Contemporary Collection from Cult Design

Isabelle from Cult introduced us to their contemporary collection, featuring rich textures, bold colours, and distinct designs.
 
From lighting to furniture, fabrics and individual pieces…they have it all! It is clearly evident that we are moving away from the blacks, whites and greys and embracing colour! 
 
At Valentine Interiors, we stay current with all the latest ideas, constantly seeking unique and compelling outcomes for our clients. This approach enables us to draw inspiration from diverse sources and cater to a wide range of design preferences.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

The Power of Representation

‘We cannot deny the power of representation – seeing someone who looks like you, seeing them in a critical position of leadership is so important.’ 1
 
It’s not only within our team that we provide education but to the broader design community. We feel a responsibility to act and educate others. Last week, Mia from Fahn and Maya from St Aloysius joined us for our intensive work experience program.
 
Inspiring and informing students from grades 9 to 12 that interior design is an option for a career. To have them understand that it is far more than cushions and paint, rather a deep understanding of how humans move and behave within a space. It is about anthropometrics and ergonomics, and it is about understanding people.
 
Mia found it very hands-on and learned how many people, suppliers, and consultants we interact with daily. She found it rewarding to create concepts yet challenging to prepare ideas in a short space of time. Maya discovered the enormous amount of reports and documentation required as a designer.
 
Most of all, we aim to show the rest of the industry respect, integrity and to be role models for what an ‘interior designer’ should look like. We do this by implementing our work experience program, which is now an integral part of our future.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Lost and Found

Gus Trewin (Simon’s son) has produced an impressive body of work titled ‘Lost and Found.’ His work for the Hobart College end of year art exhibition depicts 10 Murray St as the ‘lost’ brutalist building, inspiring Gus to ‘find’ the other eight Hobart buildings.

The good news is Gus has a limited edition of the digital art prints for sale…head over to his Instagram page at @digital_buildings_

The Hobart College exhibition was outstanding with ceramics, painting, drawing, photography, and digital design.  

 

Who on earth are the Jonses?

Who on earth are the Joneses? 

Whether it is an idiom, phrase or a saying, you can count on me to get it wrong. This might bother some people, but I simply press on with feigned confidence, to the amusement of those around. I try hard by pausing and thinking before speaking but it’s just one of those things that you either nail it or not.

It’s not through lack of interest. I’m intrigued by sayings and what makes them readily accepted. Have you ever wondered who the Joneses are and how they apparently have it all? Assuming that ‘all’ is the latest gadgets, fancy cars, and the biggest and best of everything. 

A 1913 comic strip by cartoonist Arthur R. Momand, known as Pop, appeared in the New York World Newspaper. It depicted the McGinnis family trying to keep up with their neighbours, the Joneses. It is thought that Pop was a newlywed living beyond his means and had referred to his own neighbours, the Joneses, who seemingly had everything.

We all know that chasing the proverbial Joneses is pointless and exhausting. And yet it is in our nature to admire and strive to be like those around us. However, the pursuit of status through material things doesn’t interest me. As Simon Sinek rightly points out, life is an infinite game; by definition, it cannot be ‘won,’ and the game never ends. And yet an unstoppable force continues to set the invisible (and pointless) bar higher, driving trend after trend and the inevitable consumption that follows. 

I choose to surround myself with possessions that unfurl memories and spark joy. Etchings from a special friend, photos of a whale shark dive, a heart urchin found buried in the sand, a ‘V’ from an old printing drawer, and a feather from a Spotted Pardalote. With these items, I have created a place where I belong.

We approach our work the same way. We are never driven by trends and are unfussed by what others (including the neighbours) are doing. Instead, we choose to connect with our clients to create intriguing spaces just for them. In fact, I’ve never worried about the neighbours; yet ironically, mine just happen to be…yep, you guessed it, Mr and Mrs Jones.

by Jane Valentine

 

National Crystal Vision

Simon and Jane represented Valentine Interiors as Tasmania’s state finalists in the NAWIC QLD Awards for Excellence.

