Studio Clementine

Abode2 sits down with Georgina Wood, Founder and Creative Director, Studio Clementine

What or who inspired you to become a designer?

It was 1990 and I was in my last year at The Arts Educational School which was a performing arts school in Chiswick. The school was great and naturally many of my year wanted to go into a career on the stage. However, I was more interested in life drawing and the art class and what really inspired me was the idea of becoming a set designer for film and theatre. I found a National Diploma course at The Bournemouth and Poole college of Art and Design and after completing this, I wanted to learn more, so went on to do a BA Hons degree in Interior Design and the rest, as they say, is history.

Before you established your own design company, you worked at the senior level with several leading name design practices. What did this experience teach you?

I have worked for some incredible companies over the years and what I have learnt is how to design with the resources available, time management constraints and within the client’s budget without, in any way, diminishing creativity.

What made you decide to set up Studio Clementine?

The more senior you become as an employee the less hands-on you are and unless you are the principal of the company, you are ultimately the chorus girl! I found myself sitting in business development meetings, finance meetings, HR meetings and PR meetings, steadily becoming more and more frustrated with how much time these meetings could take up each week. At the end of the day, I am a creative.

At the beginning of 2020, I decided it was a new decade and time to move on. I told my friends that if I accepted another design director position they should lock me up or that I might prefer to work at Selfridges as I was sure the staff discount would be great. In the end, I did neither. I started to talk with people I know in the industry and soon had a couple of projects – not great timing given that the pandemic was just around the corner, but my view was that if your infant business could survive that, it can surely flourish in better times. And so it has proved. Selfridges will just have to wait now until I am retired.

Please tell us about one or two projects you have completed since then

My first project was a boutique shop in Belgravia called Bonadea, a dream project to be honest. I introduced incredible artisans and also an excellent contractor to the project and what should have been a very simple design then turned into an emporium of exquisite textures and finishes. When Bonadea opened, I was so thrilled by a headline that asked: “Is this London’s Most Beautiful New Shop?”

The other project of which I am very proud is the 8 Eaton Lane Marketing Suite for CIT Group. My brief was to create a standout interior which was grand and welcoming to showcase the model and sample boards of the 42 luxury residences under development next door. What we achieved, I believe, is a suite that sums up Studio Clementine’s approach. It is memorable and unique and even if clients do not pour over every last detail, they can sense it is heartfelt.

What are you working on now?

I am currently working on several amazing projects, including Dummer House in Hampshire and Cambridge House Hotel in London’s Piccadilly.
Dummer is a 14,000 sqft home for a private client. The project is now on site so I am busy looking at samples and making decisions about the furniture, fittings and finishes. We are rigorous in detailing and specifying all materials, lighting, flooring, ironmongery, window treatments and accessories.
Cambridge House Hotel is the long-awaited redevelopment of the In and Out Club which is being transformed by the Reuben brothers into an exceptional boutique hotel with residencies. There will be five beautiful apartments and two penthouses but I’m afraid that is all I can say for now.

And what about your next dream project?

I feel very blessed to have only worked on dream projects since I established Studio Clementine, but then I am the type of person who becomes enthralled by most things I work on. I now have a small, very talented team who work with me and my ambition is to continue engaging them with what I love to do – designing luxury residences and hospitality destinations where the owner’s desire is to achieve something that is genuine and unique. We aim to delight and surprise our well-travelled and discerning clients with designs inspired by history, nature and individual style combined within a modern-day sensibility.

CIT Marketing Suite
Bonadea

https://www.studioclementine.co.uk/bonadea