sienna design

I was asked the other day by a prospective client what qualifications I have.   The short answer would be ‘Life’.

As I went through the  longer version, about the jobs, courses, pieces of paper, experiences I have gained over the years, to be who I am now, I thought there has to be an easier way to get this across…. this is no ’5 second elevator speech’.

So here is a semi condensed version:

Definitely the adventurous, creative type growing up in NZ.

Majored in Art and English at Wgtn Teachers College;  Art School for 1 year – Photography & Sculpture; many Art & Interior Design workshops and courses; worked and then managed an Art Gallery; worked for Property Developers in the 80s (& watched in amazement and horror as those cardboard buildings were going up!); many roles in the Film Industry Art Dept; travelled; parented; worked at Architectus as office person; in the Film Industry as Art Director for TV Commercials; Stylist for Photo Shoots;     and then….

I thought I had finally found what I wanted to do when I grew up -   Landscape Design.

So, I completed a Landscape Design course.  This was in the early 2000′s, and have worked on many wonderful projects since.  While I was studying I worked part time at The French Art Shop, where I gained an in-depth knowledge of  art materials, and painting.  And part time at Heritage Tiles - great knowledge of tiles, as you can imagine.

Some time after this I worked at Aalto Paints, as a Colour Consultant.  Now this is where I really learned to love and appreciate the complexities of colour and paint.  Around this time I started building up Sienna Design, which is a combination of Garden Design, Interior Design, Colour Consulting, and everything in between.   Lets call it Interior + Exterior Design.

Sienna Design has now evolved to be everything I enjoy.  I also teach Art to children for Fine Young Artists, and occasional adults classes for companies or small groups.  I do alot of Colour Consulting for Dulux, and have had, and hope to still have, many great clients, both residential and commercial, small and large, inside and out. I paint too, on canvas, and still love taking photos.

So, as you can see, there really is no simple answer, perhaps my most important qualification is that I love what I do.

Fiona