1
00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:04,720
I think there's such a kind of 
focus on looking after yourself,

2
00:00:04,720 --> 00:00:07,920
looking after your health, 
looking after your mental state,

3
00:00:08,240 --> 00:00:11,280
whether it's a home, whether 
it's an office, whether it's a 

4
00:00:11,600 --> 00:00:14,920
kind of club of some kind. 
There's very much a kind of a 

5
00:00:14,920 --> 00:00:18,120
recovery, There's very much a 
kind of rest and rehabilitation 

6
00:00:18,120 --> 00:00:20,840
element to it. 
And it's something that's very, 

7
00:00:20,840 --> 00:00:24,040
very dear to Austin. 
And certainly maybe it's an age 

8
00:00:24,040 --> 00:00:28,000
thing, maybe it's being a parent
and thinking about your own 

9
00:00:28,000 --> 00:00:31,800
mortality and things like that. 
But it's to have such a kind of 

10
00:00:31,800 --> 00:00:35,840
focus on that within the luxury 
sector and even residential 

11
00:00:35,840 --> 00:00:39,520
sector, it is really, really 
important at the moment and it's

12
00:00:39,720 --> 00:00:44,000
really fascinating. 
You're now listening to Design 

13
00:00:44,000 --> 00:00:48,120
Curious, a place where you, 
Creative one, are here to learn 

14
00:00:48,120 --> 00:00:51,160
about what it really is like to 
be an interior designer. 

15
00:00:51,640 --> 00:00:54,400
And I'm your host and mentor, 
Rebecca Ward. 

16
00:00:55,040 --> 00:00:59,080
If you're worried about how to 
succeed in a creative career, if

17
00:00:59,080 --> 00:01:01,960
you're ready to learn your next 
steps to become an interior 

18
00:01:01,960 --> 00:01:06,320
designer, and if you want the 
satisfaction of doing something 

19
00:01:06,320 --> 00:01:09,760
you love every day, you are in 
the right place. 

20
00:01:10,160 --> 00:01:14,200
Grab a coffee, a notebook, and 
let's dig into today's episode. 

21
00:01:14,840 --> 00:01:19,400
Hello and welcome to episode 178
of Design Curious Podcast. 

22
00:01:19,800 --> 00:01:23,240
Today on the podcast, I am 
privileged to be able to 

23
00:01:23,240 --> 00:01:27,840
interview designer Elliot James.
His journey from furniture 

24
00:01:27,840 --> 00:01:31,520
design to establishing a multi 
award-winning international 

25
00:01:31,520 --> 00:01:35,480
studio is a testament to his 
dedication to creating spaces 

26
00:01:35,480 --> 00:01:37,880
that transcend mirror 
aesthetics. 

27
00:01:38,320 --> 00:01:41,960
His philosophy centers on the 
belief that well designed spaces

28
00:01:42,000 --> 00:01:45,120
can serve as sanctuaries, 
evoking genuine emotion and 

29
00:01:45,120 --> 00:01:47,400
fostering meaningful 
connections. 

30
00:01:48,000 --> 00:01:52,880
I truly enjoyed our conversation
talking to him about furniture 

31
00:01:52,880 --> 00:01:57,360
design, about international 
design, and it was just a lot of

32
00:01:57,360 --> 00:01:58,800
fun. 
So I think you're going to enjoy

33
00:01:58,800 --> 00:02:02,880
the episode, so let's listen in.
Hi, Elliot, welcome to Design 

34
00:02:02,880 --> 00:02:04,720
Curious Podcast. 
It's great to have you here 

35
00:02:04,720 --> 00:02:06,360
today. 
Hi, Rebecca. 

36
00:02:06,400 --> 00:02:08,919
Thanks so much for having me. 
I'm, I'm really excited, really 

37
00:02:08,919 --> 00:02:10,840
excited about what we can talk 
about. 

38
00:02:10,919 --> 00:02:14,280
Thank you very much. 
Yeah, I'm very interested in 

39
00:02:14,280 --> 00:02:18,000
your story right now. 
You are currently in Dubai, so 

40
00:02:18,000 --> 00:02:21,000
we have very different time 
zones happening right now. 

41
00:02:21,000 --> 00:02:23,080
So I appreciate you coming on 
and sharing. 

42
00:02:23,520 --> 00:02:28,480
Why don't we start where you got
into design in the 1st place or 

43
00:02:28,480 --> 00:02:32,880
creative outlets at all? 
What made you think you wanted 

44
00:02:32,880 --> 00:02:35,080
to go into this kind of 
industry? 

45
00:02:35,480 --> 00:02:38,280
Yeah, no, fantastic. 
It's a long story. 

46
00:02:38,280 --> 00:02:42,200
It all kind of started when when
I was a when I was a boy, I grew

47
00:02:42,200 --> 00:02:45,720
up in a house where my father 
was an engineer, was always 

48
00:02:45,920 --> 00:02:48,960
working on our home and 
extensions and things like that.

49
00:02:48,960 --> 00:02:52,320
So my brother and I would help 
him do those kind of things. 

50
00:02:52,320 --> 00:02:55,440
So structural elements and 
technical elements. 

51
00:02:55,600 --> 00:02:59,000
And at the same time, my mother 
was a huge interior design 

52
00:02:59,000 --> 00:03:01,120
enthusiast. 
So I was always surrounded by 

53
00:03:01,120 --> 00:03:04,000
kind of paint samples, fabric 
swatches. 

54
00:03:04,320 --> 00:03:07,640
My grandmother was a huge 
antique collector. 

55
00:03:07,640 --> 00:03:11,280
So we were always kind of 
surrounded by antiques and 

56
00:03:11,280 --> 00:03:14,800
understanding kind of the beauty
in these beautiful old objects 

57
00:03:14,800 --> 00:03:16,920
and things like that. 
So it was really ingrained in in

58
00:03:16,920 --> 00:03:18,360
my brother and I from a young 
age. 

