HOME WORK Four offices that mean business

It used to be that “going to the office” was almost a job description. It was simply what you did every day. But now our home lives and work lives have changed. For many people they’re one and the same. New technology has made it possible to combine the comforts and conveniences of home with the demands of our daily work ethic, turning the home office into more than just a glorified den. Join us as we peek inside four home offices that work for a living.



A LIVEABLE WORK SPACE “I don’t know if I live at work or work at home,” says Robert Bellamy, owner of two businesses, Robert Bellamy Design, a landscape design company, and (with Margaret Ann Taylor) Rep Tile, which designs urns, tables, and decorative pieces out of broken tile and pottery. Both operations are based in Bellamy’s unusual house. The living room, four steps down in the square stone lower he calls home, is not large-asofa and a couple of chairs and lots of natural light from a huge stained-glass window by Dallas artist Judy DeSanders. There’s not a lot of room left over for a full-time business (let alone, two) and for a while the balance between labor and leisure was threatened. The situation called for a containment solution.

Now the office is centered around a telescoping shelf unit, cunningly designed by the boss himself, that holds the computer, printer, typewriter, telephone, and desk top. When Bellamy and his assistant “leave”1 work, they just fold up some shelves, pull down others, close the cupboard doors. Files are hidden away in an old armoire; the drafting table folds to a flat position, The work place is out of sight and out of mind.

For Bellamy: “There’s a huge advantage to working at home. I’m able to lay a pattern of stone or tile outside or go into the garden and look at the plant material I’m considering using. But one of the biggest benefits of working at home is the source of inspiration-I’m in a much more creative environment than an office.”

HOME BAZAAR “My husband has not been able to park in the garage since 1981,” says Debbie Tompkins.

After partner Mary Bloom discovered the commercial potential of impulse buying by selling 20 or 30 kimonos she’d bought on a trip to Japan, the friends traveled together to the Far East. They came home with textiles, antique shovels, baskets, and accessories, and sold out in three days. Now the pair make frequent buying excursions to Japan, Bangkok. Thailand, and Hong Kong for clients such as Neiman Marcus and the Dallas Museum of Art. They put together a shop at the revamped Arlington Museum of Art this summer to rave reviews and are planning to open a seasonal Christmas store as soon as they find a location. And with a third partner, Rebecca Collins, they’ve formed another venture. The Good Karma Company, which has come up with Good Karma Boxes. Prosperity Pouches, and this year, the Dreamcalcher, for Neiman’s Christmas catalogue.

In the beginning, the company officed in Bloom’s home and Tompkins’s kitchen, but a few years ago. (hey moved into the room over the Tompkins garage. The underlying scheme of the room is coolly contemporary: gray laminate shelving and desk, and gray sofa and carpet. But the overlay is as rich as an Eastern bazaar. Textiles, rugs, bird cages, and boxes are stacked everywhere, as are containers full of crystals, coins, and amulets that are part of the Karma Box production line.

“Working at home has allowed latitude for our families.” says Bloom. “This is a full-time job. but it’s not necessarily 9 to 5. We can work all night and weekend if that’s necessary or convenient. We can work in our workout clothes.”

SERENITY AT WORK The accumulated debris of three enterprises piled up all over the house when Cheryl Weatherly Schultz added a new venture to her already flourishing food-styling business and her job as a member of the Williams-Sonoma catalogue production team. The new company, Take Stock, produces traditionally slow-cooked stocks-chicken, veal, vegetable, fish, and venison. Take Stock items are found now in Tom Thumb, Simon David, and Whole Foods Market, as well as in the kitchens of many “boutique” restaurants that covet quality but don’t have the kitchen space to produce time-consuming staples. A commercial kitchen and packer take care of the production end of the business, but the paper work threatened to take over Schultz’s home. Instead, she took over the loft adjoining her bedroom. The space, added to the 1920s cottage by the previous owner, has a dormer window overlooking the street and a balcony looking out over the living room. Divided from the bedroom by a Japanese folding screen, it is somehow both the center of Schultz’s business and a retreat.

The technology-computer, word processor, multiline phone-lets you know that this is control central. But for Schultz. though organization and proximity to a kitchen are important to her business, a sense of serenity is equally important. The clean monochromatic office has an Oriental atmosphere of tranquility. All the elements arc soothing-velvety gray carpet, paper lamps, simple black couch and chairs, even a bowl of polished river rocks. “What you hold in your mind’s eye is as important as what you see,” says Schultz.

“Everything here makes me feel serene. The only thing missing is the sound of running water.”

THE HOME OFFICE GOES HIGH-TECH Business technology has definitely expanded to include the needs of the work-at-home professional. Personal and laptop computers, small Xerox copiers, sophisticated answering machines, phone systems, and fax machines create the convenience of a conventional office. In addition, big stores like BizMart and Office Depot offer everything from stationery to computerized organizers and rubber stamps, so small stay-at-home businesses have affordable access to office necessities without having to order in bulk quantities.

Here are just a few of the new technological gadgets that make officing at home easy to live with:

●The new Digital Answering System 1337 stands vertically, allowing you about eight additional inches of valuable desk space. A real Delia Street replacement, this machine receives your new outgoing messages about any changes of plans and lets you pick up messages using your own security code. A digital system replaces the tape, so there’s a split-second reset time and less room for breakdowns, but just in case. AT&T offers a two-year warranty. Retails for about $140; available at AT&T Phone Centers.

●The Macintosh is still easy to learn if you need a basic office tool; its graphic interface system makes it simple even for technophobes. The Macintosh Classic is a good entry-level machine; it sells for about $1,100 and is small enough to be portable. You can even get a backpack for it.

●For some, IBM is still the only computer to have; you can now get a PC for as little as $1,300; clones from other manufacturers are less expensive.

●AT&T’s Merlin is the real wiz of phone systems, but the new Partner Plus System from AT&T is the latest and easiest multiline system for home use. The digital system gives you up to 8 lines; telephones are available in three different models and can be used on a desk or mounted on a wall. Price varies according to the system you choose.

AT&T also sells a fax selector switch that obviates the need for a dedicated fax phone line. Hooked to an answering machine, the switch routes an incoming call to the fax machine if it doesn’t hear a voice; if you answer the phone and hear the fax signal, you push a button that reroutes the call. Retails for around $130.

●Nothing has changed communicationmore than the facsimile machine or fax;the Xerox 7009 has an automaticdocument feeder, automatic speed dialing,an automatic paper cutter, crisp characterresolution, and a printed Send Confirmation Report after every documentsent. Plus the Xerox guarantee-$5 perdocument if it fails to transmit. Retails forabout $1,795.