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Emma Elizabeth, the globetrotting designer

October 25, 2011

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You know sometimes you meet those people who are so young, gorgeous and super successful you want to hate them but then they turn out to be really nice and humble as well? Hello Emma Elizabeth Coffey!

This talented Sydney designer is fresh back from exhibiting at London Design Festival where her stunning diamond rug design (for Designer Rugs) was judged in Elle Decoration’s top 10 at TENT, one of the largest design trade shows. High praise indeed.

Unlike many designers, Emma (better known as just Emma Elizabeth Designs) knew what she wanted to be as early as high school. She went on to train in Milan and has since carved out an impressive career for someone who is still just 27.

Emma’s been busy this year. She recently worked on two pop-up installations for Vogue’s Fashion Night Out in Sydney but her work is super varied and she switches from interior design to event styling to art direction and product design. Her collaboration with Designer Rugs however, is my favourite story of 2011. Her stunning design Round Diamond (which looks like a many-faceted solitaire) was selected by the Aussie rug company as one of six finalists in a competition. While it didn’t win, Emma saw great commercial potential in the piece and asked founder Yosi Tal if she could create some pieces in other colourways to showcase during Milan Design Week. “I skipped out of his office after he said yes and quickly started working with Lia (Pielli, senior designer) on selecting the colours.

“The response globally that we have had with this piece has been amazing,” says Emma. As well as appearing in magazines across the globe, it is also being published in a UK book called 1000 designs of the 21st Century. “I have been riding the magic round diamond carpet Aladdin style lately, yet I’m also working on some new designs which I can’t say much about at the moment,” she says.

Emma started studying interior design at Queensland University of Technology (QUT) but felt she wanted more freedom and scope. “I knew Milan hosted Salone del Mobile so after researching I found a new course at IED (the Instituto Europeo di Design) called Scenografia that sat half way between interior design and industrial design. It allowed me to let free my creative juices and learn how to implement them directly into real world projects.”

In her final year of design school, Emma showcased during Milan Design Week (in her view the most influential global platform for a designer). “The Starck Network viewed my work and requested an order for one of the pieces for a hotel in Beverly Hills. I then went to Paris to show them my new works en route to the Milan show. I actually got an email one night when I was assisting Megan Morton on an overnight bump in at Westfield. It was about 3am in the morning and I thought I was just overtired and deluded!”

Emma thinks design education is very important. “I believe you cannot teach someone to be creative, full stop. But I feel you need to be educated in a way that allows you to take these ideas and showcase them in a way that both a client and viewer can understand. You need to be taught the tools of how to present your ideas in the clearest and most creative forms, as no-one else can get directly in your head.”

Emma’s known for having a very European aesthetic. “Within the Australian market this can be seen in two different lights, both positive and negative,” she says. “Ideas are usually scaled back to reflect what the Australian consumer can handle but personally I feel the Australian consumer is more design savvy than some of the bigger companies give them credit for.”

She remains very humble about all she has achieved so far. “I threw myself in at the deep end at a very early age, you either sink or swim quite quickly. I am constantly learning and am very thankful for the great support network I have around me because the world of a freelancer can be quite daunting and scary at times.”

In five years’ time, she would like to be working between Europe and Australia as a truly international designer and stylist and continuing her video blog (surely a TV career beckons?). “The world has become a very small place thanks to the internet and I am eager to ride the global designer wave, even if it does mean I’ll have a few extra wrinkles due to the constant jetlag!”

Emma likes to live and breathe her philosophy: style is nothing without design and design is nothing without style. “As a designer and stylist I believe that you must design for context, visualise the elements that you wish to sit alongside your design and stylistically wish upon the design that works best. The two cannot exist within their full creative potential without the other.” While she loves the freedom that comes with working for herself, the downside is that her work can consume her every waking moment. “Ideas can come in the weirdest moments so I always have a pen and paper handy!”

Her own home is full of her prototypes and props but still manages to be quite minimal. “There’s a focus on black and white with strong punctuation of colour. If you were to open the door of my storage unit you would probably end up with an injury, it’s chaos!”

Emma’s idol is Andrea Putman. “I saw her from a distance during my study days in Milan, I just love everything about her and her work.” Within Australia, she admires Melbourne design practice Edwards Moore. “Australians are not afraid to keep changing it up, not sticking to a specific “style” but re-creating and re-inventing. The young designers within the Australian landscape at present are such a fabulous mixed bunch who cross through many mediums and they’re really giving the international design scene a run for their money.”

Watch Emma on video here. She’s running some sessions at Coco Republic Design School next month so if you want to meet her in person and learn from her many experiences yourself, sign up!

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Want to try a different tipple this weekend? Toda Want to try a different tipple this weekend?