59
00:03:18,360 --> 00:03:20,360
And my brother went off to do a 
completely different career. 

60
00:03:20,360 --> 00:03:23,480
But for me, I just always had 
this burning desire to do 

61
00:03:23,480 --> 00:03:27,040
something creative. 
I, I loved drawing, I loved 

62
00:03:27,040 --> 00:03:29,920
building things. 
And I, and I had a particular 

63
00:03:29,920 --> 00:03:33,520
fascination with, with building 
3 dimensional objects and seeing

64
00:03:33,520 --> 00:03:38,040
these things come to life. 
So when I then sort of 

65
00:03:38,040 --> 00:03:41,600
specialized at a certain age, 
you know, a college or 

66
00:03:41,600 --> 00:03:45,280
university, I then knew I wanted
to go into kind of product and 

67
00:03:45,280 --> 00:03:48,320
furniture design where I could 
use and and create something 

68
00:03:48,320 --> 00:03:50,760
sort of very tactile and, and 
look at a different material 

69
00:03:51,440 --> 00:03:55,000
hills and things. 
When I finished and I was kind 

70
00:03:55,000 --> 00:03:58,200
of making my furniture and I had
a sort of small company that was

71
00:03:58,200 --> 00:04:00,840
doing a few installations and 
bespoke pieces. 

72
00:04:01,120 --> 00:04:04,280
But I would go into a space and 
I would look at it and think I 

73
00:04:04,280 --> 00:04:08,120
could do so much more with this 
space if I had the freedom to do

74
00:04:08,120 --> 00:04:11,400
that or if this if I could do 
the entire entire thing. 

75
00:04:11,720 --> 00:04:14,960
So I went back and retrained an 
interior architecture and then 

76
00:04:14,960 --> 00:04:17,720
from there decided, OK, now I'm 
going to control everything 

77
00:04:17,720 --> 00:04:20,519
within that space. 
And then really that's where 

78
00:04:20,519 --> 00:04:24,880
kind of Eliot James interiors 
began and then then grown into 

79
00:04:24,880 --> 00:04:29,560
an interior architectural studio
where we do everything from what

80
00:04:29,560 --> 00:04:33,160
we call kind of shelling core. 
So just the bare bones of a 

81
00:04:33,160 --> 00:04:36,800
building and we build everything
right down to the accessories, 

82
00:04:36,800 --> 00:04:39,240
curate the artwork, bespoke 
furniture. 

83
00:04:39,600 --> 00:04:42,800
And that's how this journey or, 
or, or my kind of career 

84
00:04:42,800 --> 00:04:46,360
evolved, I guess. 
OK, so when you went to get your

85
00:04:46,360 --> 00:04:51,200
interior architecture degree, 
did you have to intern for 

86
00:04:51,200 --> 00:04:53,000
other? 
People while you were. 

87
00:04:53,000 --> 00:04:55,640
Doing that or was that not part 
of it? 

88
00:04:55,640 --> 00:04:58,760
And then I just curious about 
how you like if you worked for 

89
00:04:58,760 --> 00:05:01,680
anybody before you started 
Elliot James Interiors. 

90
00:05:02,480 --> 00:05:04,800
I didn't. 
I just would have finished my my

91
00:05:04,800 --> 00:05:07,360
qualifications. 
I was actually working in 

92
00:05:07,360 --> 00:05:11,080
branding and in in graphic 
design for a big national 

93
00:05:11,080 --> 00:05:15,480
newspaper in London. 
And from there that also taught 

94
00:05:15,480 --> 00:05:19,080
me another set of skills about 
how to sort of market myself, 

95
00:05:19,080 --> 00:05:22,520
brand and myself what I wanted 
my brand to look like and 

96
00:05:22,520 --> 00:05:24,200
everything. 
So that was very, very useful. 

97
00:05:24,200 --> 00:05:26,480
But I was kind of doing the 
other the other thing on the 

98
00:05:26,480 --> 00:05:28,760
side. 
And then it got to a point where

99
00:05:28,760 --> 00:05:31,880
the two were starting to compete
and I just had to make a 

100
00:05:31,880 --> 00:05:34,200
decision. 
I'm either going to do one 

101
00:05:34,200 --> 00:05:37,320
career and, and be in branding 
and graphic design and 

102
00:05:37,320 --> 00:05:40,840
everything forever, or I'm going
to do what really, you know, is 

103
00:05:40,840 --> 00:05:44,760
calling to me to do and follow 
my passion, go and take care, 

104
00:05:44,920 --> 00:05:47,200
take on the interior 
architecture full full time. 

105
00:05:47,480 --> 00:05:52,480
So the at the time, my business 
partner was living in Singapore 

106
00:05:52,480 --> 00:05:55,560
and was saying to me, you know, 
come out and see me come to 

107
00:05:55,560 --> 00:05:58,000
Singapore. 
I've been going to Asia for a 

108
00:05:58,000 --> 00:06:01,320
couple of years anyway due to my
brother living out there and I 

109
00:06:01,320 --> 00:06:03,440
loved it. 
And then when I came to 

110
00:06:03,440 --> 00:06:05,840
Singapore, I was just like, you 
know, let's just take the 

111
00:06:05,840 --> 00:06:09,600
plunge. 
So I said to my wife, who was my

112
00:06:09,600 --> 00:06:12,320
girlfriend at the time, should 
we go have an adventure? 

113
00:06:12,360 --> 00:06:15,360
And we said yeah. 
So we completely just to say 

114
00:06:15,360 --> 00:06:19,280
Casey's a laptop and a website 
arrived in Singapore and said 

115
00:06:19,280 --> 00:06:22,680
OK, we're now full interior 
design studio who wants our 

116
00:06:22,680 --> 00:06:24,280
services. 
You know, it's pretty much 

117
00:06:24,280 --> 00:06:27,320
tumbleweed for about 6 months. 
There's a lot of knocking on 

118
00:06:27,320 --> 00:06:30,400
doors and and trying to drum up 
some this where we could. 

