Society Chat.

WELCOME TO THE ZOOM CAST HUB

Tap into a hub of Interior Design discussions. In these 30-minute Zoom Casts with up-and-coming interior designers, we talk about the business of interior design, how we’re navigating our academic journeys, trend spotting, and mindful observations within the ever-changing world of interior design.

Aired Sunday, 23.05

Ep 10 | Solopreneur VS Big Firm Employment


It's the final episode of Season 1 of Society Chat and we close the series with the most heavily discussed topic among interior design students - Do I go solo after graduation or work for a big firm?

It may seem immediately obvious, but on closer inspection, there are major benefits to both pathways. So in this season finale with a whopping 9 guest panelists, we unpack the differences, benefits, key responsibilities, and even the character strengths required for both paths.

There may be no right answer here, but you can bet this episode will get you thinking about that next critical step in your journey as an interior designer in the making.

 

Guest Appearances by.

 
 
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Amy Thorne.

Amy lives in Lincolnshire with her husband (Jim), daughter (Genevieve), and Labrador (Blue).

Amy has run her successful wedding planning business, Amaranthyne Weddings, since 2012 but has always had a passion for residential and commercial design. She’s particularly passionate about ethical, natural, and sustainable design.

She started her interior design studies with BAID in May 2020 and is currently working towards her HNC/D under the brand name Gaia Design.

In her free time, Amy loves a good workout and decorating her forever home.

FOLLOW AMY’S JOURNEY ON INSTAGRAM

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Davina Woolley.

Davina is the 24-year-old creator behind Diverse Works. She is from West Sussex and currently completing her Diploma with BAID, which she started in April 2020, whilst working full time.

Davina loves all things design and has a passion for creating unique homely environments on a budget.

FOLLOW DAVINA’S JOURNEY ON INSTAGRAM

Jordan Brown.

After completing a law degree and embarking on a career in project management and strategy design, Jordan wanted to bring more creativity into her life and fell in love with interior design. She is now studying for a HND with the British Academy of Interior Design.

FOLLOW JORDAN’S JOURNEY ON INSTAGRAM

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Angie Tam.

Angie is a business owner from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. 

Together with her husband, Low, they have built their organization in Malaysia and Indonesia.  Angie’s role has been a Trainer, Performance Coach and Speaker.  She is highly passionate about influencing lives and bringing positive change to people around her.  

For three decades now, besides giving much time back to the society, the desire to impact lives has brought her to many cities in South East Asia as a speaker and trainer.  Through various community transformation programs, Angie together with her team of volunteers have given much of their resources to help build the poorer communities in the region.

Since 2019, Angie has opted to play a lesser role in her business organization. Because she is a believer in Life-long learning, she has never stopped learning and gaining knowledge.  Having designed a few of her own homes and offices in the past, Angie decided to get some serious training in interior design.   

In February 2020, she signed up with BAID to have structured learning for the subject that she was passionate about for many years. Angie admitted that at age 62, doing an Interior Design course can be challenging and it is a totally different learning curve for her.  Nevertheless, Angie said she will carry on with a great attitude towards completion as being excellent means commitment unto completion.

Pursuing Spirituality, Exercise, and Healthy Eating is her way of Life. In her spare time, she does Reading and Painting. 

You can contact her:    angietamlaihing@gmail.com


FOLLOW ANGIE’S JOURNEY ON INSTAGRAM


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Emily Cooper.

35yo Emily Cooper lives on the beautiful coast in Kent with her husband and 7yo daughter.

Having worked in retail for 15 years, in various parts of the industry from fashion, chocolate to cosmetics, Emily now works part-time in the Finance sector. She loved the face-to-face interaction and the ability to be creative within her roles in Retail, but after having her daughter decided that she wanted to focus on my family, and left the long hours of retail behind.

Her yearning for being creative never ceased and having a keen interest in interiors and design, she took the plunge to join the British Academy of Interior Design in September 2020. She’s currently pursuing her HNC and hasn’t looked back! “I am really looking forward to seeing where my journey takes me.”

Emily is especially keen to create residential designs, for families to enjoy spending time at home together in a space that reflects them, brings them joy, and enhances their lifestyle.

FOLLOW EMILY’S JOURNEY ON INSTAGRAM

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Kerri Hazell.

Kerri lives in Brussels with her husband and 3 boys and is currently renovating her home.

In September 2020 she decided to take her interest in interior design a step further and enrolled in the HND at BAID, covering both residential and commercial design.

She is fascinated with room transformations and has an instinctive eye for seeing the potential of a space.

