John Holt’s Office Has A Land Rover on the Roof and a Famous Desk Inside
The seller of custom rebuilt Land Rover Defenders and Prizmic & Brill’s exclusive Canadian distributor reveals why his office is his favourite room.
Photography by Jared Sych
Were it not for the Land Rover perched atop its roof, it would be easy to miss the office of John Bratton Holt Purveyor of Fine Vehicles in Ramsay. Holt sells custom rebuilt Land Rover Defenders. The classic vehicles elicit images of African safaris, mountainous treks and hunting lodges, and Holt’s intention is that everyone who enters feels as if they’d already begun a great adventure. Holt’s office is luxurious, rich and totally unique and features handmade water buffalo leather furniture, stamped to look like crocodile, made in the Philippines by Prizmic & Brill. There is a shelving unit that folds into a steamer trunk, a leather suitcase that unfolds into a full bar and armchairs that look like they would be at home as seats on top of an elephant. Holt is Prizmic & Brill‘s exclusive Canadian distributor.
John Holt shares three features he loves about this room.
Painting
“This was R. Fern Langemann‘s art studio for about 17 years, but unfortunately she passed away. One of my favourite pieces is this little painting. It’s such a special piece, and I always asked her if I could buy it. Her husband actually gave it to me. It’s such a part of the space and she created it in here. I love its colour and its freedom. A lot of the design of this space was to evoke adventure.”
Family memories
“These photos are of the Land Rover that I grew up in. This one is of the first time that we’d ever gotten truly stuck. We’d gone hiking, and my dad had parked in an underground stream and the vehicle just slowly sank. This painting, by Allyson Glenn, is of my parents on the hood of our Land Rover from my childhood. We were in this thing every weekend, hiking, cross-country skiing. I grew up in it.”
Desk
“This desk belonged to a very well-known Calgary architect and mentor of mine named Bill Milne. Bill came up with the original idea for the Calgary Tower. He was an extraordinary architect and person. The desk is mahogany. It’s incredible what he created on this desk. It’s amazing to have it, and it fits so well in here. It’s a vintage piece and the only piece that’s not made by Prizmic & Brill.”