Today's #iafoodiefriday recipe is a lemon and pink peppercorn spritz by our friends at @thewholefoodsrefillery 🍸 

They'll give you 20% off your first order with our code. Find everything you need on the blog now via link in bio.

Cheers! 

#pinkpeppercorn #spritzlife
Those finishing touches make ALL the difference! Those finishing touches make ALL the difference! 

@kethy.australia, whose cabinet hardware I've used in my own kitchen, laundry and on my recent sideboard glow up, are passionate about bringing you the latest design and finishes from around the world! 

Their stunning timber knobs and handles from Denmark add texture, warmth and an organic feel to your projects that can only be achieved by using natural materials.

Whether you're embarking on a new build, renovating an existing kitchen, bathroom or laundry or updating a piece of furniture, Kethy have something for you in their huge range.

See it all online and find your local re-seller at their website via link in @kethy.australia bio.

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Before & after: Renovating a kitchen while keeping Before & after: Renovating a kitchen while keeping ALL the character!

What a great example this is by @huntingforgeorge 

See all the details, and the laundry, on the blog now, via link in bio.
The patient has very much bounced back! Letterbox The patient has very much bounced back!

Letterbox kinder egg deliveries from a friend, dressing changes without a flinch and refusing to nap despite all the bribes (check the face on him in pic 3!).

Thanks for all your care and messages/comments for this tired and shaken up mama! Now very relieved and grateful 🙏
Before & after It's not just the award winning de Before & after

It's not just the award winning designer houses that get us excited here. It's also the beloved family homes which are renovated and extended to make them fit for purpose so people can continue to live where they love 🤗

@inspiredspacesaus helped her clients with teenage kids transform this house in Sydney's Hills District inside and out, making it their forever home. 

Due to the nature of the block they could only extend sideways and then gave it street appeal with render, new windows and doors.

See inside on the blog now, via link in bio. It was completely overhauled!
Charlie doesn't recommend running head first into Charlie doesn't recommend running head first into tiled steps 🤕

Oh what a night. Thankfully Hornsby Hospital were as amazing as always and we avoided stitches. All taped and glued  back together and now to keep him calm for the next few days (🤪) and watch for signs of concussion. 

Bravest little patient ever. Yes I've had a 🍷

Funny how we go into super organised mama mode in times like these. Grabbed dinosaurs, textas and scrapbook on the way out in case we had a long wait!

UPDATE: thanks for all the love! Charlie is so well this morning after a big sleep!
Australian made bathroomware is seriously impressi Australian made bathroomware is seriously impressive!

The new @studio.xox ONLY sells Australian brands. Like @nood_co coloured basins, lead-free eco brass from @faucetstrommen and @lindseywherrett's  ceramic basins made by hand in Tassie.

And as for their Sydney showroom (they also sell online): WOW.

See and read more on the blog now via link in bio.

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I'm THRILLED to be an ambassador for the brand new I'm THRILLED to be an ambassador for the brand new @madeinaustshow in Sydney this August.

🦘🐨Forget every tacky association you ever had about touristy Australian made and prepare to see a showcase of the best of home, lifestyle, fashion and beauty made right here. If the pandemic has made you appreciate buying local even more, this is for you.

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Do I recommend a timber vanity top? A big fat NOP Do I recommend a timber vanity top?

A big fat NOPE! 💧 

Which is why we have recently covered ours with a Caesarstone top (thanks to @justinplace_sydney for the advice and supply) and the sweet RELIEF of not having to worry about this high traffic area anymore, I'm telling you!🤗

Doesn't matter what they tell you or how many times it's sealed, I'm not sure it's a great idea in a room which is so, well, wet!

I love having the warmth of timber in the bathroom and it's a beautiful piece, but timber on the top? Never again.

Ours probably lasted a year (if that) before it started to go downhill (and we want a good decade out of a bathroom, right?!). 2.5 years on, everything else in this bathroom looks virtually brand new and the water marked vanity top was really letting the side down and making me sad!

But I'm so pleased with this solution, I have to say! Took the plumber less than an hour to remove the sink, install the top and connect the sink back up. We didn't need to move the tap and it isn't too close to the basin.

The kids are allowed to brush their teeth and wash their hands (liquid soap 🥴) in here again and I can leave my hair straightener on there with gay abandon 😆

The reflective surface (which I can clean with whatever I like!💪🏻) brightens the room up too!

Next week I'll tell you what I really think of my brass tile trim too 😉

#interiorsaddictbathroomreno2 #interiorsaddictfamilyhomereno #timbervanity
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About Jen Bishop

Jen Bishop is our owner and publisher and an experienced journalist and editor. Interiors Addict has been her full-time job for more than 8 years. She is married to Damian and mum to Sebastian and Charlie.

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