FEATURED STORIES: MARIA RIVANS | SMARTSTYLE INTERIORS | AVALANA DESIGN | PAPERSMITHS | GONE ROGUE | PIXI BEAUTY | THE HOUR | LUNA AMANI
ESTILA inspiring stories for creatives in business VOLUME 9/ ISSUE 38
EDITORS Karolina Barnes Emilia Vespoli Flavia Young / luxe-layers.com Nicola McCullough / strawberryblondebeauty.com GUEST CONTRIBUTOR Suzanne Selvester
STYLISTS Karolina Barnes
PROOF READER Claire Smith / eclairesva.com
COVER IMAGE
FEATURED PHOTOGRAPHERS
Maria Rivans, the story on p. 44
Karolina Barnes
A big thank you to all our editors, contributors and
Nicola McCullough Mark Ashbee Max McClure
everyone who continues to support ESTILA. ESTILA bookazine is created and published by Palantti Ltd. The entire content of this publication is protected by copyright and may not be reproduced without written consent from the publisher.
CONTACT estila.co / IG @estilamag
The views expressed in this publication are those
Tell us your story: editor@estila.co
of the respective contributors and are not necessarily
Website: estila.co
shared by the publisher. Original work and photography are copyrighted by its owner. ISSN 2398-9041 Designed and printed in the United Kingdom. 3 MIN
ŠCopyright 2019 ESTILA
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WELCOME TO THE WORLD OF ESTILA
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Be fearless in the pursuit of what sets your soul on fire.
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Have you ever found yourself at a crossroads or been stuck in a rut? We have. All of the powerful stories we write about in ESTILA have one thing in common - they are told by amazingly talented creatives who have gone through tipping points, frustrations and aha-moments that have led them onto a new journey into entrepreneurship. Our mission is to inspire you to do the same. We believe that life is a journey about finding who you are and what your calling is. It's about challenging yourself, and the status quo. Only then you can realise your true potential. We hope that the following pages will trigger a spark or an idea for you to take action and just go for it! BY CREATIVES FOR CREATIVES ESTILA bookazine goes beyond the content. With each issue, we are growing a community of cheerleaders, supporters, collaborators and ambassadors, connecting designers, brands, artists and creatives to each other. We are here to help you grow. Can spot an opportunity for a collaboration on the following pages?
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UNTAMED GREY
SAVANNA PINK
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INSPIRED BY ART DECO estila 22
i n t e ri o rs ¡ inde pendent brands 3 MIN
From our community with Trish Coggans words and photography by Karolina Barnes
As ESTILA is all about community, we're introducing this new column, featuring stories from our members, followers and readers. Last year Trish Coggans from Outshine Interiors was selected to design the "downstairs loo" at Grand Designs Live Show in London. To say it was a big deal for her is an understatement. Excited to be as one of the show's designers, Trish took on the challenge with her sleeves rolled up and came up with the concept of "Glam Lav". Inspired by Hollywood Glamour, 1920's and Art Deco, Trish delivered a design scheme which was talked about long after the show finished. Dark yet full of personality, the Glam Lav scheme shows that even the smallest spaces in the house can be expressive and full of wonderful objects. As a supporter of great design, craftsmanship and small business, Trish included a few independent brands, designers, artists and creatives to give her loo a special meaning. WALLPAPER STORY Created by Anna Hayman Designs, this Pearl Wallpaper is named after her style crush Pearl Lowe. The design is an adapted and elongated scallop pattern, derived from an original lino print by Anna Hayman. The print repeat is 29cm high and the paper could not be easier to hang being that glorious invention 'paste the wall'. 10m roll - 52cm wide. Inspired by 1920's design, this has a texturised background to add vintage appeal. Available at annahaymandesigns.com
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i n t e ri o rs · business stor y
Breaking into the industry interview by Karolina Barnes, photography provided by Athina Bluff
There is no denying in the fact that the interior design industry is very hard to break into. I met Athina Bluff, co-founder of Topology Interiors, three years ago when she was still working in her full-time job while setting up her business with her business partner and friend Amy Brandhorst. Athina just launched Topology website and helped ESTILA with content, interviewing creative founders in London and styling and shooting homeware products for us. Since those early days, Topology has grown into a more established brand in the market, winning Small Business Sunday Award in 2017 and Best Interior Designer Blog 2017.
