Set to impress in your design interview

 

Want to get the most out of your Interior Design course? Check out these top tips to springboard you to success.

Former student and Interior Designer Karen Lane has created a list of her most important tips that students should do to ensure they get the best out of their Interior Design course and create a secure foundation to springboard them to a successful career.

Check them out and let us know if you have any more to add to the list.

Award winning Interior Designer Kimberly Moore shares her top Exhibition Design tips!

As well as helping others develop their skills as an interior design tutor at the National Design Academy, Kimberly Moore has designed for some of the country’s biggest names including Lloyds TSB and Marks & Spencer. 

Her brand Bold Britannia, recently attracted the eye of label Powerhouse Fitness, who wanted Kim’s expert eye and opinion on how create the perfect exhibition stand for popular Body Power Expo event, at Birmingham’s NEC.

Find out what techniques Kim used to meet the needs of her client and create a super hot stand!

Freelance textile designer Laura Olivia is making waves with her striking prints!

Laura Olivia, never dreamt that one day she’d be supplying her designs to manufacturers all over the world, as well as being selected by Jethro Macey for this years New Designers “One Year On” event in London.

Her colourful designs started off as watercolours, sketches and photographic images inspired by nature. Laura combines digital technology and embroidery to create bright, colourful designs, perfect to lift any mood. In an interview with The Design Hub, Laura talks about her journey from being a textile design student to now owning her own brand and how other people can go about starting their own business.

Spreading the social media word

After a rather glum morning at the hospital, this afternoon I delivered a short talk to some Interior Design Diploma students at the National Design Academy in Nottingham about the huge benefit social media and blogging can do for a business or personal profile as a designer – I just loved every minute of it!

To give them a little boost in the right direction, I decided to print off a list of PR tips, people and trends to follow on Twitter and an article I wrote yesterday about this subject. Online paper Social Business Consulting, had timed their feature of my post perfectly

Discover the huge benefits of blogging and social media to your business

Since starting The Design Hub in January I’ve been introduced to a whole new world of social media from sharing forums and Twitter streams to Facebook business pages and Linkedin profiles. I’ve realised that I’m not at as techi savvy as I thought I was. The first few weeks on Twitter I was completely baffled with trends, lists, hash keys and just general letters stuffed in random places!

So I thought It might be a good idea to get a feel for how others used blogging and social media. I began to read other peoples blogs to see how they set out their pages and posts, also what extra tools they used to make the blog more interactive and user friendly such as; top posts, latest posts, popular search terms, RSS, archives and links. This research gave me so many fantastic  ideas about what I wanted to include on my blog I couldn’t wait to get started!

Young Interior Designer sets business flying

Emma Shaw graduated from Nottingham Trent University in 2001 with a degree in Industrial Management. Even though she had a keen interest in soft furnishings from a young age, she didn’t expect to follow this path because of her chosen educational route. But when Emma bought her first house, she decided to make all her own furnishings and this reignited the interior design bug she’d always had.

Wanting to develop her skills and flex her creative fingertips,  Emma enrolled on a soft furnishings Diploma course and has never looked back since. She’s now the proud owner of a soft furnishings business which is thriving and experiencing high demand. She’s recently taken on her first employee and launched a brand new website www.ecclesbourneinteriors.com Emma is an example to many young people wanting to challenge themselves and proof that positive things can come thick and fast if you work hard. Enjoy her interview…

Want to save money? Start up-cycling

Interior Designer Karen lane loves restoring old and unused furniture, she often looks for second-hand goods to “up-cycle”. With times of austerity upon us, “up-cycling” is becoming the hottest new way of re-decorating without the huge price tag.

Karen gives us some examples of pieces she’s restored and how she went about doing it! So if you fancy re-vamping a room or particular piece of furniture check out Karens tips below and let us know how you got on – send us pictures or a video! Or, if you’d like Karen to sprinkle some of her design magic on your old furniture, you can contact her through her website Autograph Interior Designs.

Mood board created by Kellie Hill

Words and pictures by Karen lane

Top 10 Cheap PR Trick to kickstart small businesses

Top Tip #4

Prepare yourself for the unexpected! You never know who you might meet on the 4 o’clock train to Kings Cross, so keep spare leaflets and business cards at the ready. You may have a Kate Moss moment and get scouted!

Top 10 Cheap PR Tips to kickstart small businesses

TOP TIP #3

Don’t just aim for the biggest shows. Look out for local charity events, exhibitions or school fairs. You could give away a free mini makeover in the village raffle – be generous and smart to reap the rewards!