119
00:06:30,920 --> 00:06:34,240
Yeah, wow. 
So I admire that adventurous 

120
00:06:34,240 --> 00:06:38,920
spirit, which I think is needed 
for any entrepreneur because you

121
00:06:38,920 --> 00:06:42,520
have to take a risk and just get
out there and do it. 

122
00:06:43,200 --> 00:06:48,000
But to move and not have any 
kind of like groundwork set up 

123
00:06:48,000 --> 00:06:50,200
for getting clients right off 
the bat. 

124
00:06:50,200 --> 00:06:54,000
I imagine it was in the little 
tumbleweed, but only six months.

125
00:06:54,000 --> 00:06:56,600
So that's not bad I think 
actually. 

126
00:06:57,280 --> 00:07:00,040
Yeah, yeah, I think we were 
lucky enough. 

127
00:07:00,480 --> 00:07:03,760
Singapore was a small place. 
It was still very competitive, 

128
00:07:03,760 --> 00:07:06,960
but I think we we were lucky 
enough to we were in a kind of 

129
00:07:06,960 --> 00:07:09,160
an expat community. 
So it was a lot of knocking on 

130
00:07:09,160 --> 00:07:12,000
doors, a lot of going to kind of
events and things like that and 

131
00:07:12,000 --> 00:07:15,200
just making friendships and, and
kind of word of mouth. 

132
00:07:15,400 --> 00:07:19,480
And it was then a case of as 
soon as the first opportunity 

133
00:07:19,480 --> 00:07:22,640
presented itself, we, you know, 
naturally I jumped on it and 

134
00:07:22,640 --> 00:07:27,000
then sort of did the best, best 
I could with that project in 

135
00:07:27,000 --> 00:07:30,200
order to kind of be a sort of 
stepping stone on to the to the 

136
00:07:30,200 --> 00:07:35,440
next thing really. 
So as far as the services that 

137
00:07:35,440 --> 00:07:39,160
you offered right off was was it
mostly just design work or did 

138
00:07:39,160 --> 00:07:43,360
you do like installation 
procurement for the clients as 

139
00:07:43,360 --> 00:07:44,600
well? 
Because I think it would be hard

140
00:07:44,600 --> 00:07:48,480
to learn where your resources 
are once you move to a new 

141
00:07:48,480 --> 00:07:50,600
place. 
Yeah, that's right, that's 

142
00:07:50,600 --> 00:07:51,200
right. 
Now we do. 

143
00:07:51,280 --> 00:07:53,840
I did the full thing. 
I did the full project, like 

144
00:07:54,240 --> 00:07:56,600
from start to finish. 
It was a sort of duplex 

145
00:07:56,600 --> 00:08:00,160
apartment, the three beds, very 
nice with a beautiful roof 

146
00:08:00,160 --> 00:08:02,640
terrace and everything. 
But yeah, we did the full thing,

147
00:08:02,640 --> 00:08:03,880
the procurement and everything, 
but. 

148
00:08:04,040 --> 00:08:07,440
But what I did is in the time 
whilst I was leading up to 

149
00:08:08,040 --> 00:08:11,920
getting that first project, I 
spent a lot of time researching 

150
00:08:11,920 --> 00:08:15,000
into suppliers and, and 
contractors and viewing their 

151
00:08:15,000 --> 00:08:19,520
work and making sure that I felt
that I was happy to then work 

152
00:08:19,520 --> 00:08:22,600
with those people and, and sort 
of for them to kind of represent

153
00:08:22,600 --> 00:08:25,520
my brand. 
I guess I think where I'd, I'd 

154
00:08:25,520 --> 00:08:28,280
sort of always had that history 
in furniture design and sort of 

155
00:08:28,280 --> 00:08:31,560
my education in the UKI always 
felt I had a very, very good 

156
00:08:31,560 --> 00:08:34,640
understanding of what good 
quality was. 

157
00:08:35,400 --> 00:08:37,520
So I spent that time sourcing 
for that. 

158
00:08:37,880 --> 00:08:41,440
And then fortunately, I mean it,
it didn't go so smoothly. 

159
00:08:41,440 --> 00:08:43,960
But like all these things, you 
know, you kind of cut your teeth

160
00:08:43,960 --> 00:08:47,240
on the first project and you 
learn so much and, and then you 

161
00:08:47,240 --> 00:08:49,640
learn every time, you know, I 
think I, I think I'm still 

162
00:08:49,640 --> 00:08:51,440
learning on every project, you 
know, so. 

163
00:08:51,760 --> 00:08:55,720
Yeah, yeah, yeah, for sure. 
So being a furniture designer, 

164
00:08:55,720 --> 00:08:59,800
do you also do a lot of custom 
furniture for your clients? 

165
00:08:59,800 --> 00:09:02,560
I would think. 
We do, we do, we do a lot of 

166
00:09:02,560 --> 00:09:04,040
custom furniture for our 
clients. 

167
00:09:04,080 --> 00:09:06,720
It's, it's one of our, and sort 
of USPS as well. 

168
00:09:06,720 --> 00:09:11,000
Like a lot of what we now focus 
on is about client experience. 

169
00:09:11,000 --> 00:09:13,120
It's about sort of the 
experience of the home. 

170
00:09:13,360 --> 00:09:17,000
And how can we enrich that? 
How can we create a sort of not 

171
00:09:17,000 --> 00:09:20,280
simplicity, but how can we 
enrich and make our clients 

172
00:09:20,280 --> 00:09:23,440
lives easier and more convenient
and, and everything sort of be 

173
00:09:23,440 --> 00:09:26,000
very intuitive. 
And that comes down to that 

174
00:09:26,000 --> 00:09:28,720
bespoke furniture as well, 
whether it's a, a piece of 

175
00:09:28,720 --> 00:09:32,640
joinery or, or a piece of 
cabinetry or whether it's 

176
00:09:32,640 --> 00:09:35,720
something like a beautiful 
armchair that ergonomically 

177
00:09:35,720 --> 00:09:39,040
formed for the client. 
It all of those kind of ideas 

178
00:09:39,040 --> 00:09:42,800
and, and sort of research of our
client goes into that product. 