Can you tell us more about Topology Interiors? How and when did you get the idea for it? I was working in the luxury furniture industry and got to chatting to all sorts of different people decorating their homes who were potential customers. They would often get their phones out and show me pictures of their spaces and I’d recommend them products to buy. Many liked the ideas I suggested so much that I started email exchange with them, offering them further design advice and furniture to buy. It was then when I was sending URL links to people that I thought ‘hey I can make this into something’. A few years later and we now create online interior design packages for clients, providing things like mood boards, designer support, shopping lists of items, access to trade discounts, 3D renders and more. It’s a great service for those who can’t afford the traditional method of an interior designer (as our packages start at just £125 per room) and want something a little less intrusive. We also keep our website up to date with an award winning interiors blog - in 2017 we won ‘Best Interior Designer Blog’ and recently went on to judge the awards at the end of last year. How has your business changed since the early days, while creating content for ESTILA? We’re much more experienced and established now. For example, our quality of work has greatly increased as we’re much more proficient on our architectural software and are really knowledgeable on what products are on the market and what trends are around.
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2 MIN
i n t e riors · business stor y
We’ve also gained a lot of credibility in terms of our reputation. We’ve collaborated with brands like Habitat, IKEA and MADE.COM so have been making great progression within the industry. What has been your biggest achievement / proud moment for you so far? It would probably be a toss up between the following: being asked to collaborate with Habitat (not long after we launched) to create a month-long living room installation in their flagship store which was part of a wider campaign about small space living. We had our logo all over the store and were featured in about 10 pieces of press - other people to have done this are Sophie Robinson, Jackson & Levine, House of Holland etc, so we were up there with some amazing people. Another proud moment was recently in December where we launched a new type of workshop teaching people how to boost their interior businesses and it sold out within a day. It was amazing to know people are interested in what we have to offer and are willing to come from all over the country to attend. What are your future plans? We’re quite keen on setting up an online course to help people boost their interior design businesses. We’ve learned so much over the last couple of years, much of it trial and error, so we’ve got a lot of information to impart. We’re also wanting to branch out more into designing property developments after a recent project with a new site in West London and some interest in the Battersea development, too. What would you say to anyone entering the interiors industry? Focus on building a strong portfolio with well-shot images - even if this means using your own home as part of it. This doesn’t mean you need endless projects, it’s quality over quantity. A few projects, with strong imagery, will help you gain clients fast. To find out more about Topology workshops and services, please visit topologyinteriors.com
topologyinteriors.com
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IG @topologyinteriors
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Tanzania
What was the best advice you received and what would you say to any emerging artist coming into the industry? I was told to just keep going, never give up, get your work out there and eventually, you will be seen and taken notice of. This was great advice as it turned out to be true. I would say to always work from your heart, create from your soul and feel a sense of connectedness. Be totally unique, have your own style and if you make something that is amazing and different, people will want to have it.
Left: Freya
mariarivans.com
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IG @mariarivans
G O NE R OG U E
art ¡ business
Artwork by Zabou
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art ¡ business stor y 5 MIN
Doing things differently interview by Karolina Barnes, image provided by Kim Shaylor
Gone Rogue is not your ordinary art curator or gallery. Previously of The House of Artists, Gone Rogue is founded by Kim Shaylor and Vanessa Blythe, two inspiring women who share a common background in art and mental wellbeing. Their mission is to make spaces come alive through art, giving artists opportunities to showcase their work beyond the traditional gallery space. I sat down with Kim and Vanessa to tell us more about their business. Tell us more about your backgrounds and how you came to setting up Gone Rogue? I have worked in the creative industry for 20 years, both in London and LA - mainly in design, print and interiors. Setting up The House of Artists with friend and artist, Ben Allen, 5 years ago, gave me an amazing introduction to the art world not only as a working environment but also understanding the problems and needs of the artists. Vanessa, on the other hand, has lived and worked in Italy for 9 years, working in the Fashion and Music industries. On her return to the UK, she launched her own fashion label. Vanessa is also a fully trained counsellor. As for how we came to set up Gone Rogue - we met in our children’s primary school playground, we didn’t know it but we had both noticed each other and was drawn to each others energy. Then one day, we finally got to say hi and realised our worlds were about to collide. We shared the same desire to search and learn more about life coaching / counselling and that led to us wanting to explore working with mental health within the creative / art world. We realised that one of the most exciting ways we could help the artists is to facilitate them on their journey of exposing their work to a wider audience from all walks of life and to support them on their creative venture.
