I get a couple of emails a month from people that might have found me via a blog post or an Instagram pic, asking me how I got started. How did I set up Making Spaces with no formal qualifications in design? And in my head, I just kind of go, erm… I just built a website and got started…. but then I have a proper think and find myself asking the same question.

One Year Later, October 2015

“I’ve never had “a job”. The concept of “a job” scares the shit out of me. I’ve always been self-employed and been my own boss and worked myself hard. But having the freedom to make creative decisions is something I hold very dear. In fact it’s my air. I genuinely admire people such as my OH that can commit to a full time job, working for someone else. I tried to convince myself that I could do it too, get a sales job in an interiors shop or something, but if i’m honest with myself, I was just saying the words.”

I’d always been self employed, ran my own business and found my own work. I’d never really thought about it as being any more difficult than getting a job working for someone else. In fact, i’d find that much harder. I find it interesting that many recent graduates contact me for work, a job, an apprenticeship but don’t think about setting themselves up as an independent interior design studio. Especially in a creative field where your ideas are really what counts.

Can you put a price on creativity?

But it’s not all about being creative and prancing about, a 14 year stint of working freelance in the arts and over a decade in project management, focusing on timescales, budgets, contracts and “protocol”, gave me a pretty good grounding to set up a new creative business. I had no idea if Making Spaces had legs, but the only way to find out was to put myself out there. I wasn’t comfortable going into it with literally zero qualifications under my belt, but I also knew at the time, I didn’t have the right kind of energy to study. I had that nervous, impulsive energy where I wanted to “do”. Do and learn. Learn and improve.

Very first project

So I set my rates accordingly and have slowly put them up over time where I feel they are a fair reflection of my ability and quality of my work. I remember my lovely client from the Sherwood Forest continually telling me I wasn’t charging her enough and I could charge double and she’d still be happy. 

I didn’t of course. I learnt so much from working on that project and was still getting paid. The client was happy, I was loving it and pushing myself, so it seemed to work out for both of us.

Each and every project has taught me something new. Which it should. If you don’t make one small mistake on every project from trying something new, you’re not challenging yourself, your client or the space you’re working in enough. If you got everything right 100% of the time, it suggests you’re playing it safe, using the same layouts, materials and repeating what you already know. Every project is a new challenge for me and I go into each one feeling like i’m starting from scratch again. That nervous energy never really goes.

Since setting out in this crazy ass journey, i’ve learnt so much it’s actually a bit ridiculous. And whilst i’m not knocking anyone who’s trained or currently training, i’m not 100% sure how much of this stuff I would have been taught by doing a diploma.

• Marketing/PR (this, so much of this)
• Social media management (full time job by itself – I now have 10 accounts to run)
• Building and maintaining a basic website (so not my forte)
• Running a blog (it’s not for everyone, but it’s really helped me. Each post has been like writing an assignment)
• Photography (i’m not amazing, but I get by. My images have made it into print several times, so they can’t be that bad)

Actually, photography is a MASSIVE one to focus on if you’re starting out. I’ve seen so many interior design websites where you can tell the images have been snapped quickly at the end of a project, sometimes on a camera phone… If you can’t afford to use a professional photographer (I can’t) then you have to buy a half decent camera and learn how to get the best shot you can. You’re only as good as your portfolio and if your designs are great but your photos are pants, that’s not going to get you shared online, or get you featured on Houzz for example. Interior design is a visual industry, it’s all about those images baby.