Designer insights with Georgie Olley

Georgie Olley is the founder of Nomad Design, where she makes lifestyle and home accessories of exceptional quality, working from London. Georgie is passionate about creating handmade products, utilising her own patterns where she can. Her collections are meticulously curated using a selection of fabrics and accessories, transformed into modern handmade items that beautifully complement interiors. Her products carry a historical legacy in their fibres, and are designed to be functional and useable everyday. So we are proud to bring you the Designer Insights of Georgie Olley.

Designer Insights - Georgie Olley

Image Credit: 1-5) Georgie Olley

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1) In your own words describe your unique style and creative aesthetic?

Bohemian, versatile, minimalist, organic and steeped in provenance. I like a minimalist background, think Niemeyer & Calatrava, with decadent artisan textiles to soften and give love to the architecture.

2) When starting a new project, what is your creative process?

I start researching and subsequently refining the collection of ideas from carefully curated sources; scribbles in notebooks, excerpts from blogs and photographs from my latest trip etc.

3) Out of the creative people you have worked with, who is it that you respect and admire the most?

Hands down Clemency Rittner, she runs her own soft furnishings company and although she doesn’t know it, she has been instrumental in my own personal and professional development. She, inadvertently, taught me two great lessons. 1. Anything is possible if you are willing to solve the problems that push the limits of your skill. 2. The importance of making quality work on time, using the best materials to hand.

4) When looking for inspiration is there a particular thing you do to get inspired?

I find that inspiration comes when you don’t go looking for it, so I don’t go looking for it. I have learnt through practising all of 8 limbs of yoga, that everything can be inspiring if one is open to seeing instead of looking, our lives should be a constant voyage of experience and development.

5) What has brought you to this point in your career? And what is your advice for people looking to follow in your footsteps?

I think what has helped is surrounding myself with incredibly well skilled people. My advice to others is - Travel, and travel alone if you can. - Always get a deadline and a budget from your client. - Value your time, pay yourself if you can. - Learn every time you fail and don’t be afraid to fail. - Be patient, nothing of value is built quickly.