The National Crystal Vision award has one finalist from every state, and it was an honour to be with the other inspiring leaders while promoting the advancement of women and making a significant contribution to the construction industry as a whole.

Dominique Gill from Urban Core in NSW was an outstanding winner in one of the most prestigious awards in the industry.

Meet Neda.

Meet Neda. Neda joins our team as an experienced Senior Designer, bringing a wealth of knowledge and 9 years in the industry. With a Master of Architecture, Neda is also preparing to complete her APE (Architectural Practice Examination).

Neda has worked as a Graduate Architect at BPSM Architects in Hobart, contributing to renowned projects; Royal Hobart Hospital, Pressing Matters Winery & Cellar Door, Salamanca Fresh, and multi-residential apartments.

Her work extends internationally, having lived and worked in Iran as an Architect, and being involved in large projects, high-rise buildings, conference halls, a pedestrian bridge, education, and a bus terminal for numerous engineering companies.

Her ability to solve problems, manage projects from start to finish, and her expertise in documentation and architectural software is of the highest level.

Exploring nature and capturing it on film is a favourite pastime. Neda is one of us, with meticulous detailing, grit and determination, a love of music, and most of all, she has a warmth and friendliness that’s simply impossible not to like!

Join Us

Positions Available August 2022

Valentine Interiors & Design is a design studio embracing the unexpected while understanding and connecting with clients in a fun, exuberant, and inclusive environment. We undertake commercial / hospitality / workplace & residential interiors.

/ Senior Interior Designer / Architect / or Building Designer

/ About you

  • Bachelors degree in a related field
  • Proficient in CAD software
  • Proficient in Adobe Creative Suite
  • Minimum 5 years in a client facing design industry role
  • Commercial experience is desirable
  • Empathetic / energetic / positive / meticulous
  • Ability to work independently and confidently deliver design outcomes

/ About the job

  • Concept development / design / documentation 
  • Salary & hours negotiable

/ Interior Designer 

/ About you

  • Design qualification 
  • Empathetic / energetic / positive / meticulous
  • Ability to work independently and confidently deliver design outcomes 
  • Proficient in Indesign / Photoshop
  • Strong written communication and documentation skills
  • Photography and/or graphic design skills an advantage

/ About the job

  • This is a client facing role 
  • Undertake client consultations independently and as a team 
  • Research design & document material / finishes / furnishings schedules
  • Present design proposals to clients
  • Assist Senior Designers in a collaborative environment
  • Salary & hours negotiable

/ To apply email your:

  • CV
  • Portfolio
  • A short written response to the following questions:

01 / What is the most challenging project you have worked on and why?

02 / Choose an Architecture or Interior Design project that catches your eye and explain why.

03 / What will be your unique contribution to Valentine Interiors & Design?

/ To: 

joinus@valentineinteriors.com.au by 5pm, Wednesday 7th September 2022. Please include the position you are applying for in your subject line.

Sticks and Bricks

by Valentine Interiors And Design.

As designers, we often receive the brief to ‘make it feel like home.’ Hidden within this simple request is a complexity that can confound. 

Is home simply the four walls that bound the space where we live? Or is that a house? What is home is a complex question. One we feel is deserving of unpacking.

Intriguingly, unpacking this question is not unlike the unpacking we must attend to when we move house, or is that move home? The practical task often collides with a more profound experience. 

Unpacking our belongings can usher up fond memories. An unraveling of moments where we have felt ‘at home’. The effortless times when all felt as it should, right. Those moments when time passed by almost imperceptibly.

What is it that we have woven into our belongings that they elicit such a response? How does the prosaic become treasured? What is it that makes these simple things pieces of us? Those belongings that mark a house as a home, as our home. After all, haven’t we all uttered, ‘it won’t feel like home until…’

If our treasured belongings might be more than what they appear to be, it follows that it is only because of us that they have become something more. If we extend that thinking, a home might just, in part, be made of us, not just sticks and bricks. A home transcends the physical. A home is somewhere of memories, relationships, emotions, and people.  

