RISEN

Sheree:  Linda, first off I want to thank you for taking the time to do this interview.  From your Designer Profile, I see that you started your Design Profession in Atlanta and then went to New York, US.  Tell us about your design jobs in these cities.

Linda:  I was in Atlanta for 9 years.  I worked for more than one small company.  I also studied for a year, via my  University program, in Florence, Italy.  And this was the best design experience I could possible have -it molded my career.  I went to  find that great design job in New York but ended up working as a 'Style Coordinator' for Bonwit Teller. This job gave me tremendous management experience and great retail experience.  It was a real fairy tale job and I loved it, but it wasn't really interior design. 

Sheree: From your profile we know you had your own business in Pakistan but you didn't just start your own business fresh out of design school -s o do you think it is important for young designers to work as part of a design firm before trying to run their own businesses?

Linda:  I would say the main thing is to get out of school and go to work for a design company with a good reputation and one that is "safe" to learn in.  Work where you are protected from the hardships of the design industry so you can learn and grow - even if it doesn't seem as glamorous as working with a well known designer in a small firm.  I also advise no one to go out on their own from the beginning.  Work with a company where the head designer has a lot of experience, there is still a lot to learn.  The retail furniture stores that offer design services are a good place to start.  You will learn the corporate world, there will be employee policies, maybe health benefits and so on. And learn your sources!  Once you establish your name in the community, you can go out on your own. 

Sheree: How did you end up in Pakistan and what was the design community like when you moved there?

Linda:  I moved there for my husband's job and I was advised not to be an interior designer because the people didn't understand the field. I designed baby garments at first but then people began to see my home, and slowly they began to understand my talents.  My way into the interior design profession in Pakistan was from people who traveled and knew interiors from other areas of the world and they began to relate those to me and to seek me out.  After one or two interior design jobs, things began to snowball. I did really big commercial jobs and big residential jobs in Pakistan.

I was for certain a pioneer in the field of Interior Design in Pakistan.  Only two educated designers were there during my reign from 1982 to 98.  Very influential people began begging me to do their offices, their hospitals for they were so dissatisfied with local architects.  Not designers but architects who were not experienced in interiors and who had no interior training were doing interior projects.  Once my business got going, I ended up hiring architects to work for me as I was getting projects for my design talents but the projects also required architects!

Sheree:  Big concerns for young designers, who find themselves in situations like your early Pakistan experience, are how to get a business going when there are no firms to work for and how to inform possible clients about design services.  Any advice for them?

Linda:  You will always keep growing and researching and learning new things.  You will always have new challenges, just research it and do it!  You have to keep on learning and finding new techniques, but research is key!

Not only did I have to be an interior designer in Pakistan, if I wanted something, I had to have it made.  So I researched and learned how to manufacture and got great manufacturing experience -all due to lack of available materials and sources. 

In what ever way you can, let people see what you can do.  And shout about your talents, toot your own horn!  Get your name and your telents out there in your community.

Sheree: Linda, there is a lot of talk these days about related professions (a big one right now is graphic design) and how they are important to interior design -you have designed clothing and furniture and worked with architects as well as provided interior design services, how important do you think it is to be capable of cross over into other related design fields?

Linda:  It is very important.  It is all related.  Wether it is garments or graphic deisgn, it all portrays a personna, a mystique -we create an image of how we look, live, or put on paper to perceive.  The better you are in graphic arts, the better interior deisgner you will be.  The fast ability to do renderings and so forth is wonderful.  But if you are not good at this, you hire someone to do it for you.  Don't let any of your weakenesses stop you!  Hire a student even to do things for you - all design companies do this.

Sheree:  Linda, if you could give ID students just 3 words of advice to help them go out into the working world, what would they be? 

Linda:  Keep on learning!

Sheree:  Thank you again, Linda, for taking the time to answer questions and share your experience and knowledge.  Hopefully many ID students will read this and be inspired!

Linda:  Keep on believing in yourself and never give up on your dreams!  Keep on loving what you do, even in the down or slow times!  And don't give your drawings or work away until you are paid for your work!