We caught up with Amy Tsao and Manisha Agarwal, three years on from completing the Diploma HE in Applied Interior Design. Here they tell us about founding their interior design business, Studio AM, in West London; the project that they worked on during their studies at KLC School of Design and has now been brought to life; as well as sharing their advice for aspiring interior designers. 

Could you share the journey to founding Studio AM? What were you doing beforehand? 

First, we spent two years on zoom calls and carpooling together from Ealing during our KLC School of Design course, so this helped us get to know each other quite well. When it was time to graduate, as we are both women who have had careers in other fields (Amy: journalism and event planning for a stock brokerage. Manisha: finance and engineering), we thought we probably have many of the skills and professionalism needed to set up our own practice.  

Could you tell us about the project with the Body & Soul Charity? How did it progress upon completing your studies at KLC School of Design? 

When we created the design for the Body & Soul Charity while at KLC School of Design, our group had already put in at least 250 hours into the project, so we were well prepared to help the client make the space reality. It was slow at first to get started. As far as design decisions, we found there were revisions we needed to make based on budget limitations and practicalities of the space. Some of the more ambitious curved walls we designed were scrapped for more cost-efficient curtains. The core pod spaces remained but evolved into two pods with tables and in-built seats.  

What were some key take-aways from the project? 

We learned that the process of completing a commercial project can have stops and starts. A big takeaway is to be patient as timelines invariably get drawn out as unknown issues will pop up. Another important takeaway for us was how much better the space was with the client’s inputs. Some ideas we thought would work well were cast aside when we understood that users of the space might find them overstimulating or have a negative association.  

What challenges did you face during the project? 

A relatively tight budget was definitely a challenge for this project. With the help of charitable donations that we secured alongside efforts by Body & Soul, we managed to achieve a massive transformation with relatively little.  

What advice would you give to aspiring interior designers? 

We would say that understanding interior design academically provides an important foundation for doing actual interior design in the real world. At Studio AM, we don’t promise a particular style or look to our clients. Our goal is to deliver designs that are uniquely tailored to our clients. Whether residential or commercial, a big or small budget, we would urge new designers to listen to their client’s needs and wants.  

How do you think studying at KLC School of Design prepared you for a career in interior design?

We both took our time at KLC School of Design seriously, and we feel that the effort we put in has been critical in giving us the skills and confidence to build our own studio.  

What does the future look like for Studio AM? What projects are you looking forward to working on? 

At the moment, we are working on the refurbishment of a tennis club in our local area. We have also started a residential project in Chelsea, helping a young family design their forever home!