Sophie Johnson is a short-course tutor at the Chelsea College of Arts Dubai. The Briton, 36, qualified as an interior designer in 1998 and has more than 14 years of lecturing experience at many of London’s leading universities. The mother of three children – five, four and five months old – has lived in Dubai since September 2012 and will host her next course next month.
Describe your financial journey so far.
I would not be in the financial situation I am in today without a large financial gift given by my grandfather and the courage of my mother to be a guarantor to help me get my first mortgage at 19. I used that money as a deposit to buy my first property on the outskirts of London, then rented out the rooms to my student friends. This gave me the opportunity to move across London to Notting Hill to my own flat. I renovated and redesigned all the houses and sold them for considerably more each time until I finally owned my family home, and eventually made the move to the UAE. None of this would have been possible if it wasn’t for the courage and faith of my late mother.
Are you a spender or saver?
I like to think of myself as a saver but the reality might be different. I am much more conscious of saving/investing on behalf of my children for their futures, to allow them to possibly have a deposit for a flat or pay university fees.
What is your philosophy towards money?
Work hard. That is the only way. I have always had a good work ethic. I have worked in many different jobs from a young age to support myself. This was never stressed to me by my parents, but I guess watching my parents working rubbed off on me.
Have you made any financial mistakes along the way?
Apart from more often than not spending more than I save, no major ones.
If you won Dh1 million, what would you do with it?
I would always invest in property. It’s a long-term investment and has its risks but it’s generally worth it. It also is a great way for me to express myself through my interior design. I have been lucky enough to have owned my home from an early age so I have always been free to decorate as I wish, change elements of the space, etc. However, living in Dubai is the first time I have rented. This brings challenges of how to make someone else’s house your home. My weakness is needing to surround myself with nice objects, so this would no doubt be a way I would spend some of my money. I would buy some key pieces of furniture such as an Eames lounger or George Nelson desk combined with local talents.
What has been your biggest financial lesson?
With money you have to be brave – take risks to make gains. These bravery lessons begin once you have children as your focus shifts to their future.
What do you enjoy spending money on?
Household goods, designer furniture and textiles. My spending habits have changed slightly since moving to the UAE. When I am looking at bits for the house they often have two functions – the here and present, and where they will go on my return back to the United Kingdom. So with that in mind, I find myself sourcing more local designs while I’m in Dubai so that my interior gives me a kind of history of myself and my family’s lives.
lbarnard@thenational.ae
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The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
The five pillars of Islam
Sheer grandeur
The Owo building is 14 storeys high, seven of which are below ground, with the 30,000 square feet of amenities located subterranean, including a 16-seat private cinema, seven lounges, a gym, games room, treatment suites and bicycle storage.
A clear distinction between the residences and the Raffles hotel with the amenities operated separately.
MATCH INFO
Red Star Belgrade v Tottenham Hotspur, midnight (Thursday), UAE
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
The biog
Alwyn Stephen says much of his success is a result of taking an educated chance on business decisions.
His advice to anyone starting out in business is to have no fear as life is about taking on challenges.
“If you have the ambition and dream of something, follow that dream, be positive, determined and set goals.
"Nothing and no-one can stop you from succeeding with the right work application, and a little bit of luck along the way.”
Mr Stephen sells his luxury fragrances at selected perfumeries around the UAE, including the House of Niche Boutique in Al Seef.
He relaxes by spending time with his family at home, and enjoying his wife’s India cooking.
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
