My London Design Week itinerary included a seminar at Chelsea Harbour. Part of the Conversations in Design series, the title of the seminar was New Directions in Interior Design with a panel comprising Tricia Guild, Robin Levien and Neisha Crosland. The session kicked off with the question, “Are trends important?” Whilst I would say that all three of these people are in themselves key influencers of trends in the industry, their down to earth and quite humble responses really struck a chord with me. The theme was very much, be aware of trends but plough your own furrow and work from your heart. Yes, I get that! They all agreed that themes are “globally in the air” and cited examples of designers opposite sides of the world coming up with spookily similar ideas. Source of inspiration was the focus of the next question. Tricia Guild felt that this was hard to pinpoint as creative people are always collecting. She cited a visit to Darjeeling where she was struck by the coolness of a soft jade green, the inspiration behind the pale jade colourway in the new collections. The trip was a few years ago so that seed of an idea was not translated into a scheme until recently. It “just feels right for now”, she explained. Expanding on this Tricia Guild explained that designers need to “be faithful to their intuitive sense, be porous to influences but defend and fight for what you believe in”. Neisha Crosland and Robin Levien agreed that creativity is a journey, a meandering process where you are never quite sure where you will end up. I have heard a number of designers talk on various subjects but this seminar really struck a chord with me and made me even more determined to be faithful to my intuitive sense.
Written by Jacqui
As well as having written for regional magazines including