My design career has covered the cruise, hospitality and residential sectors, where my most recent role was as a senior FF&E designer. I’m now relishing the opportunity of a different type of role, moving from the interior design side, to a more sales focused position. Over the years I have grown my network far and wide and look forward to building on that with Chase Erwin. I also love being London based and with the wonderful Chase Erwin showroom located in the Design Centre Chelsea Harbour, it’s right on my doorstep!
I studied Spatial Design at Arts University Bournemouth after deciding not to follow my early passion of photography. My first role was with husband-and-wife team, Goff Associates, where I first experienced the hospitality sector as an interior designer. I stayed in this sector for most of my career, with a few interruptions from recession, redundancies and raising my 2 children in Niger, West Africa. Since my return to the UK in 2006, I joined CLA where I helped Charles Leon with Business Development, gained procurement skills at Benjamin West and then joined the cruise sector as an FF&E designer at AD Associates in 2009. Being involved in cruise design has been the most enjoyable, but the most challenging so far.
My role will be to work closely with our existing London client portfolio to ensure they stay up to date with the latest collections from Chase Erwin. A key element to my role will also be to help the business grow and to develop new relationships. I’m looking forward to continuing to help build the Chase Erwin network, particularly in the commercial and hospitality sectors, by attending a wide range of industry events. I am a Past President of NEWH (the networking resource for the hospitality industry) so I have many connections from my role there, which I hope to utilise to Chase Erwin’s advantage.
I’m really looking forward to visiting design practices and getting out and about and to meet people. The design community in London is a privilege to be a part of and I’ve enjoyed years of collaborating with manufacturers, suppliers and representatives. It’s also given me opportunities for personal growth in various NEWH roles. Being awarded the Joyce Johnson Award in recognition of my service to the NEWH UK Chapter was the highlight of my career.
I’m very familiar with ‘Beau’ from the Cachemire Collection having used it in the past, but my absolute favourite is the cotton white ‘Embrace’ boucle from the Essence collection – it’s so beautiful!
It’s understated and refined, sophisticated in its own simplicity. The quality is superb. As a luxury brand, it’s not overwhelming and I like it because although it’s a relatively small company, it offers so much and is growing at an exceptional rate. The ease of the Design Centre showroom and helpful, knowledgeable team makes the customer experience enjoyable and effortlessness.
Within the workplace, good leadership inspires me as it’s quite rare to find. I admire the design of practices like David Collins and Martin Brudzinski, because their attention to detail is just phenomenal. The scale of the projects, with intricate detailing and careful material selection is vast. Those kinds of projects are what inspires me in design.
I’m fortunate to be well-travelled and have lived and worked in several countries. My biggest challenge was raising a young family on the edge of the Sahara Desert, with only solar power as a source of electricity. I’m very proud of my grown-up children. My son studied Illustration at Arts University Bournemouth and my daughter studied photo journalism in Cardiff - the family passion finally realised! Bringing together all my past experience, I now begin a new chapter in my career with Chase Erwin. Some of you I know already but those I don’t, I look forward to meeting you all soon.