179
00:09:43,040 --> 00:09:45,280
And so we, we really, really 
value doing that. 

180
00:09:45,280 --> 00:09:48,520
And for us as well, it allows us
to give something truly unique 

181
00:09:48,520 --> 00:09:51,000
to our clients as well, 
something that somebody hasn't 

182
00:09:51,000 --> 00:09:52,560
seen before, I guess. 
Yeah. 

183
00:09:52,560 --> 00:09:56,480
So then as you have developed 
your brand and everything, what 

184
00:09:56,480 --> 00:10:01,640
is really your ideal type of 
project and what really is are 

185
00:10:01,640 --> 00:10:04,400
you passionate about when you 
approach a project? 

186
00:10:04,960 --> 00:10:07,560
It's a really tough question, 
actually a tough question. 

187
00:10:07,560 --> 00:10:09,680
I should I should know this off 
off the tip? 

188
00:10:09,720 --> 00:10:12,240
Of my tongue. 
But I think it's so hard because

189
00:10:12,240 --> 00:10:15,240
we we do a broad range of 
residential commercial 

190
00:10:15,240 --> 00:10:18,160
hospitality and that's kind of 
been a sort of natural 

191
00:10:18,160 --> 00:10:21,480
progression over the years. 
But I think one of the things 

192
00:10:21,480 --> 00:10:24,320
that really excites me is when 
we do a residential project for 

193
00:10:24,320 --> 00:10:29,480
a client that it has a good 
understanding of, of design and 

194
00:10:29,480 --> 00:10:33,200
an appreciation for detail. 
Because what we try and do is we

195
00:10:33,200 --> 00:10:36,680
try and add these little kind of
beautiful elements that to the 

196
00:10:36,680 --> 00:10:39,680
naked eye or to somebody that 
maybe just walks into somebody's

197
00:10:39,680 --> 00:10:42,080
home, may not notice these 
things. 

198
00:10:42,080 --> 00:10:44,960
But to a client that can sit 
down and notice the detail, 

199
00:10:45,200 --> 00:10:47,840
that's, that's a real sort of 
beautiful moment for us to be 

200
00:10:47,840 --> 00:10:50,520
able to do that. 
And if we can capture a client's

201
00:10:50,520 --> 00:10:54,000
personality and capture that in 
an environment or in an 

202
00:10:54,000 --> 00:10:56,080
interior, and that's, that's 
very special. 

203
00:10:56,080 --> 00:10:59,960
So for us, we've been very lucky
over the years to to carve 

204
00:10:59,960 --> 00:11:04,840
ourselves and niche into luxury.
And within that, obviously we 

205
00:11:04,840 --> 00:11:07,240
get to work with some amazing 
materials. 

206
00:11:07,240 --> 00:11:11,080
We get to work with some fun, 
fascinating clients as well that

207
00:11:11,080 --> 00:11:14,040
are so well travelled and 
interesting stories and have 

208
00:11:14,040 --> 00:11:17,960
interesting either likes or 
dislikes and you know, family 

209
00:11:17,960 --> 00:11:20,920
heirlooms and things like that. 
All of that we kind of put into 

210
00:11:20,920 --> 00:11:24,160
this sort of mixing part to 
create this beautiful project 

211
00:11:24,160 --> 00:11:25,760
for them. 
Very nice. 

212
00:11:25,760 --> 00:11:29,280
Yeah, Yeah. 
So how large is your firm that 

213
00:11:29,280 --> 00:11:32,160
you have now? 
Is it based in Singapore or is 

214
00:11:32,160 --> 00:11:34,040
it in Dubai? 
Where you're at? 

215
00:11:34,040 --> 00:11:36,440
So we're in. 
So I'm, I'm based in Dubai. 

216
00:11:37,360 --> 00:11:42,720
I moved here in August of 2025 
and and previously I was in 

217
00:11:42,720 --> 00:11:46,200
Singapore for 13 years. 
So in Singapore we still have 

218
00:11:46,200 --> 00:11:47,920
our office there. 
So we have three of our 

219
00:11:47,920 --> 00:11:51,840
designers sitting in Singapore 
and then in Dubai we have 6 and 

220
00:11:51,840 --> 00:11:55,520
in in London we have two. 
We just found where we started 

221
00:11:55,520 --> 00:11:59,240
in, in Singapore, our clients 
would be predominantly 

222
00:11:59,240 --> 00:12:02,000
residential clients. 
And then they may have family 

223
00:12:02,000 --> 00:12:04,640
wealth offices, they may have 
other ventures and they would 

224
00:12:04,720 --> 00:12:06,760
ask us to, to look at different 
projects. 

225
00:12:06,760 --> 00:12:10,120
It might be a restaurant, it 
might be a Wellness facility or 

226
00:12:10,120 --> 00:12:11,400
something that they've invested 
in. 

227
00:12:11,760 --> 00:12:14,840
So then it sort of grew and then
they were then we would have 

228
00:12:14,840 --> 00:12:17,520
inquiries to say, are you guys 
in Dubai? 

229
00:12:17,520 --> 00:12:20,120
We're buying property in Dubai. 
Dubai is obviously a kind of 

230
00:12:20,120 --> 00:12:22,480
booming the economy at the 
moment. 

231
00:12:22,480 --> 00:12:24,440
And so we said no at the time we
didn't. 

232
00:12:24,440 --> 00:12:26,520
But we have something that we 
always wanted to do. 

