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Anyone else starting out in freelance Interior Designer? Or have previous experience of this? Looking for mentors+peers to share advice with

I come from a Retail Display and Event design background, but since losing my FT job in March, I've been putting my energies into becoming an Interior Designer. I'm studying and taking on unpaid or 'mate's rates' jobs to build my portfolio and I'm promoting myself locally through local businesses and FB groups to try and land my first full-paying jobs.

I'd love to hear from anyone in a similar situation to myself, or from those of you who have been down a similar path at some point in their career. Let me know what was successful in the beginning and likewise what didn't work!

Also, any feedback on my website would be appreciated. You can find me here:

https://www.instagram.com/hannah_drakeford_design/

https://hd-design.co.uk
Hannah Drakeford
Hannah Drakeford
Interior Designer / Content Creator

Replies2

  • Hannah Drakeford
    Hannah Drakeford
    Interior Designer / Content Creator
    @Charlotte Bingham Great to hear from you. Thanks so much for the reply!

    I was Creative Mngr for Oasis for 3 years. Before that EU Display Mngr for Forever 21 and before that I was at Miss Selfridge and Topshop. Who were you working for?
    I'm sure there are lots of us who are in similar transitions, with so many jobs being lost in retail lately. I had a few old workmates reach out to ask about the course I'm doing. What course are you doing? I'm at the British Academy of Interior Design.

    Marketing-wise, I've just been using social media but I had some postcards printed, which I've been handing out to local businesses. I even have my local salon dropping them into the tote bags they give to their customers.

    I'm lucky to already have a lot of CAD experience, but I'm using every new project to build my Vectorworks skills. Definitely plan on doing some more hand-rendering though, thanks for the tip!

    What kind of roles would you volunteer for? I'd definitely be interested volunteering/
  • Charlotte Bingham
    Charlotte Bingham
    Founder & Company Director
    Hi Hannah,

    Hope you’re doing well. I’ve been studying ID for a few years and like yourself have a retail display background. I have worked in VM for 10 years and reached senior manager when I was made redundant in July.

    I’m also focusing on the education side and trying to figure out how to get into the industry myself!
    Your portfolio so far and your renders look great, do you have any mood boards or sketches? I know from studies everyone seems to reiterate hand sketches are treasured by clients.

    How are you planning to reach out to get clients etc? I’m going to look into home staging first while finishing studying and building my CAD/ hand drawing skills first! I’m also going to do some volunteering/ interning would recommend if you can afford to take an unpaid experience focused role.

    Weirdly nice to hear of another in a similar situation. Who did you work for in retail/ events?

    My best
    Charlotte

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