DE S IGN CENTRE
ONES TO WATCH
Get to know some of the hottest up-and-coming industry names, from their business advice on what to do when starting out to where they head to first at Design Centre, Chelsea Harbour
CHRISTIAN BENSE
Originally from South Africa, Christian Bense worked at Turner Pocock before setting up his own practice in spring 2020, at the height of lockdown: “it was the perfect time to start a business – to have three months to come up with what I wanted to do, without spending a dime!”
What have you become known for?
A new client who rang me up out of the blue said: “We want curated, fully fleshed-out, pared back but still beautiful, lived-in, comfortable and balanced.” She literally recited to me my whole brand strategy.
Did you have a big break? I think my big break was in South Africa – I had the confidence of youth. The first project I ever did, I was 23, I was given free reign and it went into three or four magazines. It was the first time I realised: “If I think it and say it, it will happen.”
Is there any business advice you wish you’d known when you started out? Surround yourself with people who are in the know, and try and nail down who you are as a brand, sooner rather than later. I was quite fortunate and hit the ground running: within six months I had projects that had been photographed.
What do you obsess over in your work? If there is anything I get niggly about, it is how artwork is framed, and where it is positioned.
What’s your latest discovery at the Design Centre? Leather is not something I always use but I popped into Whistler Leather and it was a reminder of the importance of feel and touch. We used an olive green faux suede on a big banquette and it tied the whole room together.
ISABELLA WORSLEY
Isabella Worsley founded her studio in 2018 and works on both commercial and residential projects. Her first solo project was the full refurbishment of Callow Hall, a boutique bolthole in the Peak District for hew hotel group Wildhive.
What inspires you? It can be anything from the pigment on a building to the curve of an architrave. I recently designed some headboards that took
their inspiration from the shapes of tombstones – a slightly morbid reference but it shows that there is so much inspiration to be taken from the everyday!
What’s the thread that runs through every scheme, regardless of the aesthetic? I find that buildings themselves give a steer on the design. We try to design in sympathy with their history, while adding contemporary layers to make it feel relevant, whether that may be including furniture appropriate to the period of the building or taking inspiration from the contextual history of its location.
What do you obsess over in your work? The technical details, particularly when designing joinery in CAD – deliberating over proportions down the millimetre would no doubt send some people mad, but I find it very satisfying!
What’s your latest discovery at the Design Centre? I love the designs by Tobias and the Angel at Turnell & Gigon, and the beautiful Namay Samay fabrics in Tissus d’Hélène are also a firm favourite.
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