Aside from design, she enjoys art photography, traveling, and is a major foodie.

FOLLOW KERRI’S JOURNEY ON INSTAGRAM

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Christiana Wilkins.

Christiana is a 40-something English Greek Cypriot living in Surrey with her husband and 2 young daughters.

Born in Kenya, and having lived in Central America and the Far East by the age of 10, Christiana has spent her life traveling the globe extensively, spending extended periods of time in South America as part of her degree, and teaching in Barcelona, Spain.  She then embarked upon a career in International fashion retail, working for companies such as Burberry, The Arcadia Group, and most recently Jigsaw.  She is currently working part-time as a private Spanish tutor, balancing studying at the British Academy of Interior Design with homeschool. 

Christiana has always been passionate about colour, her style influenced heavily by her multi-cultural life experience.  She recently renovated her 1960s home, an experience she enjoyed greatly, especially the challenge of totally transforming the spaces in her house.  She loves to stay ahead of trends but is a big believer in holding on to special pieces, be they clothes, or furniture, as fashion always makes a comeback! 

Christiana has always had a keen design eye and her dream is to start her own interior design business. Between children, tutoring, and studying, Christiana is left with little free time, but when she can grab a few hours, she can be found drinking Amaretto and watching Grease 2.

FOLLOW CHRISTIANA’S JOURNEY ON INSTAGRAM

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Georgie Mason.

Georgie is a 28-year-old from West Yorkshire, currently working as a Letting Agent in the student property market.

She’s the founder of GM Design House and recently upgraded from the Diploma to the Higher National Certificate with the British Academy of Interior Design.

Georgie’s passionate about all things interiors and design, but also enjoys keeping fit, cooking with her loved ones, and curling up with a good book.

FOLLOW GEORGIE’S JOURNEY ON INSTAGRAM

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Vanessa Rogers.

Vanessa lives in Solihull West Midlands with her husband and three children, Sam Scarlette and Jacob.

She has had an extensive career in corporate sales and people management.

And also owns a successful retail business for the past 10 years, specialising in baby and nursery equipment.

Vanessa originally studied art and design and now sees the opportunity to follow her passion and develop her career in interior design.

She is currently completing a post-graduate diploma with BAID to help strengthen her skill set.

Vanessa hopes to use her newfound skills to someday renovate old run-down properties.

FOLLOW VANESSA’S JOURNEY ON INSTAGRAM

Past Episodes.

Ep 9 | Post-Pandemic Interior Design Landscape

Our world post the Covid-19 pandemic is set to look a whole lot different, and nowhere more so, perhaps, than in our homes.

With millions of students having adapted to online classes, professionals finally having transitioned to working from home, family routines having turned inside out, it's not hard to see how the pandemic has affected how we use our spaces.

In this episode, we discuss the way we've adapted the furnishing and utilisation of our homes over the last few months and explore the ways in which our homes and the interior design process may change for good in a post-pandemic world.

 

Viewer Feedback

What an incredible episode with lovely and genuine people 😍

I’m really loving these chats, great topics, they help to keep me feel more connected as a student and I can really relate - you’re a great host too - thanks so much x

I’m Brazilian and really enjoyed seeing @tamimelo_interiordesign in this episode! ❤️

Guest Panelists

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Adrian Spencer.

After graduating in 2010 with a degree in Media, Adrian has been working in the Advertising industry for the past 10 years. Starting out in Promotions for a radio station and working his way up to a Senior Sales Support role for an Out of Home media company.

Adrian has always loved interior design from a very young age but never saw it as a viable career option. When the pandemic hit last year, he reassessed what he wanted out of life and knew it was time to follow his true passion. He enrolled at BAID in January 2021 on the Higher National Certificate course and is really loving it so far! His dream is to one day work for an interior design company and build his own house.

Adrian currently lives in Manchester with his husband Matt and their 1 year old Pomeranian Milo.

FOLLOW ADRIAN'S JOURNEY ON INSTAGRAM

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Laura Williams.

Laura lives in Shropshire with her husband, Anthony, and 2 Birman cats, Lily & Pixie. She currently works for her husband’s bespoke kitchen and furniture business and is studying the HND course with BAID with a view to running her own business in the future.

In her spare time, Laura enjoys running, ice skating and is hoping to embark on the renovation of a Victorian property later this year.


FOLLOW LAURA’S JOURNEY ON INSTAGRAM

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Tamires Melo.

Tamires is Brazilian and has always loved interior design, her first professional opportunity was to work in a furniture factory that further increased her interest in interiors.

She studied architecture at the university city of São Paulo and graduated in 2016.

