Q + A: Coopers Interiors talk to Stylemaker
Cooper Interiors inspires homemakers around the world to style their haven with New Zealand’s best home interiors products and design services.
We were delighted to be featured on their blog, see our Q + A here.
Can you tell us a little bit about Stylemaker?
We are an interior design studio based in Auckland, New Zealand.
We have a deep love of the unique environment we live in, being situated on small islands surrounded by both the Pacific and Indian Ocean. These are islands lush with forests, beaches and mountain ranges so we are spoilt for choice.
We see our job as taking those elements and celebrating them by working with clients, not only to express their style but their way of living in this space. We enjoy collaborating on ideas, expanding them and making them materialise.
Our team is made up of a designer, an architecture student, a writer and tech guru, plus our trusty tradesmen who like to keep us grounded.
If you had to describe Stylemaker in 3 words what would they be?
Can't do it sorry. Can I have 5 words?
Sensual. Timeless. Playful. Beautiful. Sustainable.
Where do you draw inspiration from for your projects?
There are no surprises here, our landscape.
I was born and raised in the beautiful Hawkes Bay so using space, light, colour and natural materials is in my blood.
It was a childhood filled with "Havelock North Green" in the rolling hills, Lapus Blue of the ocean, the straight lines of vineyards and I often see them reflected in my work.
Not to mention I come from a family of creatives who I find hugely inspirational, photographers, landscapers and architects.
I also have a soft spot for things that have been touched by hand giving you a link to the maker. The more history the piece has, the stronger my connection to it.
I find this country nourishing on so many levels so it is great to connect with other like minds, both here and overseas who seek to express that love of nature and craftsmanship in their homes.
How would you describe New Zealand's art and design culture.
New Zealanders are adventurous by nature and love to travel, me included.
I think, in the past, we have got used to bringing the best from overseas home and tweaking it.
That's changed.
Now I think we recognise we have the best in creatives and natural resources right here in New Zealand and we are celebrating it, in food, music, wine, art, architecture and design.
We are the New World. Beautiful. Bespoke. Sustainable.
It is a very exciting environment.
It is our ability to be sunkissed and covered in sand in the morning then wrapped in merino in the afternoon that makes design in this country so invigorating and unique because we can find the best sand and merino in the world right here in our own backyard.
Who is your favourite designer and why?
There are so many to choose from but I think will select an favourite architect, Sumich Chaplin Architects, for their ability to see landscape, architecture, interiors and art as one harmonious environment.
They have an ability to carve out a space that instills a sense of volume and proportion while showing the deepest respect for the landscape they sit in.
I love their sensual design and emphasis on textured natural materials.
There is definitely a sense of grandeur there but also a sense of gathering which I really appreciate.
What is the best piece of advice you've ever been given?
From my Mum,
"Always be brave”
And finally, do you have any advice for aspiring New Zealand creatives?
Listen to my Mum, really do...brave people have the best adventures