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art ¡ business stor y
Gone Rogue is an art curating/consulting business with a conscience that is focused on the relationship between art, fashion, photography and mental wellbeing. How do you select the artists you curate? It can be so many different ways. Sometimes the artist inspires us to look at their art and other times the art makes us reach out to an artist and want to know more. We love the story behind the artwork. Our artists are chosen through engagement and relationship rather than just choosing visually pleasing work. There needs to be a substance, a desire to challenge conformity where possible, with respect and honesty. We like to work with artists that share our vision of going rogue and putting art where it isn’t expected and by making people feel that it's something they can be a part of and fall in love with, no matter who they are. Your business model is very different from the traditional art gallery model. Can you briefly describe how you work? Our concept is to work with interior designers, residential and commercial clients, architects and venues directly to curate art shows or permanent art installations that suit their requirements. We look to make spaces come alive with art, whether contemporary framed pieces, bold wall art, murals or even bespoke ceiling and floor designs. We feel that there is a lack of opportunities for artists to show their work and gain exposure, unless it's within a gallery space. Even though galleries are amazing, we saw a gap in the market to take the show to the people rather than the other way around. We like the idea of challenging where and who gets to see art; whether that be scouting new locations or just spaces that are accessible to a wider range of people. Can you tell us a little bit more about the importance of wellbeing and its relationship to art? The relationship is huge, there is a constant struggle for artist between being free in their creative mind and then having to be in a corporate or admin/social media heavy world that can eat them up. This could be due to them not being able to support themselves or their families on art alone or can just be that they are hugely successful in their art, but the outside world is very daunting and overwhelming. Either way, their wellbeing and self-care are always being challenged.
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art ¡ business stor y
To be creative and passionate normally means you are very emotional which can be great but can also leave you vulnerable. Artists and creatives are wired differently, that’s what makes them SO special. Our ethos is to support them in their creative artistry with complete transparency and integrity. What are your plans for 2019? Where can we see your exhibitions? This will be our first full year and we are already so excited about what's to come, and are already overwhelmed with the recognition Gone Rogue is getting. We have a year contract at ME Hotel London to curate art shows in their Marconi Lounge, it is such an amazing space and our first two shows have been a great success. We launch a new show every 6 weeks, allowing us to work with a multitude of diverse artists. The next group show is called Gone Rogue Collage and we have some amazing artists including Maria Rivans (front cover), Collagism and Bonnie and Clyde to name a few. The private view is on 16th April so if you want to come along then message us on info@gonerogueldn.com and we will add you to the guest list. As for other projects, we are in discussions with 2 hotels in Ibiza about curating a similar space for them over the summer months and some rogue pop up events which are in the pipeline. In April, we have a collaboration/pop up in Tunbridge Wells with an amazing hair salon called Truffle. Their interior space is incredible, it's designed by 69 scoops and it lends itself to transforming into the perfect space to show art, to not only their clients, but to the wider audiences we want to reach within that community. We are going to continue to think ahead of the curve and take risks and enjoy the journey with the artists side by side. As for V and I, we are going to connect as many great minds together as we can. Break down the barriers of creative ownership. Champion as many art galleries, art fairs, interior designers, artists and art buyers - as we have said from the start - there is enough light in the world for us all to shine. And together we shine brighter.
For latest updates please follow Gone Rogue on Instagram @gonerogueldn.
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IG @gonerogueldn
Tala Black
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The inspiration The inspiration behind this collection comes from the gardens around the Azadi tower in Tehran, where the shape of each garden is geometric. The green comes from the grass in the gardens, which is subsequently the Luna Amani brand colour and is the symbolic manifestation of freedom. The signature items for this collection are the green and black octagon bags (on following pages) that have been designed to stand alone in any contemporary women’s wardrobe.
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BEAUTY “Natural radiant look that never compromises on quality or authenticity.�
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be auty ¡ business stor y 5 MIN
Interview with Petra Strand from Pixi Beauty interview and product photography by Nicola McCullough
Pixi Beauty has long resonated with me as a brand that makes beauty choices fuss-free and accessible to everyone. Its everyday staples are designed to create a naturally radiant look, with multi-tasking ingredients housed in elegant yet practical packaging. Best known for its legendary Glow Tonic and equally glowing make-up bases, Pixi's product line-up includes a full range of skincare and make-up to suit every skin type. I caught up with founder, Petra Strand, to discuss the challenges and rewards of establishing a brand that has acquired a reputation verging on cult status. We love the Pixi ethos of bringing out woman's natural beauty to look 'like themselves, only better'... tell us where this evolved from. My original beauty inspiration was my Grandmother who had a cafe in Stockholm and worked so hard. She was entrepreneurial and so inspiring... baking for the cafe in her kitchen, always with a perfectly applied touch of lipstick. As a child, her creams and oils always fascinated me and she took great care of her skin (even if she only had 5 minutes). Looking like the best version of 'you' is a strong and powerful thing to me - essentially being happy in your own skin. It feels like yesterday since your flagship store opened in Soho. You've come so far and yet that must have felt like a huge step at the time? It is 20 years in September - I can’t believe it sometimes - it has been quite the journey!
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