Charlotte Minty Interior Design is Ten Years Old

Charlotte Minty Interior Design is ten years old! My, time has flown - and as I think back, some of it is a little fuzzy!
I have had many fantastic clients over the years who have taken me on (thank you) and who have challenged me with their briefs. And boy, there has been a variety - interior design, wedding design, visual merchandising, teaching, magazine styling, furniture design and so on it goes. I love the challenges and have learnt so much. It is most satisfying for me as I finish each job with happy clients.
A big shout out goes to my family - especially to my mentor, Alan Minty who continually takes the time to look over my work and freely share his years of wisdom in the architecture industry. To Judy Minty, Dorian Minty and Amelia Minty, who over the years I have either collaborated with, have discussions and bounce ideas with, who buoyed me up when things got challenging as well as other aspects that come with working in design and running your own business. Your love and support is priceless - thank you so much.
Here's to another ten years!
Photograph via oncewed.

Joinery Inspiration

I have been working on several joinery projects lately and this is one of my inspiration images. From the Nikau House in Parnell designed by Strachan Group Architects, this image captures the simple joinery pieces of the home office slash library and the nook seating at the top of the stairs. Lovely.
Photo by Jackie Meiring via HOME New Zealand.

Inspiration profile - Talia O'Connor and Ella Murdoch

Lately I have been regularly hearing about new home wares stores popping up all over New Zealand, which is positive to hear, especially after the tough economic climate from the last few years.
This week's profile opened one recently in Dunedin after having an online store since March. Enjoy and have a great weekend all!

Ella Murdoch and Talia O'Connor

Styling by MintSix

Name: Talia O'Connor & Ella Murdoch

What do you do: We co-own our home wares & lifestyle business, MintSix. We also do interior styling both locally and online. Our business has been online since March and we have we have just opened our first store in Dunedin. 

Where do you live: We live in Dunedin, New Zealand. 

What are you working on: Lately, we've mostly been working on getting our new store up and running, as well as continuing with our online business and working with clients on interior projects.

MintSix store, Dunedin

Colour:Such a hard one, we love colour! Talia: Chartreuse. Ella: Mint & at the moment anything Fuchsia 

Plant/Flowers:T: Currently loving our fiddle leaf fig trees Ficus Lyrata) & I'm very partial to a big beautiful bunch of peonies. E: Lilies

Food: T: Vietnamese E: Dumplings

Smell: T: The smell of summer or my Stella MCartney perfume I can't live without!  E: Jasmine 

Style:  Fashion:   T: Can't beat H&M & Topshop for affordable items and I love anything from Gorman & Mr Zimi. E: Zara, I miss Zara! (Zara was about 100 metres from our apartment in Beijing). We are both also big fans of Isabel Marant and Alexander Wang although unfortunately don't have a huge amount of their pieces in our wardrobe... one day hopefully!

Home: We like an eclectic mix of stylish and functional home wares, quite often with a bit of a twist. At the moment we love brands such as HK Living, Pony Rider, Kip & Co & Brita Sweden. We're also still huge fans of the original items we started importing, our Bamileke Juju Hats and Moroccan Pouffes. These can all be found at MintSix!

Who/what inspires me: Talia: I try and grab at least ten minutes (more like half and hour if I'm honest!) a day on Pinterest & Instagram and try and squeeze in some blog reading once a week. I'm also always inspired when I'm in Melbourne where I lived for eight years, I'm completely obsessed with the place!

I work best:During the day when my children are at school and kindy but also often find myself on the computer again in the evening.

What I do when I’m stuck for inspiration: There's nothing quite like a sneak peek into someone else's home. The Design Files showcases some amazing Australian homes weekly on their blog and it's one of the few emails that gets opened immediately when it arrives into my inbox. Being a hoarder, I also never throw away magazines, so I often dip back into old issues of my favourites if I'm lacking inspiration for a particular project.

The best advice I have been given is: To do what you love, work hard and trust your instincts. 

My latest discovery is:All the great Kiwi designers & creatives that I'm discovering now that I'm home. 

