Conversations in Design is London Design Week’s series of main-stage talks, where A-list designers sharing their work, ideas, inspiration and business insights. Feel like you were in the room with this bite-sized guide to the talks, featuring the best quotes from the week, about life, work, design and everything in-between.
Jessica Summer, Isabella Worsley and Rosanna Bossom – recipients of Frederic’s annual It List Award, embodying a new generation of style trailblazers – spoke to the magazine’s content director Emma Bazilian.
“It’s great to have a design degree but it’s not a prerequisite – because you learn your skills on the job” – Jessica Summer
“Working with Kit Kemp, I was encouraged to let go of some of the discipline and work with creative flair” – Isabella Worsley
“There’s so much that you don’t think about the on the admin side. My first hire was an accountant. Followed by a junior – it’s so good to have someone to bounce ideas off” – Rosanna Bossom
There’s something thrilling about doing something by yourself. There’s no decision-making safety net. That’s scary – but the highs are higher, too” – Jessica Summer
Ellen Cumber, founder of Golden, Jonathan Stachowiak, sales director of Casamance and Margot Tsim, founder of Margot Tsim Interiors, spoke to Pip Rich, executive editor of Livingetc, about how to create uplifting interiors that make life better.
“We try and understand our clients very deeply to work out what they need to feel happy – that’s what starts off the design decisions” – Ellen Cumber
“Designing happy homes starts from the floorplan for me – bringing it back to the fundamentals” – Margot Tsim
“There’s a real argument for listening to a client when they tell you they want to keep something – that’s what makes it a collaboration” – Ellen Cumber
“Good lighting makes or breaks a project – I sometimes see it as an art form in itself” – Margot Tsim
Emily Tobin spoke to the multidisciplinary designer about the creative processes that upend expectations, rewrite the rules and embrace joy and experimentation.
“Designers are hyper sensitive – to how things feel, to what’s going on in the world – and that empathy is what makes us great designers; it is finally being lauded and accepted. We should all be designing for humans, and humanity”
“My role in design is to connect, and be human, and rejoice in being human”
“Imagination is very clear in children, but as we grow older it’s something that we lose. Imagination is about play – we need to make sure that that’s happening for children, because it’s being taken away, If we stop play, we stop innovation – and that’s so important for the world we’re entering in to. It allows us to connect with others”
Cordelia de Castellane, creative director of Dior Maison, spoke to House & Garden’s Hatta Byng about her instinctive feel for the art of living and entertaining.
“Books were my best friends growing up, and I always say to people, read a lot, because it helps open your imagination”
“Beauty lifts you up, and I don’t know anything more beautiful than flowers”
“If you are alone you will never succeed: you need the best people all around you”
“For each thing I do, I put my soul in. There’s not one collection going on without my soul in. It’s not work, it’s a passion”
Lewis Taylor, design director of David Collins Studio, Catarina Kohut, associate at Tuckey Design Studio and Tom Bartlett, co-founder of Waldo Works, spoke to ELLE Decoration‘s Ben Spriggs about what makes an in-store experience special, and what it takes to make it in retail design.
“The physical environment is important to tell the story of that brand. From the first touch of a door to a signature smell, they can all convey a brand” – Lewis Taylor
“Knowing your customer is a huge help, in terms of how you expect them to behave” – Tom Bartlett
“If you removed the branding, would you still know what it was? That’s a test we like to apply” – Lewis Taylor
“The timing is the biggest challenge. With residential, you might spend months or ever years getting to know each other. In retail, sometimes it’s ‘be ready in a month’” – Catarina Kohut
“We always look back at the history of a brand, of a building – it gives the design some authenticity” – Lewis Taylor
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