Term 3 2007 Plus... Careers In Art - Zart Art

careers in art
MICHELLE APPLETON
Interior designer & decorator
At what age did you decide to
make a career from interior design
In year 12 I went to an open day at
RMIT Tafe & Holmesglen Tafe for
Interior decoration & design. I was
so impressed with what I saw that
I decided that was the career for
me. My preference was for the
Tafe course rather than the
Degree course, as it is a lot more
hands on.
How long have you been in the
industry and how did you get
there
I have been in the industry for 11
years, after completing the course
at Holmesglen Tafe. Started out in
a furnishing fabric showroom for
14 months, which gave me some
good general office experience, as
well as becoming familiar with
the textile industry. I then moved
into a small interior design firm,
where I still work now.
Are there peers in your industry
that set the benchmark
I guess there are, but we all have
different styles & clientele.
Do you come from a creative
family
My mum is fairly creative. She
teaches home economics &
textiles.
What is a day in the life of
Michelle Appleton like
My days can vary quite a lot
depending on the type of project I
am working on. I can be working on
several projects at any given time.
Our company designs houses from
the ground up. My boss designs in
sketch form what the house will
look like & the general floor plan.
These sketches are then sent to
an architectural draftsperson to
draw up on Autocad. I am then given
these drawings so I can design the
interior spaces. All my drawings
are done on Mac using a program
called Vectorworks. I am responsible
for selecting all finishes & fittings
for the house. We have regular
meetings with our clients. Once all
the documentation is finished, it is
usually sent out to several builders
for pricing. Once a builder has been
appointed, we also supervise the
project until completion. At this
stage, there are regular fortnightly
site meetings to make sure all
8 www.zartart.com.au
work is going to plan.
Most clients also want our
assistance with furnishings,
which I organise. This sometimes
involves shopping with the client
- taking them to furniture &
fabric showrooms. Or I select
items from catalogues.
So, my work is quite varied. I
generally work on projects for a
couple of years from the initial
design concept to completion.
What effect has the computer
age had on your work
Computers have made a huge
difference to the way I work. For
years all my drafting was done by
hand. We then decided to update
to computer drafting (about 5
years ago), which was quite
frustrating to learn at first, but
once I grasped it, I have never
looked back!
What are some of the negative
aspects of your job
Sometimes the clients are not
easy to deal with, which makes
the project very long &
unenjoyable. I tend to get bored
quickly and like to move from one
project to the next.
What is something you would
love to do that you haven’t
already done
I would love to do more travelling
to Europe, America & the UK to
study the houses internally which
our style is influenced by. Much
more exciting than learning from
books!
What is it like working in a team
environment and is it
important
Knowing how to work well as a
team is crucial. It’s a great way to
pull all areas of expertise together
to make the project run
(hopefully) smoothly. You also
learn a lot from one another.
Concept to completion. Explain
how your team / client may
change those initial ideas. How
do you deal with the
compromise
In the interior design industry
there can be a lot of compromise,
depending on budget constraints.
Some clients are very easy going
& happy to take our advice, which
results in the end product being
very close to our initial concept.
Others have very strong ideas, not
always in symmetry with ours, so
we may end up designing spaces
we don’t necessarily agree with.
At the end of the day, as long as
the client is happy, that’s really all
that matters.
Besides design ability – what
skills are essential for your role
Being organised is probably the
most important skill. Computer
skills are also essential,
particularly for drafting.
Where do you get most of your
inspiration
Design books & magazines.
What fellow designers have been
most influential to you
My boss. When you work with
someone so closely for so many
years, it’s hard not to be
influenced by him.
What’s your favourite design job
to date
A private residence in Portsea,
which overlooks the pier. I was
involved from the initial design
concept of the house, right
through to furnishing the finished
product. It was a great experience
& the clients were fantastic to
deal with.
What is your favourite piece of
clothing in your wardrobe
My runners – I love walking!
Who would you most like to sit
next to on a flight to Europe
My husband… preferably at the
front end of the plane!
If you were speaking to a
secondary school student who
was showing interest in
following in your footsteps,
what advice would you give
them
Build up your folio so you have
plenty of work to show for
interviews. Graphics & Art are
both very useful subjects,
although there are now probably
other design type subjects offered
at schools, which I don’t even
know about.
MORE!
If you are looking
for more careers in
art interviews - visit
our website!
Pamela Irving
ceramicist / artist
Ruth Lovell
gallery curator
Monty Coles
Photographer
Cameron Brodie
Industrial designer
Sally Darlison
Textile artist
www.zartart.com.au