Mood boards by Talia - Black

Mood board - yellow and caramel

 Books that I get inspiration from: A range of interiors books. I especially love Todd Selby's books & more recently Megan Morton's, Things I love. 

Magazines that inspire me: Living Etc, Inside Out & Real Living are favourites

Blogs that I enjoy:The Design Files, The Design Chaser, Dos Family, Lovenordic Design Blog, Ascot Friday, Bluebird Vintage, Studio Home, Stylizimo, Desire to Inspire, Emmas Design Blog, Cush &Nooks, Elsass, Sincerely Jules, 79 Ideas, Caroline's Mode, Planete Deco, Fashion me Now, After DRK, The Fashion Guitar, My Scandinavian Home, Milo&Mitzy, Table Tonic...I'll stop now but could go on and on! 

My favourite room at home is:  Probably my living room as that's where we all hang out together. We get the fire cranked up in the winter & it's gets nice and cosy, which is essential here down South!

My office has:Been used as the MintSix headquarters during the last few months. Now that we have moved into our new shop it's looking very empty apart from my beloved mid-century desk and iMac.

What am I looking forward to:I'm looking forward to watching our business grow and diversifying our range. I also can't wait to explore more of New Zealand with my family. My husband is British and my kids were born in Australia so they haven't seen much of our beautiful country. 

MintSix styling work.



Photographs are used with permission from MintSix.

Completed Work - New Kitchen

If there is one thing that I been doing a bad job of this year, that would be not taking photos of my work after it has been completed. It is so easy to finish a job and move on to the next one without reflecting on the whole process and enjoying the results. Also, interiors can be difficult to photograph! Excuses aside, I have been calling up a few clients and I'll be slowly going around and recording some of the work done this year.
This hardwearing family kitchen is located in a traditional house in Wellington - the client wanted clean lines, lots of storage and to use traditional materials like timber and stone to give texture.

Upstand detail on kitchen island



Vertical subway tiles

New Emeco bar stools with red leather seats at the breakfast bar 

Photographs by Charlotte Minty.

Table Manners

Just some gorgeous eye candy for a miserable Monday - feast your eyes on this tableware series, 'Table Manners' which was featured in Elle Decoration NL earlier this year. Styled and photographed by Mirella Sahetapy who is from the Netherlands - I am inspired by her use of colour, arrangement and textures.

Photographs via Mirella Sahetapy.

Inspiration Profile - Claire Ongley

Here we are at the end of another week and I have another great Inspiration Profile for you. Say hello to Claire Ongley from Izzy and Jean Co. Enjoy!

Claire Ongley

Avarcas Pons sandals are the newest addition to the Izzy and Jean Co. range. They are handmade in Menorca, Spain.

Name: Claire Ongley

What do you do: I run an online store called Izzy and Jean Co. We sell fine home goods and accessories from around the world. All our goods are either handmade or produced by small designers or long-established family businesses. I believe that the story behind a thing is just as interesting as the thing itself.

We opened in June of this year, so it’s still all very new to me. There’s lots to learn, but it’s great fun to do something completely different.

Where do you live: I currently live in Oakura, just outside of New Plymouth. However, my partner Daniel and I are moving to a farm near Otaki where we plan to farm pigs (free range of course!). We will have 80 acres and no farming experience. It’s definitely going to be a big challenge, and we can’t wait.

What are you working on: Izzy and Jean Co. has only been running for four months, so I feel like I’m still really getting things organised and running smoothly. At the moment I’m working on restocking and ordering for summer and Christmas. Sourcing stock is a very time consuming exercise! However, we have some lovely new things coming in, which I’m very excited about.

In fact, I have just finished loading up our new Avarcas Pons sandals onto the website. They are handmade in Menorca, Spain. Take a look, they are very simple and stylish, and also just in time for summer!

We’re also working on moving to the farm. There’s lots to organise, and once we get there we will never have a moment to be bored. On top of that, we just got engaged, so we now have to plan a wedding!