If so, the pertinent question may not be ‘what is home?’ but rather ‘what makes a home?’ The logical answer to this question must be us. The people who inhabit a building, a volume, or a space make it home, not just any home but their home. 

‘My home is made out of people. They are the familiar walls that wrap around me and make me feel safe. They are the windows through which I can observe the world from new perspectives. They are the doorways that beckon me to step into new adventures and better relationships. they are the roof that keeps me in check.’ (Smith, 2019) (1)

Because home is how we feel, not simply where we are, nor is it a physical form such as a house. A home isn’t just where you are but also who you are. (2) Home is the feeling of safety, comfort, and contentment. Most of all, home is where we lose ourselves in these feelings. 

In this notion, we can crack the code, as it were, and devise that home can be anywhere at all. It need not be a building. It is where you form your identity and your sense of belonging. In that way, for some people, home is the sea; for others, it is the road.

If we accept that ‘home’ is the label we apply to the places where we feel ‘at home’ rather than the building itself, then conversely, the labels we apply to rooms within that building might be of little use. After all, how many of us have the ‘butler’ that a Butler’s Pantry logically requires.

It’s a curious concept that once understood, reveals a profound opportunity for us as designers. To let go of the predetermined idea of a house as a series of labeled rooms and the baggage that comes with that. Instead, we can imagine a home as a series of feelings elicited from the spaces we create. 

To do so requires genuinely understanding our clients, not simply discussing a list of their likes and wants but diving deeply into their experiences and memories of feeling at home. We can tap into these memories and our client’s hopes for the future by listening, really listening. We can measure what truly matters to the individual and how they want to feel through these conversations. 

In this way, we believe it is possible to ‘make it feel like home,’ to create a place that our clients crave being in, a place that is just for them and of them, a place that will always be uniquely theirs. 

(1) Smith, G., 2019. We are Here. 1st ed. South Melbourne, VIC: Affirm Press.

(2) Mcdonald-Timms, S., We are Here. 1st ed. South Melbourne, VIC: Affirm Press.

Senior Interior Designer

Welcome, Bree McIntyre to our Valentine team!

Bree is a Senior Interior Designer with over 8 years of experience working in architecture and project management, with roles at renowned architects, BPSM, and JAWS.

Having worked in Tasmania & Darwin, Bree has a diverse range of residential, commercial, tourism, education & health care skills for both cool temperate and tropical climates. These range from design contributions to large-scale commercial projects; redevelopment of The Royal Hobart Hospital, The Movenpick Hotel, Pumphouse Point Retreat & The Mediterranean Hotel in Darwin, and smaller community-based projects including the TSA Glenorchy community facility, through to the residential fit-out of the Stringybark Residence on Bonnet Hill.

We are thrilled to have Bree on board and excited at the valuable contribution she will be able to make for both our team and clients.

Welcome Ruth

Meet Ruth Evenhuis. Our Social Media Coordinator with a love of learning, a thoughtful approach to life and meticulous attention to detail.

Ruth is managing our social media wing of the business, creating exceptional content, social media planning and strategy, product photography, graphic design and copywriting for our social media clients (and taking care of all those areas that most business owners no longer have time for).

Ruth brings a wealth of experience to the Valentine team with qualifications in Social Media Marketing, A Diploma through Swinburne University; Screen and Media, Content Writing…all while being incredibly creative with a double degree in Arts (Jewellery Design) and Business Studies at Charles Sturt University.

Ruth has a zest for life, a humbleness and is an empathetic and caring human (and wears the coolest jewellery…her own designs of course).

If you would like to chat to Ruth about improving your social media presence, please reach out to ruth@valentineinteriors.com.au