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Designers Expert Tips Interviews

Our 10 favourite interviews of 2017

One of the best things about writing for Interiors Addict is being able to learn about amazingly creative people. From artists to designers and everything in between, these individuals have a lot of insights, ideas and inspiration to share. Below are some of our favourite interviews, so get ready to bookmark! 

Therese Moussa, The Grounds’ head stylistImmaculately detailed, the gorgeous Grounds eateries make you feel like you’ve entered an enchanting wonderland, far, far away from Sydney. We spoke to the head stylist, Therese Moussa, about just how much work goes into transforming these bespoke spaces.

The Grounds

Sarah Ellison, stylist and furniture designer: For eight years, Sarah Ellison was the design savvy-mind behind Real Living magazine, but now she has gone solo… creating her own interiors brand. With a style that is modern and relaxed, Sarah gave us the lowdown on her new furniture and homewares.

Sarah

Lucky Price, The Block’s casting director: A self-confessed ‘old hag’ when it comes to The Block, Lucky Price has been working as a casting director on the hit reality show since 2010. So if you fancy being on our TV screens, it comes as no surprise that Lucky is the man with the tips!

Lucky

Jemma Bell, Canvas+Sasson’s resident designer: Canvas+Sasson began as a lot of small businesses do, from home, with the juggle of kids, family and boxes and boxes of cushions. Ten years on, one of the designers behind Canvas+Sasson spilled the secrets, on how the label has flourished over time.

Canvas+Sasson

Tracie Ellis, AURA Home’s founder: We’ve long loved AURA Home so we thought it was about time we learnt about the woman behind the brand, Tracie Ellis. With a background in fashion and design, in 2000 she created her own line. And as they say, the rest is history!

Tracie

Carla Coulson, photographer: While it was Carla Coulson’s stunning art prints which first caught our attention, it was her back story we knew we had to share. At 35, Carla took a plunge, moving to Italy to study photography. If you want to take a leap of faith – but need a little push – this is a must read!

Carla

Cleo Ganis, Leaf & Co’s co-founder: A family affair, Leaf & Co is run by a mother and her two daughters. Working primarily with ceramics, the pieces are handmade using Australian sourced clay, natural minerals and oxides. If you need to do some Christmas shopping, it’s definitely worth checking out.

Cleo and her family

Natalee Bowen, Indah Island’s founder: Jen’s been Hamptons obsessed since she visited earlier this year, but turns out, she may not have had to travel half way around the world… with interior designer Natalee Bowen beautifully portraying Hamptons decor right here in Australia. The photos are a must see!

Indah Island designed home

Christopher Broome, artist: It’s always exciting to discover an artist at the beginning of their career, and Christopher Broome has a particularly interesting story; giving up his job as an electrician to follow his passion: art. This interview will give you all the good feels.

Christopher

Catherine Heraghty, The Stables’ founder: No doubt many of you are familiar with the modern, coastal aesthetic of interior styling company The Stables… they’re well-loved on Instagram that’s for sure! We find out more about the lady behind the feed; plus her story provides plenty of inspiration for any budding designers.

Catherine

We hope you liked this list.

Categories
Designers Interviews Styling

Meet the stylist behind The Grounds’ enchanting wonderlands

Few jobs are as enviable as Therese Moussa’s: creative developer and head stylist for Sydney’s The Grounds. Even if you’re not from Sydney I’d be surprised if you haven’t heard of this group of beautiful eateries; immaculately detailed, enchanting wonderlands, whose visitors flock from miles away, tripod and camera in tow.

The Grounds of the City

Take the garden bathrooms in The Grounds of Alexandria, a space normally refrained thanks to a lack of budget. Here it’s a different story: “For this space I used a collection of old horse saddles, whips, bridles, stirrups, leads, dried florals and old photos frames of riders and their horses to create a really authentic feel,” explains Therese. “Some of the items in this space were even brought to us and donated to us by our amazing customers.”

The Garden Stables Bathroom at The Grounds of Alexandria
The Garden Stables Bathroom at The Grounds of Alexandria

Having a lifelong affinity with design, Therese was just 12 years old when she realised she wanted to be an interior designer. “I was always curious going through all of my Dad’s paint colour swatches in his work ute and one day I asked: ‘I want to use all these paint colours, what can I do with them?’ He replied you can be a interior designer or decorator. And that was that!”

From there, she undertook a Bachelor of Design specialising in interiors; but it was her passion for art, styling, creating installations, textiles, pottery and colour theory that got her the dream job at The Grounds. Now she spends her days styling the many spaces of the Alexandria venue – from the cafe to the sprawling garden and hidden laneways, Therese even puts the finishing touch on the food displays. “I style the displays of our pastries and bread in our new Bakery and Patisserie and work closely with The Grounds chefs on the food styling for our social media channels.”

The Florist at The Grounds of Alexandria
Cracking the Easter Egg

Highlights would have to be styling on a much larger scale, transforming The Grounds for special events: a magical forest for Mother’s Day and Alice in Wonderland for Easter. “Creating a different installation each year for Easter is one of my favourite projects to work on by far! Each year we dream up new concepts and our ideas get bigger and bigger. It brings us so much joy to see so many people from all ages taking photos of the installations around The Grounds and coming together to crack our giant chocolate Easter Egg.”

Theresa

Therese also helped design the latest venue, The Grounds of the City, alongside The Grounds’ creative director Ramzey Choker and design firm ACME & CO. A dramatic departure from Alexandria, they wanted to create a new experience with a coffee house inspired hub for the city. “This project has been fun working on as it’s just so different,” says Therese. “I worked on the project from the beginning – from conception through to development with styling, uniform, furnishings and also on developing our experiential characters such as the tea lady, shoe shiner and coffee sommelier.”

The Shoe Shiner at The Grounds of the City
The Shoe Shiner at The Grounds of the City

Every inch of the space is thoughtfully styled from the coffee grinders, sourced from around the world and dating back to the 1920s, to the apothecary jars from France, with customised labels that include the names of the farms and regions where they ethically sourced the beans. But Therese’s favourite feature has to be the library: “The library is made up of all the business books the owner, Ramzey, read to create The Grounds, so all of our secrets are in there! We then had them custom covered in recycled leather offcuts and monogrammed with gold and copper foil by one of our regular local market stallholders.”

The Grounds of the City

With a new styling adventure never far away, Therese will soon bring some festive cheer to The Grounds with their annual Christmas event. And if her track record is anything to go by, it’s going to be magical!

More on The Grounds | Restaurants we love

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Interiors Addict

The Grounds of Alexandria shortlisted for interior design award

Interior Designer Caroline Choker has been shortlisted in the hospitality category of the prestigious IDEA awards for her stunning work on The Grounds of Alexandria. She was selected from hundreds of entries and presented to a jury panel of design industry professionals in Melbourne earlier this month.

The Grounds, which opened in March and won the coveted Sydney Morning Herald Best New Café Award just a few months later, is quickly becoming one of Sydney’s most frequented and loved cafes. A former warehouse and 1900s pie factory, The Grounds is a café, restaurant, artisan bakery and coffee roasting facility rolled into one, that opens onto an urban kitchen garden. Internally the fit-out creates a rustic, inviting atmosphere with contemporary highlights.