THE INTERIOR DESIGN SCHOOL - Key Persons
Adrienne studied furniture design in London before finding her niche in commercial design, working with companies such as Carte Blanche Architects, Estee Lauder Companies and then as Studio Director at Umbrella Design. Adrienne now works as an independent design consultant. specialising in high end retailing. Having previously taught architectural interior design for a number of years, Adrienne supports students with idea generation, design theory, the practicalities of planning and spatial organisation in 2D and 3D, colour and texture exploration, detailing, sourcing and presentation techniques.
Amanda is an architecturally focused designer, teaching on the Diploma and Certificate courses, with an emphasis on exploring and explaining the practical reality of being a designer. She worked with architects Sheppard Robson and Conran & Partners on commercial, health, education and hotel projects before setting up Utility in 1999. She has lived and worked in France, Australia and Chile, and now based in London combines independent practice with consultancy and teaching.
As a successful practicing interior designer, Angela brings her design expertise to the technical aspects of the Diploma course, teaching Vectorworks and Sketchup Pro from start to finish. Previously she worked for Fern Green and Redjacket Design, and now runs her own practice working with commercial and residential clients on projects emphasising careful planning and detail, custom-designed interior elements and furniture, and expert realisation.
Job Titles:
- Professional Certificate 2019
Claire began her career as a graphic designer working for studios in Sydney and London. After many exciting years travelling and working in the creative industry and a long-standing passion for interior design and architecture, Claire took a leap of faith in 2016 and undertook an extensive renovation of her home in Sydney. This experience led her to the world of interiors where she has since developed her skills attending The Interior Design School in London and graduated March 2019 followed by a summer internship with Ennismore, a hospitality group (including The Hoxton Hotel) and a full-time internship with Studio Ashby, an award winning studio with a focus on high-end residential work.
Now after three inspiring years in London, Claire has returned to Australia and hopes to work with designers and clients to create spaces with unique identities that are functional and inspiring for the people who inhabit them.
Debbie brings her specialist skills to two aspects of the interior: lighting and joinery detailing. She studied furniture and interior design at the Royal College of Art and has worked in architectural practice and independently on both commercial and residential projects. She also teaches at University of the Arts on international programmes. In addition to teaching she advises small businesses on design for production and fabrication in the UK and internationally.
Emma runs a design practice based in London's Queens Park who collaborate with a variety of design disciplines bringing individuality to each project. With a previous career as a Creative Director she was responsible for the development, production and budgets for large international photographic shoots. These skills have been an invaluable asset to her interior design business. Emma has taken on many mentoring roles during her career, recruiting and training new creatives, enthusiastically passing on her knowledge and passion for her work.
A pioneer of Interior Design in it's modern form, Iris Dunbar studied Interiors within the School of Architecture at Dundee University. Her career ambition is to promote the Interior Design profession by inspiring clients and designers to create interior environments that lift the spirits. As practitioner, educator, former President of the British Institute of Interior Design and former President of IFI (International Federation of Interior Designers and Architects) , her aim is to establish Interior Design as an essential discipline within the built environment industry.
Iris began her career as an Interior Designer with Building Design Partnership, an interdisciplinary practice of architects, designers, engineers and urbanists www.bdp.com working on commercial projects for clients such as The English Tourist Board, Logica plc, The Northern Bank of Ireland. Since 1976, she has had her own company combining graphic design, Interior and exhibition design with varied commissions from The London Fashion Exhibition to The Albert Dock development in Liverpool.
Janet brings her extensive experience in interiors, graphics and corporate marketing to her role as operations manager, course coordinator and head of digital programming. She combines an overview of the evolving design industry, has detailed knowledge of the school management, provides hands-on teaching, and the communication of student portfolios.
Jenny is author of Interior Design: A Professional Guide and has over thirty years of working within the arena of interiors and architecture - designer, illustrator, writer and mentor. Her teaching role at the school applies her wide industry knowledge in both commercial and residential projects and spans the entire design process from abstract concept to detail and communication.
Job Titles:
- Professional Certificate 2019
Jon works in the furniture industry as a dealer for Senator Furniture ( the company that supplied The Interior Design School office chairs and meeting table) In his role he would do space planning and many years ago he completed the summer course in order to have more input with interiors. He is really keen on Danish design and visits the exhibitions in Copenhagen regularly. He completed the Professional Certificate in March 2019 and now runs his own Interiors and work space company along with Photography.
Job Titles:
- Is Director of Park Grove Design
Lori is Director of Park Grove Design since 1993, working in the residential and contract markets and with a passion for improving design criteria within the care home sector. She is the recipient of the 2012 BIID Award of Merit for outstanding achievement in the field of Interior Design as is a Past President of the British Institute of Interior Design (BIID), a member of the International Interior Design Association (IIDA) and an Affiliate of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA). She is a frequent speaker at industry events, including 100% Design, Grand Designs and Decorex International, among others, and is a Civil and Commercial Mediator accredited in both the UK and United States.
Lucy is a fully qualified interior designer, a member of the BIID with a History of Art Degree and more than 12 years experience in the global luxury architectural interior design industry. Having worked for Oliver Laws, Todhunter Earle and Katharine Pooley she now runs her own successful design practice Studio Clark + Co working on high end residential interiors,
Lynn trained as an interior architect in Australia, has broad experience of working in multi-disciplinary teams and designing spaces for retail, civic and educational clients, and brings her specialist skills in analysis and planning to her work at the school. Amongst other things she teaches three-dimensional drawing as a means to explore and develop, as well as communicate ideas. She is co-founder of Renzow Barker, architectural interpreters and illustrators.
