Interior Home - Daily Post: Marcus Hay

Ah, Winter has arrived with a vengeance here in New Zealand and sometimes, in these cold and dark days, it can be hard to get inspired.
So here we go with a lovely Inspiration Profile from stylist and creative director, Marcus Hay. He is an expat Australian living in New York and I have featured his work here on my blog several times. Enjoy - have a great and warm weekend everyone.

Marcus Hay - Photo: Jonny Valiant.

Blue/Green Trend Story - Photo: Kat Teutsch.

Name: Marcus Hay

What do you do: I am a style and creative director, interior designer and writer. My company is called Studio Hay + Co and we work out of my home/studio in Chelsea. It's a busy hub of activity as there is always a multitude of varied projects going on - anything from photo shoots to apartment fit outs.

Where do you live: New York, USA

What are you working on: I work freelance so on a variety of projects, including my own personal ones. I just did a whole lot of work for Bloomingdales, styling tablescapes. This week I am working on a kids fashion shoot, designing the sets and sourcing props.

Elle Decoration - Photo: Jonny Valiant

Left: Inside Out magazine - Photo: Jonny Valiant. Right: Decorating with Fabric - Photo: William Geddes.

Who/what inspires me: I find inspiration everywhere - as a visual person your eyes are always wide open. I see a lot of exhibitions as I live in the art gallery district of Manhattan.
I love walking the streets and see inspiration for color stories everywhere - especially unexpected color combinations. It could be in street art, signage or even something random on the side of the road.
I love travelling and gather much inspiration from the countries I visit - in particular Japan, China and Scandanavia.
Flea markets and antique stores are also a great resource for me. You can learn a lot about a culture by their markets - often there are history lessons if you talk to the dealers or make note of items to research later.

I am also inspired by the following people - Artists: John Chamberlain, Cindy Sherman, David Hockney, Andy Warhol
Designers: Eva Zeisel, Aero Saarinen and Paul Rand.
Musicians: Grace Jones, Marilyn Monroe and Blosson Dearie.

I work best: I work all the time so don’t really have a designated best time : )

What I do when I’m stuck for inspiration: I am never stuck. The world is a big place - how could you ever not find something to trigger an idea?

The best advice I have been given is: Never give up. Fall, get up again and dust yourself off. Mistakes are just mis-takes. Take 1, Take 2...

My latest discovery is: Pinterest - hate to admit it but I love it. It helps me edit my visual thoughts.

Marcus' apartment, Elle Decoration Sweden - Photo: Jonny Valiant.

Left: Interior Project - Photo: Jonny Valiant. Right: Marie Claire - Photo: Lucas Allen.

Books that I get inspiration from: Always autobigraphies as I love reading about other peoples lives. Right now, in terms of a visual book, I love Martyn Thompson’s book'Interiors' - he is an amazing photographer.

Magazines that inspire me: Elle Decoration, U.K, Casa Da Abataire, Italian Vogue, Apartmento, and Milk.

Blogs that I enjoy: Design Sponge, Daily Imprint, The Modern Sybarite, Spotted by Normann Copenhagen, PJ Mehaffey, The Food Dept, Bespoke Press, Mr Jason Grant, The Bedlam of Beefy, Design Buzz, Style Rookie and Elephant Ceramics

My favourite room at home is: My Living room. It is a room I multi task in - I hold meetings, entertain, work and even use it for photo shoots when I need to. It also has my favorite chair to lounge in - when I sit in my Womb chair I know I can finally relax.

My office is: Everywhere. Home, on the street, the local café, my storage space and on the subway. I am always writing every second I have.

What am I looking forward to: Christmas with my family in Sydney in December. It’s been nearly 8 years since I spent the holidays with them!

Want to find out more about Marcus and his work? Check out his website here and his blog Fluff'n'Stuff here.