Hedgehog table brush made by Redecker, a family-run business in Germany that has been handcrafting brushes since 1935.

Polka dot socks from Etiquette Clothiers in New York

Flowers: Peonies, roses, lavender and hydrangeas spring to mind. They are all quite old-fashioned, now that I think about it.

Food:  When I’m asked this question I usually say Mexican food. I love anything with fresh fish, hot chillies and lots of coriander.  Having said that, I like all sorts of food and there is nothing I won’t try. But maybe that just means I’m a bit greedy.

Style: It tends to change, but in terms of decor I would say I’m currently a fan of Scandinavian simplicity with a pop of colour and texture in the form of rustic, vintage or ethnic furniture and accessories.

Handwoven pink striped throw from Tunisia

Hand loomed fouta towels from Tunisia.

Who/what inspires me: I’m inspired by people who successfully run their own creative businesses. I want to be one of them! There are so many inspiring people around who love what they do, and they help me keep believing that I can do it too.

I work best: First thing in the morning and last thing at night. In the afternoons my mind tends to wander and I make endless cups of tea and write lists, but not a lot gets done.

What I do when I’m stuck for inspiration: Go for a run, wile away some time on Pinterest, read a blog, or go and do anything that is totally unrelated to work.

The best advice I have been given is: Don’t worry about making things perfect, just get it out there and figure things out as you go.

My latest discovery is: Fiji! We just went there to escape the winter blues and it was divine. The people are gorgeous, the ocean is warm and the cocktails have umbrellas in them. What more could you want?

Striped linen cushion covers made by a family-run business in Lithuania

Handwoven vintage 'Rose' kilim rug from Turkey

Books that I get inspiration from: ‘The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People’ by Stephen Covey is a book that I picked up in a secondhand shop about a year ago. It is really inspiring and practical, and it helped me put my Izzy and Jean Co. plans into gear.

Magazines that inspire me: Inside Out, Vogue Living, Your Home & Garden, NZ House & Garden, Homestyle

Blogs that I enjoy: The Design Chaser, Made From Scratch, Milo & Mitsy, re: Address, The Design Files, Kara Rosenlund.

My favourite room at home is: Our house is a temporary one, so it’s not really a home. We moved back from Sydney earlier this year, so once we move into our own house, then I’m sure I will have one or two favourite rooms. I can’t wait to put my stamp on them!

My office is: I used to work in the sleep out, but I have recently swapped offices with my partner, so now I’m inside. My little office gets lots of afternoon sun and I can gaze out at our back garden and dream up new ideas for Izzy and Jean Co. (or just procrastinate).

What am I looking forward to: Moving into our new house on the farm! Getting married! There’s a lot to look forward to right now.

You can keep up to date with Izzy and Jean Co on their online store, their Facebook page, Twitter or their Pinterest boards.

Photographs used with permission from Claire Ongley and Izzy and Jean Co.

Roald Dahl Fantabulous Collection

Well, this definitely appealed to the child in me. I was (still am) a huge fan of Roald Dahl books as a child and it was nostalgia that got me checking out this new textile range. Illustrations from the likes of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, James and the Giant Peach, Fantastic Mr Fox, Matilda, The BFG, The Twits and other well known books make up this charming children's textile collection. I like that this range is unisex and you just know that parents will get a kick out of these fabrics as well as the children. Available in New Zealand through Charles Parson.

Father Rabbit at BLOC

 

I love receiving invites to openings of stores and other design events, however invitations of late have been located in Auckland, which is just a bit too far from Wellington. One such recent invitation was to the opening of the new Father Rabbit store. While I didn't make it, I have added the new shopping destination as a must visit when next in town.
Well known online store, Father Rabbit have relocated from their charming Grey Lynn villa to a new retail space at the successful BLOC.
BLOC is a collaborative community of design focused brands who have created a collective environment for the astute shopper. Located in Mt Eden, BLOC also houses other great New Zealand brands including Citta Design and Douglas & Bec. It looks like a great place to shop!

Thanks to Father Rabbit for use of photographs.