Happy Friday everyone!
This Friday I am featuring an inspiring story and of course full of colours and designs.
One day on Instagram, I was looking up the #interiordesign hashtag like any cool kid these days and I found an interior design account, Four Corners Interiors, that looked interesting and one of the posts said that the company was present in a networking event, so I asked for more details. Few emails later we became real life friends. Don't you just love it when you get to meet creative, like minded people on the web? Then happen to be in the same city and meet up in person! Anyway, without a further ado, let's get to the interview:
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| Alimah, Four Corner Interiors MD |
Four corners interiors ltd is an interior soft furnishings and interior design company I formed as a way of returning to my young passion and utilising my growing business mind! At the moment I sell custom, handmade and hand selected cushion covers, photo frames, lamp shades, bean bag chairs and other small decorative pieces like vases.
I started by learning to use a sewing machine and sewing samples of cushion covers from random African fabric I found around the house. I then got my first set of cushions made based on my samples in Nigeria. I have always loved interior design! All my friends know this about me. Whenever I would go shopping for food in supermarkets I would always go missing spending ages looking at candles and cushions in the home sedition. I began decorating my own room at 13 while I was obsessed with the bbc show Changing rooms! I have redecorated my own room several times and done everything from building furniture, stripping wall paper, painting squares and bubbles on my wall to designing the precise floor plan.
I provide interior design services ranging from design consultations, personal or collaborative shopping, space planning and new room installations. I am currently trying to build a portfolio of work and clients so I can take this element to the next level.
I started because I want to make something I love, what I do for a living...eventually! Currently I work as a corporate paralegal so there isn't much room for creative expression! Though i do enjoy my day job.
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| At the launch sale |
When drawing up my business plan I needed a USP (unique selling point). A lot of small businesses are doing the African thing. I love to travel and my room is a reflection of this. I pick up pieces for my room wherever I go, so I decided that the concept would not just focus on African custom pieces but items from everywhere!
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| Playing around with the beautiful cushions that happened to match my red shoes |
What inspires you/motivates you? Is there a special place that you like to go to get inspired?
Living a fulfilling life inspires me! Travelling inspires me and meeting amazing people inspires me. Mostly my religion inspires me. I am motivated by my peers who are doing better than I am and I am motivated by the vision I have for myself and where I think I can go if I work for it!
Hotels inspire me because I love great decor. Parks and open space inspires me as it allows me to clear my mind and my creative juices to flow! The clouds and flying also inspire me so I spend a lot of time reflecting and thinking while on a plane or at the beach or in the park! I love flowers so I love new gardens though it has been a while since I have been there. My imagination is quite wild so I tend to inspire myself by allowing it to wonder!
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| A selection of the Asian Line |
What do you enjoy the most about having an interior design business?
Supportive friends and family is great! Having something to call my own that I control the success and or failure of! Having something to be proud of but without the added pressure because I have a job alhamdullillah.
What do you like to do for fun?
Everything! Theatre, poetry, parks, picnics, dinner, museums, spas, cinema, bowling, mosque, tea parties and of course travelling! I also love a good nature walk and adventures like climbing a mountain ;)
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| A selection of the African Line |
Do you have any tips for people who want to start making their hobby into their business?
Just do it! The time is now! Analyse the market, make your business unique. Utilise social media as much as possible. Network. Talk to people. Be organised. Be driven. Be someone who does more than pay lip service and be proactive! Follow your passion and working will never be work!
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| A selection of the oriental line |
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