In 2019 she decided to do an international exchange to learn english and travel around Europe, so she moved to Ireland and started her exchange program there.

She found out about the IDAI (interior design academy of Ireland) and got interested, she started a classroom postgraduate diploma course and saw it as an opportunity to learn more about the practice of interior design in Europe, improve her English vocabulary and meet people who had the same passion.

During the pandemic she decided to return to Brazil where she currently continued working and studying.

After the pandemic she is planning to go back to Europe and continue studying and improve her English.

FOLLOW TAMIRES’ JOURNEY ON INSTAGRAM

Ep 8 | Discovering Your Niche in Interior Design

As an interior designer, one of the best ways to separate yourself from the pack is to specialize.

From being able to market yourself to a target audience as an expert in a certain discipline, to being able to charge a premium for a specialised practice, the benefits are endless.

But how do you go about discovering your niche and what should you be thinking about now in order to develop your expertise in that area later?

This episode explores all this and more with 3 talented interior designers in the making.

 

Viewer Feedback

Absolutely loved this episode! Well done to all of you for a fascinating insight and has really got me thinking about my own niche and how to develop it! 😊

Well done Ladies!! 👏👏😍 It was extremely helpful and inspiring!! 🤩👍😘

Great episode Ladies 👏 amazing hosting as always @dhilnawaazinteriordesignstudio 😍

Guest Panelists

Amanda Pezzaniti.

Amanda has nearly a decade’s experience working in travel, having made the journey over from Toronto to London.

Graduating from tourism and public relations, she made a career shift into interior design when the pandemic hit as she saw it as the perfect opportunity to jump headfirst into her dream career.

Now enrolled in BAID honours degree and having just moved from the city into a countryside manor house from the 1700s, she is keen to make her stamp on both the house and the industry.

FOLLOW AMANDA'S JOURNEY ON INSTAGRAM

Nommi Fligg.

Nommi’s career began in events, designing everything from champagne lounges at Royal Ascot to turning a private stately home and gardens into the enchanting world of Narnia. She then moved across to shopper marketing and media planning where she worked with both Asda and Tesco.

After being made redundant during the Covid-19 pandemic, Nommi took the opportunity to fulfill a long-time desire to re-train and re-direct her skills, talent, and interests for design and interiors from a hobby to full-time employment by teaching herself CAD and Sketchup during furlough and lockdown. And more importantly, by gaining work experience at Arlington Kitchen Design Group, sitting beside designers and directors alike. At Arlington, Nommi was able to get practical experience by sitting with designers whilst taking client briefs and bringing them to life.

Nommi also secured contract work with Nest Kitchens as a Showroom Designer and Interior Stylist, concentrating on updating their showroom to reflect the companies design abilities with a focus on their client journey, from enquiry to install.

In order to strengthen and support her existing skillset in Interior Design, Nommi took the plunge and has officially registered with BAID to acquire her academic qualification.


FOLLOW NOMMI’S JOURNEY ON INSTAGRAM

Sarah Jetley.

After working in the City for over 20 years Sarah left full-time employment when her family moved to the Midlands in 2009. They lived there for 10 years and during that time undertook the full renovation and extension of a Georgian vicarage.

This was when Sarah really got the interior design bug. She has always had a love of interiors but doing a house from scratch was a total joy! Sarah and her family moved south in April 2018 and She joined BAID for their post-graduate diploma in early 2020. She is loving the course and has learned so much.

Currently living in Wiltshire with her husband and two dogs, Sarah dreams of one-day designing and building her own house and running her solo business from home.

FOLLOW SARAH’S JOURNEY ON INSTAGRAM

Ep 7 | Design Software that will Improve your ID Game

Computer-aided design has rightly earned its place in contemporary interior design practice. Design software helps to simplify the presentation of aesthetics and functionality of a space and has become a non-negotiable in the design package.

If you're an aspiring interior designer who doesn’t know what you should use for high-quality, and photorealistic designs then this episode is a must-watch.

We examine the top software platforms you should be investing time and money in now and nifty hacks to getting to grips with designing with software.

 

Viewer Feedback

This was so informative and those visuals shared were stunning! Thank you all for sharing your knowledge. 👏🙌

Amazing 🤩 Thank you for all useful tips 🙏 and your renders WOW ❤️

Fantastic! Congratulations on your projects, they look amazing 🔥🔥🔥 Great episode @dhilnawaazinteriordesignstudio , as usual 👏👏👏

Guest Panelists

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Francesca Ciccioriccio.

