I'm in the enviable position of loving my job. Its manically busy, changeable at the drop of a hat and as a perfectionist there's never enough time to do all the things I want. But working as a Stylist and Interior Designer I get to wake up everyday knowing that no matter what happens I'm doing something linked to what I love.
Not so fast! There are so many sides to my job that the beautiful instagram images never show all with an emotional rollercoster attached.
Styling for me is knowing how to capture the best out of inanimate objects and spaces. Then represent it in a beautiful pleasing form to a discerning audience of consumers and critics you've never met. Who will tell you exactly what they think, whether you like it or not!
Add in agencies, media channels, deadlines and brand identities worth millions of pounds that need to be religiously maintained and its a heady mix of stress. But i've learnt how to manage this pressure cooker lifestyle, by detaching myself from how I feel to, what do I need to do to get this done! Its works, anyone who knows me will tell you how calm I am even when lots of 'shitz' has hit the fan.
To maintain this, calm demenour though I'm not Twitter!
Interior Design is the same emotional beast. Factor in other things like, your designing someones forever home. Every penny is riding on a clients need for a quick sale. An inheritance or life saving are involved that you are responsible for it can seem overwhelming. But I've found that being a really good Interior Designer about honesty, empathy and listening. I talk a lot sometimes before people finish a sentence, but I never stop listening.
Homes can suddenly become a war zone, over the wrong paint colour! Clients on one side, trades the other with you in the middle trying to stop them from knocking each other out. Having a really good poker face for bad news and a good Fenty red lipstick game face for fierceness also helps...
But the end outcome and the way lives can be transformed by changing a space outweight any doubts I have. Its so worth it.
When lockdown hit London I was ready to stop. I had just finished one house, builders still working while i'm dressing and moving a family in for a Love it or List it's grand revea. And had gone straight into finishing another family home before the country locked down. My phone stopped ringing, all my jobs lined up postponed. I didn't check if I had any new emails added to the 23.000 I still hadn't read. The whole world stop and the quiteness outside, no cars or people I found liberating. And the space was what I needed. There have been a few downs, family members affected by this awful Covid who sadly passed without being able to say goodbye. But for the first time I focused on me. I did the 21 days to Abundance Challenge, read Freedom Seeker by Beth Kempton, downloaded Spanish and other courses to tackle some of my dusty old resolution list. And I finally found the perfect fit company to redo my website and branding. So here I am, post lockdown feeling like its a new start. I know a lot of us are feeling the same way. Now onto my list, start writing again....
Portrait by Gary Hamill