233
00:12:26,840 --> 00:12:31,000
And with me being in Dubai, it 
allows me to cater for the 

234
00:12:31,000 --> 00:12:33,480
Singapore market. 
And I'm up early and I work with

235
00:12:33,480 --> 00:12:35,160
Singapore. 
And then obviously later on in 

236
00:12:35,160 --> 00:12:39,800
the afternoon, London comes on 
board and, and comes online and 

237
00:12:39,800 --> 00:12:41,800
then I'm I'm ready to work with 
them as well. 

238
00:12:41,800 --> 00:12:44,880
So so strategically, Dubai works
very well. 

239
00:12:45,600 --> 00:12:46,760
Nice. 
OK. 

240
00:12:47,160 --> 00:12:51,600
And so I think it'd be really 
interesting to adapt to a new 

241
00:12:51,600 --> 00:12:55,320
culture then as you're you're 
living there and setting up shop

242
00:12:55,320 --> 00:12:57,880
again. 
Of course, your brands can be 

243
00:12:57,880 --> 00:13:00,880
very international. 
Do you like them having 

244
00:13:01,120 --> 00:13:03,760
international brand and having 
to deal with all the different 

245
00:13:04,240 --> 00:13:07,880
countries economies and you know
how is the how is the current 

246
00:13:07,880 --> 00:13:11,320
market for you? 
Yeah, I love the different 

247
00:13:11,320 --> 00:13:14,480
cultures. 
I love sort of understanding how

248
00:13:14,480 --> 00:13:16,560
how business is done in 
different places. 

249
00:13:16,560 --> 00:13:20,800
And I found that sort of 
Singapore and Asia, our clients 

250
00:13:20,800 --> 00:13:22,920
would be very, very detailed 
orientated. 

251
00:13:22,920 --> 00:13:26,400
There's been a lot of time 
mulling over kind of details and

252
00:13:26,400 --> 00:13:28,320
sort of the intricacies of the 
design. 

253
00:13:28,760 --> 00:13:32,960
And then here in Dubai, I find 
people at very, very face value.

254
00:13:32,960 --> 00:13:34,600
They want to see you in front of
them. 

255
00:13:34,600 --> 00:13:37,800
They want want to have that eye 
to eye contact. 

256
00:13:37,800 --> 00:13:40,480
They want to kind of have that 
trust there as as well. 

257
00:13:40,680 --> 00:13:42,720
And I find all these kind of 
things really, really 

258
00:13:42,720 --> 00:13:45,400
interesting and sort of how you 
do business, but also how that 

259
00:13:45,400 --> 00:13:49,000
then translates into people's 
environments and what makes them

260
00:13:49,000 --> 00:13:50,960
comfortable and what people are 
looking for. 

261
00:13:51,400 --> 00:13:53,760
And so I think learning all 
those things are really great. 

262
00:13:54,000 --> 00:13:56,560
I think some of the challenges 
of those things are trying to 

263
00:13:56,560 --> 00:14:00,040
spread yourself maybe too thin 
across one of the regions. 

264
00:14:00,480 --> 00:14:04,200
I think exactly as you said, 
sort of get into grips with 

265
00:14:04,200 --> 00:14:07,680
those new markets and trying to 
get up to speed and making sure 

266
00:14:07,680 --> 00:14:11,480
that one market is not suffering
whilst whilst you're focusing on

267
00:14:11,480 --> 00:14:14,280
another and and that certainly 
takes takes some balance. 

268
00:14:14,400 --> 00:14:16,520
Balancing. 
So yeah, I. 

269
00:14:16,520 --> 00:14:19,040
Think it's challenges? 
Yeah, well, if we don't know 

270
00:14:19,040 --> 00:14:20,960
anything about you, we know 
you're always up for an 

271
00:14:20,960 --> 00:14:21,920
adventure, right? 
So. 

272
00:14:21,920 --> 00:14:27,720
So let's take on Dubai now. 
Yeah, That's great, though. 

273
00:14:28,200 --> 00:14:31,920
I love that, that spirit. 
So I imagine you're dealing a 

274
00:14:31,920 --> 00:14:35,120
lot with luxury design, 
residential, probably 

275
00:14:35,120 --> 00:14:38,920
hospitality as well. 
Where do you see it going right 

276
00:14:38,920 --> 00:14:41,080
now? 
As I know, there's been a lot of

277
00:14:41,200 --> 00:14:45,040
incorporation of Wellness into 
luxury design, but what does it 

278
00:14:45,040 --> 00:14:47,000
look like for you with your 
projects? 

279
00:14:47,440 --> 00:14:50,960
Yeah, we've been fortunate 
enough as well to be brought in 

280
00:14:50,960 --> 00:14:54,800
by a number of developers as 
well and sort of assist on 

281
00:14:55,320 --> 00:14:58,680
analysing what luxury looks like
and what that luxury clientele 

282
00:14:58,680 --> 00:15:02,160
is looking for as a buyer when 
they come to a new home, What 

283
00:15:02,160 --> 00:15:05,400
what is it that they want? 
It's not necessarily just a case

284
00:15:05,400 --> 00:15:10,080
of a number of bedrooms and 
study or even to say, OK, you 

285
00:15:10,080 --> 00:15:11,600
know, I'm going to have a wine 
cellar. 

286
00:15:11,880 --> 00:15:15,200
It goes far beyond that. 
Now people want to have kind of 

287
00:15:15,360 --> 00:15:17,600
a sanctuary and it's something 
that we proud of ourselves goes 

288
00:15:17,600 --> 00:15:20,960
on about motor. 
Our ethos is, is is sanctuary 

289
00:15:20,960 --> 00:15:22,640
created? 
We want to create somebody 

290
00:15:22,640 --> 00:15:25,000
sanctuary. 
And that kind of looks like 

291
00:15:25,000 --> 00:15:27,440
we're very different to lots of 
different people. 