Francesca Ciccioriccio, 28, is an industrial design graduate from Rome, Italy. Growing up within the magnificent cultural and architectural marvels of the city, she developed a keen interest in different forms of art and design. Her extensive travels and exploration of the majority of European capitals like Copenhagen, Paris, Barcelona, Stockholm, Athens, etc. There she was exposed to various forms of design and culture by visiting important landmarks and museums. Her traveling only confirmed and reestablished her love for design and in particular interior design.

Francesca began her education at 'La Sapienza’ University of Rome, where she studied a Building Engineering and Architecture course, but in her first year she found out she was much more drawn to the Industrial Design course, which allowed her to express her creativity and passion in a more dynamic setting.


After acquiring her Bachelor’s Degree in Industrial Design, Francesca moved to London with the ambitions to improve her English, which would, later on, allow her to expand on her opportunities in her chosen career path. London was her home for 3 years, during which Francesca gained valuable experience within the sphere of customer service that strengthened her communication skills and improved on satisfying a customer’s needs. Throughout her stay in London, Francesca continued pursuing her interest in Interior Design and had the pleasure to work for the Interior Design studio 'Certo Construction' and carry out projects as a graphic designer for the Dutch company 'Witfloaf Skincare'. Wanting to expand her abilities within the field even further, she enrolled in the Interior Design course at the British Academy of Interior Design.

Working to improve her qualifications on a daily basis, Francesca also recently completed the 3ds Max and V-ray course and received the final certificate of Autodesk Professional Certification ACP. Nevertheless, she does not plan to stop building upon her skills and improving her work ethic every day.

FOLLOW FRANCESCA’S JOURNEY ON INSTAGRAM

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Gracjana

Kowalewska.

Gracjana holds a master’s degree in hospitality and built a corporate career in fraud prevention. She decided it was time to move into something more creative and made the jump into interior design with BAID.
Now she owns the Grazia Gray brand and specialising in CAD and 3D rendering. Making use of programs such as AutoDesk's suite, SketchUp, and Twilight Renderer.
Her particular style is evident in the way she blends elements of nature, classic architecture, and contemporary design.
When she isn't working on projects, Gracjana enjoys traveling and creating toys for her daughter.

FOLLOW GRACJANA’S JOURNEY ON INSTAGRAM


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Kelly

Liang.

Kelly is a Chinese interior designer based in Ireland. When she found her passion in 2016, she devoted herself to the career of interior design without hesitation. To see more of her works, please visit the website: www.kellyinteriordesign.ie

FOLLOW KELLY’S JOURNEY ON INSTAGRAM

Ep 6 | Kicking Imposter Syndrome Out the Door

Do you feel crippled by the idea that you could never be like some of the most successful designers out there? While we know ourselves from the inside, we know others from the outside, so we are often left feeling isolated by our own insecurities.

Yes, IMPOSTER SYNDROME. Synonymous with feelings of inadequacy, not being good enough, or just being out of place.

Here's the thing! It is often associated with HIGH ACHIEVERS. Anyone who isn’t able to internalize and own their successes.

In this episode, we tackle this unavoidable feeling that apparently comes with the territory.

 

Viewer Feedback

What a fabulous episode. Well done ladies 🙌❤️

Absolutely amazing and insightful! 👏👏👏

Really enjoyed this ep! Can totally relate to everything you discussed. Imposter Syndrome is no joke and often holds us back. Great to hear thoughts and techniques to get rid of it! 🙌🏼

Guest Panelists

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Eden French.

Eden lives in Chichester, West Sussex with her partner Tom, children Blaise and Indigo, and cat Popsy.

After completing a BA (Hons) and Postgraduate Diploma, Eden embarked on a varied career in Project Management and Service Improvement.  She has worked on several high-profile programmes including managing substantial office refurbishments; facilitating the establishment of Clinical Networks across Kent, Surrey, and Sussex; and more recently the local implementation of a national improvement initiative, working with Acute and Specialist NHS Hospital Trusts in her home county of West Sussex.

Eden first became interested in interior design after becoming a homeowner, and with her partner, Tom, embarked on a complete overhaul of their first property.  Since moving to their current home, they have also completed an extensive renovation project and extension, optimizing the property, and significantly improving the family’s way of living. These developments also started an addiction to interiors and property development and ignited Eden’s passion for forging a career in interior design.

It simply wasn’t practical to keep moving house to get her design fix, so Eden made the life-changing decision to leave her role in the NHS, and in September 2020, started her HND in Interior Design at BAID. 

As a designer, Eden loves to fuse the old and the new to bring a unique ambience to a home; and include quirky accents, plants, and carefully selected artwork to truly personalize each space.  She is also particularly interested in the light and flow within a space and is not averse to knocking down walls or removing chimneys were necessary to get the foundations right.

