You are a mother, a business owner and a designer, what does your average day look like?
I wake up at 6.30am, have a pause to visualise the day then get my four children ready to take them to school. This year I have four schools so it is a bit more demanding than usual. I do love the morning car trips as we get to chat before everyone is off to school.
I get to my office at 8.30am-9am, depending on the traffic. I have days with meetings and others I work in the office. Depending on the day I will leave the office to pick the children up at 2.30pm. Then we get home and I do more work. Again each day depends, yet I take everyone to their afterschool activities then come back home and cook dinner. I do love food so I spend time cooking something yummy and at the same time organising the children doing their homework and showers and so on. When everyone is in bed at around 9pm, I work more, usually until 11pm. I will meditate before I go to bed to relax and unwind my brain. Some days I will fit in some exercise such as yoga, pilates, paddle boarding or walking.
Where do you find your design inspiration?
I find that my inspirations are an amalgamation of art, architecture, design, technology, nature, science, spirituality, crafts, music, cultures and sports. With LyZadie Design Studio the concepts are all born in New Zealand, they are rooted here. I love that sense of place and geographic specificity. It makes for richer conversations and unique creations.
You were first an architect, now a designer, what led you to smaller pieces?
I wanted to experiment with the story of objects. I want to tell stories. I find creating smaller objects with incredible makers using beautiful materials an exciting journey. It is fulfilling to do the right thing as a designer, to be conscious about what I design. I find it more challenging with architecture with the regulations which sometimes don’t help to make sustainable decisions and actions. I am still designing buildings yet that journey is transforming as this chapter of designing objects, furniture is growing. I am learning to balance the two, yet designing smaller objects is changing my sensibility and need to change the world. It will be interesting to see how this journey evolves. I do love both.
Today’s world is becoming more global and sometimes a bit too homogenous. How do you balance the need for local flavour and authenticity, and an international appeal in your designs?
As a New Zealand design studio we want to show a consistent sensitivity throughout our work, concentrating on local materials, quality over quantity and responsible production practices whilst also maintaining a very high level of aesthetics throughout all our collections and creations. We tackle the ideas such as sense of place and geographic specificity successfully, making the conversation about sustainable practices a richer one. Using impressively rigorous and interesting design thinking, we create beautiful objects with excellent craftsmanship.
