STYLE QUEEN

The creative force behind Byron Tile Merchants

It may have been her childhood bedroom, with its pink ruffled curtains and grey and pink theme that started it all off. Creative by nature, with a passion for making spaces beautiful, today Monique Crawford is the business owner and creative director of Byron Tile Merchants.

“Mum always sensed my potential,” laughs Monique as she recalls designing her personal space in her childhood bedroom at an early age.

After leaving school, her first job was at the local pharmacy, where she found herself in a merchandising role. When her product displays and natural skill in design were admired by her co-workers, she decided to study interior design at Design Academy Sydney. That was 10 years ago.

Studies complete, and as a single mum, she packed up and relocated to France with her young son, Zain.

“I took a job working for an art dealer and was there for eight months,” she says. “I gained some great skills and it certainly helped me along my way.”

She returned to Australia in 2008 but, in 2013, moved to Bali. She found herself in the home-styling industry, this time writing for a quarterly home-styling publication, Bali Style Magazine.

Coming home four years ago, Monique landed a job in the tiling industry with a business in Alstonville in interior design and, not long after, opened Byron Bay Tile Merchants.

It’s not just a tile shop, she says, but a bespoke, architectural design studio.

“We source traditional handmade tiles, the latest products from Italy and work with talented architects,” she says.

“It really is a specific, niche market and we have a unique offering. You would have to visit five or more stores in

Melbourne or Sydney to access the range that we stock.”

Next year Monique will travel to Spain and Italy to buy tiles along with some of the industry’s most reputable importers.

Right now, she says terrazzo tiles are in fashion.

“Terrazzo has a look which kind of takes you on a journey back to the ’70s. Its durable, too, because it’s made with mixture of cement, marble aggregates and pigments,” she says.

When asked about her greatest joy in the business, Monique says, “I love commercial design and designing a place where, when you walk in, you just feel it. I just love making spaces beautiful and love the reaction from people when they feel it too.”