Interior Designer
"I loved every moment of the course, but I think studying lighting – the effect it has on colours and the mood within a space was very eye-opening."
What were you doing before KLC and why did you decide to study at the school?
Previously, I gained a first-class degree in Graphic Communication with Typography. Following my graduation, I began working in publishing and designing books, in particular the covers, for both adult's and children’s titles. I was starting to feel that publishing was not the career for me and I had begun considering alternatives, including looking into my love of property and interiors.
When I saw KLC’s competition with House & Garden magazine, to win a place on the Certificate course, I couldn’t resist. Interiors are something I have always been interested in, and when I won the competition I left my job and jumped at this exciting opportunity – I have never looked back!
Can you identify some of the highlights and challenges of your time at KLC?
I loved every moment of the course, but I think studying lighting – the effect it has on colours and the mood within a space was very eye-opening. My other highlight is learning about space planning – this is one of the areas of interior design that interests me most.
The most challenging thing for me was probably time management. I began the course with the aim of using these three months to really push myself to experiment and try to step out of my comfort zone and design something different. With this in mind I found it tricky to get everything I wanted to achieve done for each project within the time frames.
How has your career evolved since graduating?
Having graduated from the course in December 2017, I have worked for Martin Hulbert Design on both high-end residential and commercial projects. This has allowed me to gain experience in FF&E procurement, technical drawing, budgeting and project installation.
I have also worked on a couple of small residential projects front concept through to completion, and I am now developing my career and experience closer to home, in the Cambridge area.
What kind of projects have you been working on recently?
I have worked on several private residential projects in the UK and one holiday home in Corfu. I have also done some work on the concept and design stages of a hotel in the UK.
What advice would you give anyone starting out in the industry?
Compared to many people I am still near the beginning of my journey into this industry, but there are a few things I feel are helpful. Everyone looks at your past experience so there is the temptation to just get as much as possible.
Whilst I do think any experience helps, try to work out what kind of experience really suits you, as getting the right experience for you is truly invaluable and will really help you flourish.
Also talk about your experiences with like-minded people in the field – peers from your course or other friends you make along the way; I have found they have often had similar experiences, fears, etc. You can learn a lot from these discussions.
