Meeting the Industry
If there is anything I have learned having braved a career change, is that networking is more important than ever. How better to feel inspired than to surround yourself with a room full of experts and creatives? These people are living and breathing the design industry that I am currently trying to find my footing in. Aside from meeting industry leaders talking at trade events, I had the opportunity to meet professionals in more intimate settings. And it is through these one-on-one conversations that intrinsic knowledge is shared.
‘Women in Property and Interiors 2023’ hosted by Becca Cranfield, Director at Athena Stonecare, was a celebration of women from the interior design, property, construction and architecture industries. And what a great way of showcasing women supporting women. I had the pleasure of meeting design entrepreneurs who had taken charge of their careers and developed their art. It was a gathering of expertise and empowerment that left me feeling in awe of the people that surrounded me. What was even more surprising was meeting people who themselves also changed careers into the interiors industry, and have succeeded doing so. They gave me invaluable insights and a vision of how far I could go 5 to 10 years from now. The future is exciting.
Workspace Design Show 2024 Preshow Cocktail Event, hosted by Kettal, as the name would suggest, connected professionals within the workplace design sector. Whilst the usual community of architect and designers were present, it was the property developers at the event who gave me new insights that evening. From the perspective of a commercial client, property developers spoke about their design needs, their past projects that worked and didn’t work, and where designers had added value or fell short of their expectations. The conversation topics demonstrated the importance of good design in buildings that would attract profitable tenants or investors; an investment in interiors that would bring future returns for the property owners. These were candid conversations and not too dissimilar to valuable field research.
The 2023 FX International Interior Design Awards by FX Magazine, is a prestigious annual black tie event, recognising the very best interior products and projects in the interior design world. I was lucky enough to have been invited to sit amongst the industry’s best, and to meet the many professionals that have spent years pushing boundaries and redefining creativity within the built environment. Whilst not as intimate as the aforementioned settings, it is undeniably an exclusive event for those within the industry. The awards ceremony displayed the many design projects on the big screen, which were certainly a feast for the eyes. Whilst I had the opportunity to catch up with a few familiar faces, it was the buzz of the evening that left the longest impression on me: the industry was proud of everything it had created and continue to create, and I was delighted to be a witness to that celebration.
Having stepped into this new career, I have discovered the importance in growing one’s connections with industry experts, as you never know when one conversation might spark a thought or a curiosity that was not previously present. What better way to grow within this creative field than standing on the shoulders of giants? And there are positively many giants out there to learn from.