When she is not studying, in her spare time Eden loves painting in acrylics, browsing art and antique shops, painting furniture, and dreaming up the next home renovation!

FOLLOW EDEN’S JOURNEY ON INSTAGRAM

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Joanna Makowiecka.

Originally from Poland, Joanna lives in Dublin, Ireland. She has been working in various industries in the Customer Experience arena. Her focus has been on the definition and execution of customer-centric strategies, exploring and meeting customer needs. Joanna has always been passionate about art and interior design while pursuing acrylic painting, pastel, and recently interior sketching.

After years of business studies and renovating her own apartment her journey with IDAI started. She loves designing furniture, kitchens, and bathrooms while mixing various textures, colours, and styles. Her inspiration comes from travel, love for mid-century modern, minimalism, and James Bond style villas with hidden doorways and rooms. Deep in her heart, she has a serious soft spot for bohemian interiors and upcycling.

Joanna can see potential in any small and tired space and is able to turn it into an appealing and functional room that can surprise even the most demanding client.

In her free time, she enjoys outdoors, yoga, skiing, reading, and cooking.

FOLLOW JOANNA’S JOURNEY ON INSTAGRAM

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Rozina Quist.

Rozina is a Chartered Accountant who has worked in the financial services sector as a reporting Accountant for about 12 years. Presently working for Globeleq Africa as a project accountant.

Based in Kent London, Rozina is married with two children, 12yo Terrence, and 9yo Jayden.

She always loved interior design and real estate and owns holiday homes in Malawi and South Africa. Rozina designed the properties and furnish them for holidaymakers/travellers who don't want to stay in hotels whilst on holidays.

In May 2020, Rozina registered with BAID to complete her HND in order to strengthen her interior design knowledge. She’s currently in the process of building a holiday resort by lake Malawi and will therefore be concentrating on both commercial and residential design qualifications.

FOLLOW ROZINA’S JOURNEY ON INSTAGRAM

Ep 5 | The Mother of All Interior Design Woes

In this Mother's Day episode, we discuss the balancing act of motherhood, working from home, and pursuing ID Studies.

While we've touched upon this in the first 2 episodes, Episode 5 digs deep to unveil real-life examples of struggles and pragmatic solutions to finding balance from ID Students doing it all.

Hear a range of perspectives and useful tips from 5 incredible women.

 

Viewer Feedback

Happy Mother's Day ladies! 🌸 You should be very proud of yourselves, for what you have accomplished in this last challenging year. Super mums 💪💪

Happy Mother’s Day to all of you wonderful ladies!!❤️❤️❤️😍😍😍You are role models to all of your children no doubt! 🥰

Happy Mother’s Day ladies! 💕 most definitely super mum’s, all of you! 👏🏼🥰

Guest Panelists

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Amy Thorne.

Amy lives in Lincolnshire with her husband (Jim), daughter (Genevieve), and Labrador (Blue).

Amy has run her successful wedding planning business, Amaranthyne Weddings, since 2012 but has always had a passion for residential and commercial design. She’s particularly passionate about ethical, natural, and sustainable design.

She started her interior design studies with BAID in May 2020 and is currently working towards her HNC/D under the brand name Gaia Design.

In her free time, Amy loves a good workout and decorating her forever home.

FOLLOW AMY’S JOURNEY ON INSTAGRAM

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Dina Campana.

Originally from Kazakhstan, Dina lives in Reading with her husband and two 5yo and 1yo daughters. She currently works in the Corporate Real Estate department within a large tech organisation. Dina has been working in the capacity of Programme and Project Manager in construction for several years and has always been passionate about the built environment.


She’s been particularly interested in residential interior design for most of her life, and only last year whilst on maternity leave decided to enroll in a Postgraduate Diploma in Interior Design with BAID to deepen her knowledge in this area.
Dina looks at interior design through the lens of people's life journeys, personal stories, and characters. She takes a lot of inspiration from travels and she is particularly passionate about sustainable and biophilic design.


As she undertakes the course, she is also curious to explore how the domestic interior design industry is responding to the new way of working from home post-Covid by striking a right balance between stimulating workspace and a comfortable and relaxing home under one roof.

FOLLOW DINA’S JOURNEY ON INSTAGRAM

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Emily Cooper.

35yo Emily Cooper lives on the beautiful coast in Kent with her husband and 7yo daughter.