Lynne has been an integral part of the school for over 20 years and has worked closely with the Director on the curriculum and accreditation. Previously an associate at Addison Design and consultant with Wolff Olins her industry experience includes large-scale, multi-disciplinary, international retail and commercial projects, while current consultancy concentrates on residential design and property development.
Malcolm is a practicing architect and one of the original Vectorworks pioneers and through his extensive knowledge and understanding of the programme has written the CAD course documentation. Over the last decade he has developed a bespoke course to make the learning and use of the software simple, direct, relevant and enjoyable. As a CAD consultant Malcolm works with design practices helping them to tailor CAD programmes to their particular way of working.
Marian trained in interior and textile design and has extensive experience in teaching both subjects; she has particular expertise in composition, hand-drawing, colour, theory and application. She leads the introductory units of both the Diploma and Certificate courses which build the core skills that underpin the design process. Marian is co-founder of The Colourhouse, an independent hand print textiles and wallpaper company specialising in sustainable products for the modern interior. Marian is also Head of Textiles at Morley College.
Melissa trained as an architect in Canada, moved to London after graduating and was introduced to the school whilst working with Robert O'Hara Architects in Queens Park. She works with the Diploma students bringing expert knowledge on planning and spatial organisation, also teaching fundamental approaches to structural elements and detail design, vital knowledge for ambitious designers aiming to take their ideas through to realisation. Melissa runs a thriving architectural practice in north London
Peter is a Chartered Surveyor by profession and has run his own successful property development and refurbishment company for the past 25 years. Utilising his industry and corporate experience, Peter assists with the Corporate Management of the school .
Job Titles:
- Owner and Director of Forster Inc
Owner and Director of Forster Inc since 1998, award winning Interior Design Practice specialising in both Commercial and Residential projects. Rachel has previous teaching experience at University of Arts London and Royal College of Art.
Rosie trained in both interior and menswear design. Following a career in the menswear industry working for companies including Alexander McQueen, Tommy Hilfiger and Topman, she gained extensive teaching experience working at the Royal College of Art and University of Westminster. Rosie currently designs for McCrum Interior Design alongside teaching on both the Diploma and Certificate courses. Rosie's strengths include concept development, space planning, technical drawing and model making.
Simon Hamilton is an Interior Designer, Lecturer, Mentor and Diversity Advisor. During his wide-ranging career spanning more than three decades, he also specialized in design recruitment across the UK, Europe and Asia. Simon operates all professional activities under his brand Simon Hamilton Creative. He is a Design Director for Interior Design consultancy, The Surveyor's Collection in addition to working with his own commercial, residential interior and furniture design clients across the UK and Europe. In 2021 Simon was appointed as Partner Consultant on the Diversity & Inclusion GATEway Project by The University of Plymouth to help this initiative to address diversity and inclusion locally and across Devon. Simon was elected to the board of the British Institute of Interior Design (BIID) and served 4 years from 2010 to 2014 as International Director. He continues to volunteer his time to the BIID as a member of their Diversity & Inclusion Committee which is helping address the lack of representation within interior design. With appearances on BBC1, The Great Indoors, Designerati, The Interior Design Business podcasts and several other design events across the world, Simon is a seasoned presenter, keynote speaker, host and moderator. He is a regular participant at Clerkenwell Design Week, Decorex, Surface Design Show, Design London, The London Design Festival, Salone del Mobile and other major exhibitions in the creative calendar. Simon serves as a jury member for The International Property Awards and DNA Paris Design Awards and hosted the prestigious Surface Design Show Awards 2022. To exercise his deep passion for craft, materials and making, Simon became a Steering Committee Member, Mentor and an Ambassador for Cockpit Arts, London in 2021. As a method of sharing his knowledge and expertise further, Simon provides invaluable mentoring and career advice through Design Career Consultancy, which he established in 2019. In addition to volunteering his career services for the charity United In Design, Simon's clients include a variety of private clients and educators with Manchester Metropolitan University and Nottingham Trent University amongst them. As a champion for social justice and equality within the creative industry, Simon is a Fellow of The Royal Society of Arts and a Design Museum Patron. In late 2022, he became an Associate Lecturer at the Royal College of Art at the Kensington campus on the MA Interior Design course.
Steffen Marcus studied Mechatronics at Kings College London before becoming a lighting designer. He has many years' experience in the residential lighting design field, as well as undertaking various hospitality and commercial projects. In this time he has dealt with a huge variety of projects ranging from tiny extensions to large mansions. A grounding in the technical side of electrics allows him to deal with all sides of a project, from the initial concepts through to implementation and final commissioning. Many of the projects that Marcus has produced designs for have been featured in magazines or won awards.
Tom is an exciting young lighting designer with a background including product, graphic and packaging design. He is currently working at BDP on projects including large retail developments in the UK and Russia, a public realm masterplan in Cambridge, a prestigious residential façade in Moscow as well as UK based healthcare projects. As lighting design continues to thrive as a profession, Tom is increasingly involved in education of young designers and students.
Victoria is one of our architects, teaching two aspects of the design process: experimental and exploratory studies in space and volume, and construction detailing. She trained in Barcelona, Texas and California, was a founding partner of Camp Arquitectes studio, and now lives in London as practicing owner of Y-Architecture and Design also working internationally on architecture, interior and furniture projects. Teaching credits include Barcelona School of Architecture, University Colllege London and The Barlett School of Architecture.