Inspiration Stations
You can learn a lot about a person from their office and their daily routine. Here, three creative dynamos show where the genius comes from.
We study the working premises and practices of three creative talents.
KRISTINA KARLSSON
Sweden-born, Melbourne-based Kristina is the founder and creative director of stationery and lifestyle brand Kikki.K. She works from home two days a week and finds the best ideas flow at the dining table.
When I’m not travelling I’ll spend three days in the office and two days working from home. I do have a home office but very rarely do creative work at my desk. I much prefer to work at my dining table.
I’ll set up my laptop on the table. There might be product samples around me, but I’m very much a minimalist. I like to have flowers – always white – and candles nearby, but not much more than that.
One thing I do keep close by for inspiration is cookbooks. I don’t do a lot of cooking from them but I love food and the creativity I see in cookbooks. The photography is beautiful and often there are interesting stories behind the recipes and people. On a Friday night, I’ll have a glass of wine and leaf through a cookbook. Provided I’ve had a good night’s sleep, I like to get up at 5am. I have young children, so that time is what I call my ‘holy hour’. I do a few pages of unconscious writing, just to get things out of my head, followed by some standard journalling. I might do this at my dining table or on the sofa; it varies. Next, I’ll listen to a podcast, do some e-learning or meditate.
Between 6am and 7am I exercise, and then I feel ready to get the kids up and off to school. After that, I’ll sit at my dining table and work solidly from 9 until 10.30am. During that time I won’t have meetings or answer emails. That’s when I work on my most important projects. Often big-picture things such as business strategies are not as urgent as day-to-day issues, but I make sure I take this time to work on them.
When I have people over to my house for meetings, we’ll gather around the table or have a cup of tea on the sofa. I’m not much into formality.
My children are aged nine and six, and my goal is always to get as much work done as I can before the school pick-up. That means I often work through from 9am until I leave to get them, without stopping for lunch. That doesn’t worry me because I’ve had time to myself earlier in the day. Once the kids are home, I try to switch off from work and be present for them. It’s hard – there’s always something more to do or think about – but I try. Sometimes they sit at the table with me and draw in one of our ‘365 Day’ journals while I finish off work. I am, of course, a paper lover. Work meetings are organised through an Outlook program, but things like travel arrangements, holidays and birthdays I will always put in my diary. I use a wall planner, too.
I’m very proud of all our Kikki.K products, but the ‘Dream’ book is special to me. I use it a lot. Often, when you think about your dreams, you start with where you are. But I like to ask myself, “If I couldn’t fail, if I had all the money, all the power in the world, what would I do?” Interesting answers come out of questions like that. kikki-k.com
TRACY BAKER
Mover and shaker Tracy is a brand strategist who works with top-tier brands, corporations and cultural institutions. Two years ago she re-engineered her Baker Brand consultancy, relocating from a busy office with 12 staff to her Sydney home office, working solo.
My home is an inner-city terrace.
The office is located in the home library on the ground floor, and has french doors opening to an ivy-covered courtyard.
I love books and am a voracious reader, so it made sense to locate my office here, surrounded by my reference books.
My black lacquer desk comfortably accommodates a computer, notebook, bottle of water and a few personal items. Everyday essentials you’ll find on my desk include a monogrammed Smythson notebook in red crocodile skin, a Gucci mousepad from my days working for the brand during the Tom Ford era, and Post-it notes for my daily to-do list. Plus water, always. I drink at least four litres a day.
I call myself a luxe minimalist. I like streamlined, calm interiors with uncluttered surfaces, juxtaposed with ornate pieces, such as the vintage Swedish sconces and button-back Art Deco settee in my office. I love order. My books are colour-coded, which I think looks beautiful and feels calming. Having clear, clutter-free surfaces gives me a sense of security and order. Paperwork is kept to a minimum and filed in manila folders (one for each project), close at hand in my desk drawers. I’ve also learned to be a very efficient digital filer. Anything I don’t need, I recycle or give away. I have a large collection of books on photography, art, fashion, history and travel subjects, as well as biographies and much-loved novels. The book I refer to most is actually my old and tattered copy of Pride and Prejudice. My job requires me to be articulate and persuasive. Before a presentation or an important conversation, I will often read a few pages of Jane Austen to still my mind and enrich myself with her beautiful use of language and pace.
I am uber-organised. I can actually keep everything very efficiently filed in my head. As my back-up I use a Filofax – call me old-fashioned but I still like to write things down. I use an electronic diary to stay connected to my clients.
I’m at my desk by 8am with coffee and spend about 30 minutes scrolling through Instagram and news sites. I prefer to do desk work in the mornings and have meetings after noon. The office is strictly a private workspace; I hold meetings in client offices, cafes and restaurants instead. One hour of yoga squeezed into the morning or afternoon is non-negotiable. Lunch is at my desk or on the run. I have business associates in Europe so there are often evening calls or emails to attend to. As lovely as my home office is, I do get cabin fever after long periods of working solo. I need to be around people, so it’s very fortunate that my job entails meetings and location work. When I get back to my own office, it feels like a sanctuary, and then I can work for hours at a time in this peaceful and inspiring space. bakerbrand.com.au
JUDITH BARRETT-LENNARD
Interior designer Judith whiles away weekdays in her Perth studio, a happy place where she collaborates with her team of four on residential and commercial projects.
I love seeing the look on clients’ faces when they walk into our design studio. It’s light-filled and has a wonderful energy. The scale of the space always takes people by surprise: this is no tiny, shared studio. It’s a very generous office that allows us to take on large apartment developments and residential projects. We can accommodate all the swatches, samples, drawings and bits and pieces that are essential when you’re building, designing and furnishing a home.
I have my own office where I can close the door for private client meetings, but you’re more likely to find me working out in the studio. I depend on the other designers in the office; we’re forever bouncing ideas off each other and their energy is important to my productivity. Very little creative work gets done within the confines of my office. My desk was custom-made for me about 10 years ago and I still love it. It has a white lacquer top and chrome legs and is the perfect size. I have some of my favourite things around me when I work, and there’s always a cup of tea or coffee on my desk.
I have a messy desk. It’s simply the way I work, particularly when there are multiple projects on the go. I’m lucky that my staff put it in order for me every morning. While I don’t mind a little constructive mess, I do like to start the day with a neat desk.
My studio is a reflection of my personal style. It has to be that way in this line of work! I gather inspiring things around me. There are always flowers and mood boards at various stages of completion.
We have a large table in the centre of the office that we gather around for client meetings. Throw a white cloth over the top and it becomes the perfect spot for spreading out samples and drawings. The table is an integral part of how the team works and the way we present to clients.
I spend most of the day in the studio. I do visit clients for a first appraisal, but then they’ll mostly come into the studio, where I show them our selections laid out with visual images. Most of our suppliers visit us and keep our sample libraries up to date. That’s one of the advantages of being a larger, well-established studio.
To keep myself organised I schedule everything electronically, but the team also uses a large-format paper diary. We can see at a glance who’s out on site visits and when a client is coming in. The blend of electronic and old-style organisation works well. Sometimes my beautiful chocolate labradoodle, Rover, will come into the office with me. At lunch I get to take him for a walk in the park across the road, and he’s extremely spoilt by the staff.
I don’t take work home but I also don’t ever truly stop thinking about it. I could be walking through Kings Park with my dog and be inspired by the grey tones and amazing shapes of the banksias I see, then apply those colours to a project. jbldesign.com.au