Having worked in retail for 15 years, in various parts of the industry from fashion, chocolate to cosmetics, Emily now works part-time in the Finance sector. She loved the face-to-face interaction and the ability to be creative within her roles in Retail, but after having her daughter decided that she wanted to focus on my family, and left the long hours of retail behind.

Her yearning for being creative never ceased and having a keen interest in interiors and design, she took the plunge to join the British Academy of Interior Design in September 2020. She’s currently pursuing her HNC and hasn’t looked back! “I am really looking forward to seeing where my journey takes me.”

Emily is especially keen to create residential designs, for families to enjoy spending time at home together in a space that reflects them, brings them joy, and enhances their lifestyle.

FOLLOW EMILY’S JOURNEY ON INSTAGRAM

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Tameha Nazir.

Tameha lives in Berkshire with her husband and 2 children. Her background is in Economics and development. However, she has always been passionate about evolving aesthetical and functional interiors and decided to pursue it as a career. She is studying residential and commercial interior design with BAID.

The catalyst for her decision was the substantial project that she did on her house. It involved an extension, redesign, modernisation, and interior design of her house. She enjoyed the whole process so much that she wanted to do it every day. She seeks inspiration from different cultures and likes to blend classic and contemporary interior styles.

Tameha has a penchant for DIY, furniture restoration, keeping fit, experimenting in the kitchen, and all things ‘mom’!

FOLLOW TAMEHA’S JOURNEY ON INSTAGRAM

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Kerri Hazell.

Kerri lives in Brussels with her husband and 3 boys and is currently renovating her home. In September 2020 she decided to take her interest in interior design a step further and enrolled in the HND at BAID, covering both residential and commercial design.

She is fascinated with room transformations and has an instinctive eye for seeing the potential of a space.

Aside from design, she enjoys art photography, traveling, and is a major foodie.

FOLLOW KERRI’S JOURNEY ON INSTAGRAM

Ep 4 | Interior Design Resources To Accelerate Your Growth

In episode 3 we touched upon up-leveling your skillset through other channels or mediums and the key takeaways were practice, be a sponge, and take on feedback.

In this episode, we share the resources that are helping us accelerate or supplement our Interior Design Growth. From Books to Podcasts, Interior IG Accounts to Blogs.

This refreshingly light episode will be crammed with resource nuggets.

 

Viewer Feedback

It’s finally here! I’ve been waiting all week for this 😍

Wow, this is amazing! I made a list of podcasts to listen to when school starts and my amazon book list is getting bigger! Thanks for this Dhil! So useful 🙌

Loved this episode and actually noted a few books down too! Will get The Kinfolk Home for sure 🙌❤️

Such a fabulous episode with so many amazing resources mentioned. Well done ladies 👏 so so good 😍

Just love it !!! Thanks for sharing ladies.

Guest Panelists

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Christiana Wilkins.

Christiana is a 40-something English Greek Cypriot living in Surrey with her husband and 2 young daughters.

Born in Kenya, and having lived in Central America and the Far East by the age of 10, Christiana has spent her life traveling the globe extensively, spending extended periods of time in South America as part of her degree, and teaching in Barcelona, Spain.  She then embarked upon a career in International fashion retail, working for companies such as Burberry, The Arcadia Group, and most recently Jigsaw.  She is currently working part-time as a private Spanish tutor, balancing studying at the British Academy of Interior Design with homeschool. 

Christiana has always been passionate about colour, her style influenced heavily by her multi-cultural life experience.  She recently renovated her 1960s home, an experience she enjoyed greatly, especially the challenge of totally transforming the spaces in her house.  She loves to stay ahead of trends but is a big believer in holding on to special pieces, be they clothes, or furniture, as fashion always makes a comeback! 

Christiana has always had a keen design eye and her dream is to start her own interior design business. Between children, tutoring, and studying, Christiana is left with little free time, but when she can grab a few hours, she can be found drinking Amaretto and watching Grease 2.

FOLLOW CHRISTIANA’S JOURNEY ON INSTAGRAM

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Davina Woolley.

Davina is the 24-year-old creator behind Diverse Works. She is from West Sussex and currently completing her Diploma with BAID, which she started in April 2020, whilst working full time.

Davina loves all things design and has a passion for creating unique homely environments on a budget.

FOLLOW DAVINA’S JOURNEY ON INSTAGRAM

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Ioana Vesa.

Ioana's passion for interior design stems from her love for global cultures; she had explored and experienced design sensibilities, vernacular architecture and interior design, art, and international cuisines. This concoction of regional sensibilities has widened her eyes to the variety and power of ingredients, that once put together, create the original and unique elements that magnetise her towards a plethora of designs.

