Hey peeps! The technical difficulties that I had yesterday are all resolved!! Can I get a
Woot!
Woot!
I am finally ready to post the interview that I had scheduled for yesterday:)
I've gotta tell you that I really get excited about all the interviews that I post on The Creative
Mixx' but tonight I'm pretty 'hyped up' about this one. As you know, I've tried to post interviews on a weekly basis..... If you've ever wondered how I locate individuals to speak about - I'll fill you in. Basically, I've either contacted creative people that I have found online or I've received emails from peeps who have responded to a post I may have made on a social networking site or they have been referred to me by friends.
This, however, is the first time that I have interviewed someone (for The Creative
Mixx), that I know personally. I actually went to elementary school with this lovely lady and reconnected with her in our adulthood, (thanks to the wonderful world of
Facebook). We exchanged some messages and filled each other in on how our adult lives have unfolded.
I'd say a little over a month ago I received a
Facebook email that told me about the recent launch of her furniture design company. So, I quickly checked out her site, was blown away and contacted her immediately for an interview~
Tonight, I'd like to introduce you to Laura
Nault of
Laura Nault Designs. You'll find a sleek & modern furniture collection that is a true example of sophistication~
What city are you based out of?
I work out of Brampton, Ontario. I have a showroom and an office at 221
Deerhurst Drive Unit 2. I’
ve been there for almost a year. I share the space with my husband who runs a Contracting Business.
How did you get started? And how long have you been a Designer?
My husband is the one helped me with the start of my business. After I had our first child and my maternity leave was up, I hated the thought of wasting two hours out of my life traveling downtown and not being with my daughter. So I decided to be a stay at home mom. But that
didn’t last long. I started working for my husband, taking care of the design projects he had, such as designing kitchens, bathrooms, picking flooring, tile, paint colours, hardware etc. While doing this we decided to put our house up for sale and one of the real estate agents we were interviewing had asked who had decorated our house. I told her I had done it. She said “you have to come work for me! Staging homes.” So that’s what I started doing. From there I offered consultations and interior decorating services. The furniture line started from a project I had to design a bar for a basement renovation we were doing. I wanted something different. I wanted to use materials that I
hadn’t seen. So, I went to a store called Rainbow Veneers. There, I found the nicest woman named Donna who took the time to explain to me all about veneers, the different ways a piece of wood could be cut and how we can get all different kinds of patterns from different species. I then became inspired to create the line.
I don’t have any formal training, only practical experience. So I can call myself a furniture designer but not an interior designer. I have a University Degree from York in Business and am a licensed trader but I knew that
wasn’t my calling.
Where do you get your inspiration from?My inspiration comes from furniture, fashion and function if that makes sense. I’m always on the look out for what others are offering and I try to add to it or improve it or change it up. So it
doesn’t look like everything else that’s out there. I try to incorporate new materials, new types of hardware (
Swarovski has some really unique hardware) and that the piece just
doesn’t look good but on the inside serves a purpose. Whether it has a drawer organizer or slide out shelving and it must have a self closing mechanism.
Have you got any special projects on the go right now?
Right now I’m working on a few pieces for some clients. I just finished a entertainment unit that houses all of my the client’s electrical boxes for her TV (cable box, amplifier, DVD player) on one side and on the other two drawers houses DVD’s and CD’s. The nice thing about it, is that it has two doors that open up and hide away. So she has something that has a function but when closed is a beautiful piece of furniture. No one would ever know what it was unless it was open.
Any advice for newbies starting out?
The only piece of advice I could give newbies is if you want to do something in life and are passionate about it don’t let anything stand in your way. Never give up. Never take no for an answer. Where’s there’s a will, there’s a way!
Now peeps, it is time for the reveal! Have a look at Laura's fab furniture collection and click on the logo to visit her site!
Tell me what y'all think peeps!
I'm out~
