Georgia Designs Her Own Future
When Georgia Strong was seven years old, her teacher asked her class to write down what job they wanted to have when they grew up. Last year, she found the old schoolbook she’d written it in and realised that over the years her views hadn’t changed at all – she still wanted to be an interior designer.
“So, I thought that since Ara is close to home and has a course, I should get some training in interior design” she says. As she nears completion of her Diploma of Interior Design, Strong recently went on a work placement at Shelf Homeware and Gift Shop, in Christchurch.
With her design eye, she re-organises different displays in the shop, helps customers choose gifts and decorations, and unpacks new stock for displays.
Georgia Strong on work placement at Shelf Home + Gifts in Cashmere
“Everyone at the shop have been so welcoming and just wanted to teach me everything they know. They’ve given me a lot of feedback on the displays I’ve designed here – I’ve learned a lot about colour coordination and seeing how different objects work together.”
Ara’s Diploma of Interior Design is a one-year course on both the theory and practical aspects of interior design, including the interplay of light and colour, design and ergonomic principles, and freehand drawing techniques.
“I’ve enjoyed the creative side of things, and how I can put my creative touch on certain aspects of the coursework,” says Strong. “And I like the people I’ve met during the course as well!”
Having to assess and deliver on the client’s needs as a part of her coursework was a challenging experience for Strong, but one that was full of new learnings too.
“We had to use different mood boards and then change the styles based on what an imaginary client wanted,” she says. “It was quite difficult at the start, but the longer I spent on the course, the easier I could put what the client was saying into my design practice. We had to make it really practical and move away from what we liked, to what the client wanted.”
Georgia has learned a lot about colour, displays, and customer service from shop owner Sue Hauser-Deakin
After gaining her diploma, Strong wants to get more experience in the industry by working in a retail interior design shop. “I want to find out what part of interior design excites me the most or where I can feel I’m the most creative and then go with that.”
In five years, Strong would like to be working in a design firm in Melbourne, living the dream she first expressed as a hopeful child in primary school all those years ago.