Ioana began her professional Interior Design career by joining Davidson London; a high-end furniture design manufacturer in London’s Design Centre Chelsea Harbour, where she gained valuable exposure to furniture design, manufacture, logistics, installations, and dealing with high-net-worth clients face-to-face.

Later, she enrolled with the British Academy of Interior Design to develop more refined skill-sets to communicate her designs from mind to paper/screen. She loves interiors that tell a story and likes to "break" a space because she knows that every little detail matters. She is relentless in pursuing her own style, yet loves to experiment to ensure she always has a catalogue of solutions for each unique end-user.

FOLLOW IOANA’S JOURNEY ON INSTAGRAM


Ep 3 | The Art of Interior Design

In episode 3 we address a question that most interior designer students face on a daily, "Am I artistic or creative enough?"

Too often the word "creative" is used when describing someone with an ability to draw, use colour and paint, sculpt, or put things together in an ‘artistic’ way. But creativity is more about being able to recognise a problem, understand it, figure out the boundaries for the solution, and come up with innovative ideas to solve the problem.

So which of the two takes priority in interior design? Artistic flair or Creative genius? And how can you hone your artistic ability and your creativity?

 

Viewer Feedback

LYou outdid yourself yet again! 👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻 I missed this yesterday so I watched it this morning and it made for such a great start of the week 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

😍 love these episodes

Guest Panelists

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Abbi Jones.

Abbi is a 28 yo artist, designer, and ex-archaeologist living and working in Essex. She currently works as a Warehouse Design Manager for Ocado Group and enrolled on BAID’s HND course in June 2020. 

Having a love for art, artefacts, architecture, materials, and all things design-related, interior design - it being an amalgamation of all the above - made sense as the next natural path in her creative and professional journey.

In 2015, Abbi graduated with a first-class degree in BA Fine Art at Central Saint Martins, subsequently exhibiting her artistic practice in London and Tokyo. Participated in an Erasmus exchange with the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna in 2014. Awarded the Acme studios/CSM Associate studio program in 2015. Qualified with an NVQ in Archaeological Practice from the Museum of London Archaeology in 2016. Participated in the Youkobo Artist Residency with a solo show in Tokyo in 2017, returning for a group show in 2019.

Artist website: www.abbijones.com 

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Kaye Magnor.

30 yo Kaye lives in Leicester with her fiancé (Mike) and Ragdoll cat, Boo.

She currently works part-time as a sales consultant for Next. After many years of trying to find her niche in life, Kaye realised that her passion for interior design was something that she wanted to pursue.

She enrolled at BAID in May 2019, and is currently undertaking the Higher National Diploma in Interior Design.

Kaye is passionate about all things interior design along with spending time with my family and friends.

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Stephanie Galuzo.

Stephanie is the Founder & Creator of BehindCanvas Online Interior Sketching Academy.

She was born in a Russian-speaking family in Riga, Latvia, and moved to the UK at the age of 14 with a dream of studying for a degree in London. Two years ago, in 2019, Stephanie made a decision to start her own business and BehindCanvas brand was born.

Prior to opening up her own online business, Stephanie has worked in sales, telemarketing, and retail sectors. Earlier this year, Stephanie and her husband made a decision to abandon the city life to pursue an entrepreneurial venture of living at the coastline.

Besides her passion for sketching interiors, Stephanie loves learning new languages, trying our different foods, Spanish Reggaeton, and Turkish TV series.

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Ep 2 | Finding Your Interior Design Groove

We pick from episode 1 continuing the conversation about starting Interior Design careers 2020 and getting to grips with studying part-time.

We then delve into 3 key areas:

Design Confidence: What triggers confidence and how to build it?

Design Fatigue: When does fatigue set in and how to manage this?

Design Growth: What challenges are accelerating growth?

 

Viewer Feedback

Lovely to hear you ladies! I am also a student at BAID and I know how difficult it gets sometimes. But I believe at the end of each assignment we discover ourselves and our style. Good luck!! ✨✨✨

Really loved this ❤️ Lots of great advice for me to take away and put into practice. Well done ladies!!

This is amazing & thank you all for sharing your experiences!

Guest Panelists

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Dina Campana.

