and evolution of their industry. This includes background, customs and trends that were/are relevant in a specific workplace – the office.
Upon the discovery of gold on the Witwatersrand in 1886, the word of potential fortunes to be made quickly spread across South Africa and the rest of the world. The search for riches resulted in a gold rush, rapidly transforming a dusty, rough and ready mining camp on the Highveld into a settlement, which soon became a town and then a city, named Johannesburg.
A hive of activity, commerce and industry, Johannesburg, in turn, expanded and would grow into the economic hub of the entire country, a position that the City of Gold continues to hold to this day.
Everyone who was anyone in business, particularly the famous Randlords – captains of mining, commerce and industry, needed office space, a workplace that accommodated their administrative personnel, who performed various duties and tasks assigned to them. The Randlords built and occupied grand offices, furnished in opulent style, with imposing office furniture, new accessories and the latest creature comforts.
Administrative employees had to be literate, schooled to read, write and do arithmetic, at the very least. Initially, only men took up occupations outside the home or away from the farm, some of whom became office workers, wearing neat white shirts with interchangeable white collars, as was the fashion of the day.
These chaps were known as white-collar workers, possibly because they worked indoors, in a clean environment – an office, which ensured that their person, clothing and white collars didn’t become visibly dirty and their hands didn’t display rough skin and callouses, typical of manual labourers.
So-called blue-collar workers performed manual tasks, which, in the early days, did not require the same level of literacy expected of their white-collared counterparts. It is claimed that the blue-collar term was first coined by an Iowa newspaper in 1924, which referred in this way to jobs in the trades sector.
It’s reputed that manual labourers adopted a blue-collar shirt, made of denim or similarly coloured, very durable chambray, as part of their preferred workwear, because these fabrics could withstand their tough working conditions, without showing accumulated dirt readily.
One may safely assure that office furniture has been around for as long as offices have been part and parcel of virtually every business enterprise. The humble desk and chair represented the essential basic contents of this dedicated workspace and workplace.
One had to have a place to sit and a surface/desk to accommodate files, ledgers, papers, writing instruments, and perhaps a telephone or typewriter, but things have changed and improved since the early days.
Gone are the days when workplace furnishings – desks, chairs, filing cabinets, cupboards, storage units with doors and drawers were made of heavy, solid wood, each piece requiring a team of strapping labourers to move it into a different position or location.
Although antique or vintage pieces will always be in demand with collectors and those who choose to furnish their workspaces in period fashion, new materials, designs, office equipment and functions influence the appearance and requirements of new office furniture in today’s trend-setting business centres like Johannesburg.
At Quantum Office Furniture in Benoni, just east of Johannesburg, we’ve categorised our workplace furnishings and allied products as follows:
Our services also include space planning for optimal productivity, aesthetic appeal, installations and re-upholstery, ideal for renewing, customising or coordinating existing pieces.
Quantum Office Furniture has been active in its field for 18 years. The company has a combined, specialised industry-related experience of 60 years, which we use to good stead to benefit the development of our cutting-edge new products and of course, most importantly, you – our customer, your needs and our mutual relationship. Get in touch to discuss your specific office furniture needs for your Johannesburg based business.