How did you decide on a career in design?
Laziness drew me to design (laughs). I knew I wanted to do something artistic but I hated examinations so I looked at creative courses. I thought about fine arts but then discovered interior design, and somehow I had a natural affinity to it.
Who is your design icon?
When I was younger I really admired Andrée Putman. Her work always had an architectural element and was very refined and tailored. Up to this day, this is what George and I are trying to do in our own way.
What puts you in a creative mood?
A drink (laughs). Seriously, I think just having a clear mind helps put me in a creative mode. I can’t be anxious or else I can’t bring any ideas to the table. You need mental calmness in order to focus on an idea and explore all the variations to a notion. If your mind is scattered then that’s very difficult to do.
And how do you get inspired?
Everywhere and everything gives me inspiration. We’re a bit late to the game in terms of social media – we have just gotten into Instagram (IG: @yabupushelberg) and somehow taking pictures of what you see and like becomes a source of inspiration.
How do you work at YabuPushelberg?
We’re always brainstorming. When we sit together with the team, everyone has the equal right to say something – we talk the ideas through, decide and debate which one should we keep and throw away, and this usually leads to the best results. Between George and I, we’ve known each other for so long so we just say it as it is.
Tell us of a consistent element in your work so far:
There’s a vocabulary of trees in many of our projects. Even if I look back fifteen or twenty years, we’ve been incorporating a motif of trees in some way. For example, we’ve done cast jewellery cases with branches for a retail project as well as a restaurant with a painterly mural of forests. I don’t know where that comes from but there’s always that natural element.
Simple piece of advice to designers:
While it’s important to understand what stylistic themes are relevant globally, one has to avoid trends. You need to discard all the noise and think harder especially as things move so fast and there’s so much pressure. To become a successful designer, one has to work from the heart and soul and not merely copy things.
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