Originally from Kazakhstan, Dina lives in Reading with her husband and two 5yo and 1yo daughters. She currently works in the Corporate Real Estate department within a large tech organisation. Dina has been working in the capacity of Programme and Project Manager in construction for several years and has always been passionate about the built environment.
She’s been particularly interested in residential interior design for most of her life, and only last year whilst on maternity leave decided to enroll in a Postgraduate Diploma in Interior Design with BAID to deepen her knowledge in this area.
Dina looks at interior design through the lens of people's life journeys, personal stories, and characters. She takes a lot of inspiration from travels and she is particularly passionate about sustainable and biophilic design.
As she undertakes the course, she is also curious to explore how the domestic interior design industry is responding to the new way of working from home post-Covid by striking a right balance between stimulating workspace and a comfortable and relaxing home under one roof.

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Emily Cooper.

35yo Emily Cooper lives on the beautiful coast in Kent with her husband and 7yo daughter.

Having worked in retail for 15 years, in various parts of the industry from fashion, chocolate to cosmetics, Emily now works part-time in the Finance sector. She loved the face-to-face interaction and the ability to be creative within her roles in Retail, but after having her daughter decided that she wanted to focus on my family, and left the long hours of retail behind.

Her yearning for being creative never ceased and having a keen interest in interiors and design, she took the plunge to join the British Academy of Interior Design in September 2020. She’s currently pursuing her HNC and hasn’t looked back! “I am really looking forward to seeing where my journey takes me.”

Emily is especially keen to create residential designs, for families to enjoy spending time at home together in a space that reflects them, brings them joy, and enhances their lifestyle.

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Tayla Ann Galt.

Tayla, 28, is currently working as a Dental Nurse in a private dental practice. Tayla is South African and moved to Brighton in 2006. After 8 years of enjoying the coastal views and colourful beach huts, embracing a laid-back bohemian vibe, Tayla moved to the quiet and quirky town of Nantwich.

Tayla’s always had a passion for interior design and architecture and is currently completing her Higher National Diploma with BAID part-time. She dreams of having her own brand creating residential show homes and owning an interior boutique shop.

Tayla believes that by mixing her various cultural experiences with individual design concepts, she has something unique to offer her clients, that’s both inspired and artistic.

You can always find Tayla cooking in her kitchen with a glass of red or her head buried in a book with a good cuppa.

Because after all, life is about balance.

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Ep 1 | Surviving 2020 and Joining BAID

To kick off our Zoom Cast Series we reflect on the impact of events of 2020, how we as budding Interior Designers have coped and adapted to find a work-life-study balance. We also delve into the decisions that drove us to pursue a career in Interior Design and discuss why we joined the British Academy of Interior Design and how that's going. Finally, we also share our intentions for 2021.

 

Viewer Feedback

A big THANK YOU for organising the Interior Intelligence Society! It’s such a great initiative. I had been feeling a tad lost with the course (I started in Sept 2020). So it has been really encouraging to watch your zoom chat. A lot of the sentiments resonated with me.

I am a fellow BAID student and just watched your zoomcast- loved it! It resonated so much with me as I’m almost exactly in the same boat- started last year, now assignment 4 juggled with homeschool etc! Well done, so nice to hear other people’s views.

Thoroughly enjoyed watching ladies- was so nice to see others doing the course too! I’m currently studying at home self-taught so haven’t come into contact with many others studying at BAID, so it was great to hear your experiences ☺️ can’t wait for the next episode x

Guest Panelists

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Amy Thorne.

Amy lives in Lincolnshire with her husband (Jim), daughter (Genevieve), and Labrador (Blue).

Amy has run her successful wedding planning business, Amaranthyne Weddings, since 2012 but has always had a passion for residential and commercial design. She’s particularly passionate about ethical, natural, and sustainable design.

She started her interior design studies with BAID in May 2020 and is currently working towards her HNC/D under the brand name Gaia Design.

In her free time, Amy loves a good workout and decorating her forever home.

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Davina Woolley.

Davina is the 24-year-old creator behind Diverse Works. She is from West Sussex and currently completing her Diploma with BAID, which she started in April 2020, whilst working full time.

Davina loves all things design and has a passion for creating unique homely environments on a budget.

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Georgie Mason.

Georgie is a 28-year-old from West Yorkshire, currently working as a Letting Agent in the student property market.

She’s the founder of GM Design House and recently upgraded from the Diploma to the Higher National Certificate with the British Academy of Interior Design.

Georgie’s passionate about all things interiors and design, but also enjoys keeping fit, cooking with her loved ones, and curling up with a good book.

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Kerri Hazell.

Kerri lives in Brussels with her husband and 3 boys and is currently renovating her home. In September 2020 she decided to take her interest in interior design a step further and enrolled in the HND at BAID, covering both residential and commercial design.

She is fascinated with room transformations and has an instinctive eye for seeing the potential of a space.

Aside from design, she enjoys art photography, traveling, and is a major foodie.

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