292
00:15:27,800 --> 00:15:32,680
But now I think there's such a 
kind of focus on looking after 

293
00:15:32,680 --> 00:15:35,400
yourself, looking after your 
health, looking after your 

294
00:15:35,400 --> 00:15:39,040
mental state, whether it's a 
home, whether it's an office, 

295
00:15:39,040 --> 00:15:41,840
whether it's a kind of club of 
some kind. 

296
00:15:42,280 --> 00:15:44,920
There's very much a kind of a 
recovery, There's very much a 

297
00:15:44,920 --> 00:15:47,400
kind of rest and rehabilitation 
element to it. 

298
00:15:47,760 --> 00:15:51,000
And it's something that's very, 
very dear to us. 

299
00:15:51,000 --> 00:15:53,800
And then certainly maybe it's an
age thing, maybe it's being a 

300
00:15:53,800 --> 00:15:57,800
parent and thinking about your 
own mortality and things like 

301
00:15:57,800 --> 00:16:00,280
that. 
But it's to have such a kind of 

302
00:16:00,280 --> 00:16:04,320
focus on that within the luxury 
sector and even residential 

303
00:16:04,320 --> 00:16:07,760
sector, it is really, really 
important at the moment and it 

304
00:16:07,760 --> 00:16:11,240
and it's really fascinating. 
We're doing a huge amount from a

305
00:16:11,520 --> 00:16:15,440
contrast therapies, hyperbaric 
chambers, oxygen chambers, 

306
00:16:15,440 --> 00:16:19,080
looking at how kind of oxygen 
chambers can actually rejuvenate

307
00:16:19,080 --> 00:16:21,880
brain cells and and help stem 
cell growth, all these kind of 

308
00:16:21,880 --> 00:16:23,960
things. 
Naturally, where there's so much

309
00:16:23,960 --> 00:16:27,480
wealth in these locations are 
people have worked very, very 

310
00:16:27,480 --> 00:16:30,880
hard to accumulate. 
Now they want their life to be 

311
00:16:31,320 --> 00:16:34,280
prolonged and they want that 
quality of life to be so much 

312
00:16:34,280 --> 00:16:37,520
better. 
So we're seeing a huge amount of

313
00:16:38,040 --> 00:16:41,280
input and a huge amount of focus
on that in the residential with 

314
00:16:41,280 --> 00:16:43,000
the home setting and things like
that. 

315
00:16:43,000 --> 00:16:44,920
So which is really, really 
fascinating. 

316
00:16:44,920 --> 00:16:46,200
Really fascinating. 
Yeah. 

317
00:16:46,200 --> 00:16:50,800
So a lot of people are opting to
have those saunas and coal 

318
00:16:50,800 --> 00:16:54,880
plunge and, I don't know, 
hyperbaric oxygen within their 

319
00:16:54,880 --> 00:16:57,040
homes so they don't have to go 
out for it. 

320
00:16:57,640 --> 00:16:59,280
That's right. 
They're looking for that kind of

321
00:16:59,280 --> 00:17:02,800
thing at the home, but it even 
goes beyond to looking at 

322
00:17:02,800 --> 00:17:05,040
certain things like circadian 
rhythms. 

323
00:17:05,040 --> 00:17:08,560
So those kind of lighting 
effects that when we wake up in 

324
00:17:08,560 --> 00:17:11,720
the morning, the lighting is a 
lot more kind of is a little bit

325
00:17:11,720 --> 00:17:15,560
cooler, but it's a lot brighter 
and our cells absorb that and it

326
00:17:15,560 --> 00:17:17,880
kind of gives us energy. 
And then at the end of the day, 

327
00:17:18,040 --> 00:17:21,359
it's a lot more kind of subtle, 
more yellow and allows us to 

328
00:17:21,359 --> 00:17:23,160
kind of start to relax and 
things like that. 

329
00:17:23,520 --> 00:17:27,720
So even down to how we kind of 
inject circadian lighting into 

330
00:17:27,720 --> 00:17:31,120
the home has a massive effect, 
even down to things like people 

331
00:17:31,120 --> 00:17:35,320
now want almost and a non tech 
environment as well. 

332
00:17:35,320 --> 00:17:39,120
So is there an area where people
go to just completely detached 

333
00:17:39,120 --> 00:17:41,080
from technology within the 
house? 

334
00:17:41,320 --> 00:17:43,560
Is it somewhere that people 
meditate? 

335
00:17:43,960 --> 00:17:47,560
All of these kind of facilities 
that can really help our own 

336
00:17:47,560 --> 00:17:49,280
mental state as well as 
physical. 

337
00:17:49,280 --> 00:17:52,960
So go is the kind of the the 
stereotypical gym and maybe a 

338
00:17:52,960 --> 00:17:55,080
sauna. 
And now in comes a kind of 

339
00:17:55,080 --> 00:17:59,600
recovery suite and recovery 
facility and then that can also 

340
00:17:59,600 --> 00:18:02,200
include obviously sort of 
massage facilities as well. 

341
00:18:02,880 --> 00:18:06,240
Yeah, because I think a lot of 
the recovery that has to be done

342
00:18:06,240 --> 00:18:09,840
is not only just from going out 
in the world, but it's also just

343
00:18:09,840 --> 00:18:13,320
the constant exposure to our 
devices. 

344
00:18:13,320 --> 00:18:18,080
And so having a device free 
area, a non tech area definitely

345
00:18:18,080 --> 00:18:22,400
makes sense, But also 
incorporating tech in a useful 

346
00:18:22,400 --> 00:18:25,760
way for your Wellness, like you 
said with programming, circadian

347
00:18:25,760 --> 00:18:29,480
rhythm with the lighting. 
And I'm sure there's other, you 

348
00:18:29,480 --> 00:18:33,400
know, tech that could be more 
discreet and hidden, but it 

349
00:18:33,400 --> 00:18:35,360
still is beneficial for 
Wellness. 

350
00:18:35,760 --> 00:18:37,000
That's right. 
Absolutely. 

351
00:18:37,000 --> 00:18:39,840
Yeah. 
And what's amazing is how that 

352
00:18:39,840 --> 00:18:44,880
is now seamlessly find its way 
in integrating into our homes is

353
00:18:44,880 --> 00:18:48,160
I just see that increasing more 
and more and becoming more 

354
00:18:48,160 --> 00:18:51,880
common on a day-to-day because I
think everybody's moving that 

355
00:18:51,880 --> 00:18:53,760
way. 
I think everybody's aware of how

356
00:18:54,040 --> 00:18:57,440
kind of plugged in they are 
that, you know, they're aware 

357
00:18:57,440 --> 00:19:00,840
that all of this needs to start 
sort of giving back and helping 

358
00:19:00,840 --> 00:19:03,200
us and giving us the health 
benefits as well. 

359
00:19:04,240 --> 00:19:07,160
Yeah, and a lot of people also 
just work from home. 

360
00:19:07,160 --> 00:19:10,440
So they're they're needing 
respite from that their Home 

361
00:19:10,440 --> 00:19:13,440
Office or you know, what else is
going on there? 

362
00:19:13,440 --> 00:19:16,120
OK, so really interesting trends
there. 

363
00:19:16,680 --> 00:19:19,920
So have you worked on some 
hotels in Singapore? 

364
00:19:19,920 --> 00:19:22,840
And you know any place that if 
we were traveling, we'd want to 

365
00:19:22,840 --> 00:19:27,160
go to? 
Absolutely. 

366
00:19:27,160 --> 00:19:30,200
I mean, we, we've been really 
fortunate with, we're working on

367
00:19:30,200 --> 00:19:33,680
actually a Wellness hotel at the
moment in, in Bali, in 

368
00:19:33,680 --> 00:19:38,120
Indonesia, which is really fun. 
They started off doing a 

369
00:19:38,120 --> 00:19:40,400
Wellness facility. 
We started off as a, as a 

370
00:19:40,400 --> 00:19:42,960
gymnasium. 
Then it grew out to be in sort 

371
00:19:42,960 --> 00:19:44,440
of Wellness and things like 
that. 

372
00:19:44,600 --> 00:19:47,560
And now they're creating a kind 
of Wellness hotel as well. 

373
00:19:47,560 --> 00:19:50,200
So, so very much all the things 
that we've just spoken about 

374
00:19:50,200 --> 00:19:54,000
kind of finding its way into the
rooms themselves and things, but

375
00:19:54,000 --> 00:19:56,200
a beautiful spot. 
You, you, you kind of come off 

376
00:19:56,200 --> 00:19:59,520
from surfing on the beach and 
then you come up to the hotel 

377
00:19:59,520 --> 00:20:01,800
and then you've got this 
beautiful Wellness environment 

378
00:20:01,800 --> 00:20:03,560
and yeah, really, really 
special. 

379
00:20:03,560 --> 00:20:06,800
So that, that's really exciting.
Other places that we've 

380
00:20:06,800 --> 00:20:10,760
designed, we've designed roof 
top bars on top of Marina Bay 

381
00:20:10,760 --> 00:20:13,400
Sands. 
So you see the, the huge Marina 

382
00:20:13,400 --> 00:20:17,600
Bay Sands Casino hotel in the 
middle of the Singapore skyline 

383
00:20:17,600 --> 00:20:19,160
that looks like it's got a boat 
on top. 

384
00:20:19,160 --> 00:20:21,600
We've designed the the, the bar 
on top of there. 

385
00:20:22,120 --> 00:20:25,480
We've done work at Raffles. 
So we've been very fortunate to 

386
00:20:25,480 --> 00:20:27,680
work on some amazing projects 
over the years. 

387
00:20:28,160 --> 00:20:29,520
Well, that's great. 
Yeah. 

388
00:20:30,080 --> 00:20:34,400
Well, do you have any advice for
those who are listening, who are

389
00:20:34,400 --> 00:20:37,080
probably starting out in their 
career or thinking about 

390
00:20:37,080 --> 00:20:40,200
becoming a designer, but are 
really intrigued by maybe the 

391
00:20:40,200 --> 00:20:45,480
international aspect or just 
blending Wellness or even just 

392
00:20:45,480 --> 00:20:49,000
getting into luxury and 
hospitality commercial design? 

393
00:20:49,080 --> 00:20:51,880
Do you have any advice you'd 
like to share? 

394
00:20:51,880 --> 00:20:55,680
Maybe lessons learned from when 
you started out or or anything 

395
00:20:55,680 --> 00:20:58,080
just to to help them go in with 
their career. 

396
00:20:58,640 --> 00:21:01,760
Yeah, absolutely, absolutely. 
I think when it was myself 

397
00:21:01,760 --> 00:21:06,600
starting out, I think I had a 
huge amount of naivety, probably

398
00:21:06,600 --> 00:21:11,360
a good sprinkling of ambition 
and and kind of all headedness, 

399
00:21:11,360 --> 00:21:13,200
like I'm going to make this 
happen kind of thing. 

400
00:21:13,480 --> 00:21:15,280
And that's kind of stood me in 
good stead. 

401
00:21:15,280 --> 00:21:17,880
But I think ultimately it was a 
case of like following my 

402
00:21:17,880 --> 00:21:20,760
passion. 
I loved travelling and, and I 

403
00:21:20,800 --> 00:21:24,840
loved everything to design. 
And anybody that would stop and 

404
00:21:24,840 --> 00:21:27,840
talk about design, I would have 
a conversation with. 

405
00:21:27,840 --> 00:21:31,240
And, and through that and 
through networking, then 

406
00:21:31,240 --> 00:21:33,320
opportunities presented 
themselves. 

407
00:21:33,600 --> 00:21:38,120
And I think for anybody that's 
maybe being held back by the 

408
00:21:38,120 --> 00:21:42,480
fear of that, I knew I could 
always go back to my previous 

409
00:21:42,480 --> 00:21:45,400
life if it all, if it all came 
crashing down, if it all fell 

410
00:21:45,400 --> 00:21:48,640
apart. 
And, and for me, the risk of 

411
00:21:48,640 --> 00:21:52,840
waking up and never having done 
it versus doing it and failure 

412
00:21:52,880 --> 00:21:57,360
was far, far more traumatic in 
terms of like the, I, the idea 

413
00:21:57,360 --> 00:21:59,200
of the outcome or whatever. 
Apologies because I haven't 

414
00:21:59,200 --> 00:22:00,800
really kind of articulated that 
that well. 

415
00:22:00,800 --> 00:22:04,400
But the fear of failure wasn't 
as bad as the fear of fear of 

416
00:22:04,400 --> 00:22:05,920
not starting at all. 
So. 

417
00:22:06,240 --> 00:22:12,000
I, I think my advice would be 
get out there, try it, network, 

418
00:22:12,280 --> 00:22:15,000
and if you're passionate enough 
about it, I think that will 

419
00:22:15,000 --> 00:22:16,960
shine through and you'll find 
your way in. 

420
00:22:17,520 --> 00:22:22,560
I would have interned, I would 
have shadowed, I would have done

421
00:22:22,560 --> 00:22:26,160
the junior roles for as long as 
it took me to learn what I 

422
00:22:26,160 --> 00:22:29,600
needed to and get my first in. 
And I think that's the same 

423
00:22:29,600 --> 00:22:32,600
thing for anybody is, you know, 
whatever it kind of takes. 

424
00:22:32,760 --> 00:22:35,680
If you love what you do, then 
you never work a day in your 

425
00:22:35,680 --> 00:22:36,480
life. 
As they say. 

426
00:22:37,320 --> 00:22:39,840
The dream, really. 
Yeah, yeah. 

427
00:22:39,840 --> 00:22:41,880
Always be ready for that 
adventure too. 

428
00:22:43,160 --> 00:22:44,720
I love that. 
Well, thank you, Elliot. 

429
00:22:44,720 --> 00:22:47,680
Where can people find you so 
they can check out your 

430
00:22:47,680 --> 00:22:51,160
portfolio and any projects that 
you might be working on right 

431
00:22:51,160 --> 00:22:52,760
now? 
Absolutely, yes. 

432
00:22:52,760 --> 00:22:56,920
So our website is 
www.elliotjames.com and 

433
00:22:56,920 --> 00:22:59,360
alternatively, we're on 
Instagram as well, which is 

434
00:22:59,360 --> 00:23:03,240
Elliot James Interiors. 
So you can find us on Instagram.

435
00:23:03,240 --> 00:23:05,080
We have a huge amount of kind of
reels. 

436
00:23:05,080 --> 00:23:08,160
We're always shown behind the 
scenes of projects we're working

437
00:23:08,160 --> 00:23:10,240
on. 
And we we do a lot of we have an

438
00:23:10,240 --> 00:23:13,880
amazing in house team as well of
of animators and renderers as 

439
00:23:13,880 --> 00:23:15,920
well. 
So you can kind of see how the 

440
00:23:15,920 --> 00:23:18,640
projects are evolving. 
And then obviously we do the 

441
00:23:18,640 --> 00:23:21,560
beautiful reveals at the end. 
So yeah, please come and check 

442
00:23:21,560 --> 00:23:23,240
us out there. 
Wonderful. 

443
00:23:23,240 --> 00:23:26,040
Definitely will and we'll be 
sure and put those links in the 

444
00:23:26,040 --> 00:23:28,280
show notes so people can easily 
find you. 

445
00:23:29,000 --> 00:23:31,800
Well, thank you again for coming
on the podcast today. 

446
00:23:31,800 --> 00:23:33,440
It's been a pleasure to talk 
with you. 

447
00:23:34,080 --> 00:23:36,560
Thank you so much, Rebecca. 
It's it's been fantastic. 

448
00:23:36,560 --> 00:23:46,160
Yeah, we'll talk soon. 
So if you'd like to reach out to

449
00:23:46,160 --> 00:23:50,400
Elliot or follow him on social 
media, his contact information 

450
00:23:50,400 --> 00:23:53,320
is in the show notes. 
Go ahead and reach out to him 

451
00:23:53,320 --> 00:23:55,440
there and then. 
Don't forget all the great 

452
00:23:55,440 --> 00:23:58,720
things we have for you and my 
design mentor. 

453
00:23:58,720 --> 00:24:01,680
Is available. 
To you, if you're looking for 

454
00:24:01,680 --> 00:24:04,920
mentorship in the interior 
design industry or some 

455
00:24:04,920 --> 00:24:08,560
beginning coaching level, 
there's some learning modules in

456
00:24:08,560 --> 00:24:10,560
the program. 
I'd love to have you in there 

457
00:24:10,560 --> 00:24:13,840
and you can find more 
information on my website, 

458
00:24:13,840 --> 00:24:16,880
ourworddesign.com. 
All right, that's all I have for

459
00:24:16,880 --> 00:24:19,160
you this week. 
Next week we'll have another 

460
00:24:19,160 --> 00:24:22,200
great episode and until then, 
stay creative. 

461
00:24:23,680 --> 00:24:26,200
Thanks for listening if. 
You love this episode. 

462
00:24:26,440 --> 00:24:28,040
Please leave a rating and a 
review. 

463
00:24:28,280 --> 00:24:31,040
This helps me reach. 
Other curious creatives like you

464
00:24:31,720 --> 00:24:33,600
if you have a topic request. 
Or would like to. 

465
00:24:33,600 --> 00:24:35,680
Contact. 
Me simply head over. 

466
00:24:35,680 --> 00:24:39,680
To my website ourawarddesign.com
or e-mail me. 

467
00:24:40,000 --> 00:24:42,840
At Podcast at our. 
Awarddesign.com.