Interview With Amanda and Lyn Gardener from Gardener&Marks

Starting from today we decided to add a new section to our site.We will be taking several interviews a month, asking a series of questions regarding the design industry, architecture,furniture and the results will be posted for all our readers to see and comment.Here is our first Interview with Amanda Henderson-Marks and Lyn Gardener from Gardener&Marks.

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Homedit:Were you always interested in design? Tell us about the moment when you decided this is the way to go.

Amanda Henderson-Marks: yes since I was little I was always changing my bedroom around and was very sensitive to my environment and always thinking about how to express myself with my bedroom. I knew when I was studying textiles design. I felt this wasn’t for me to be in the background I went with a friend to her interior design interview loved the college and applied also. I got in and she didn’t!!

Lyn Gardener: I have always been interested from a very young age.  My mother was always decorating the home and I just found it was a natural instinct and passion.  I always have fond memories of watching my mother decorate.

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Homedit:Where do you find your inspiration?

Amanda Henderson-Marks: Fabrics and old pictures and colours from twigs ,sticks and stones. I love neutral grey taupe palette with dark accents.

Lyn Gardener: in most things also, trees, the colours of leaves, an old book….you never really know, something just stands out.

Homedit:How long ago did you start your business?

Amanda Henderson-Marks: I had my own interior decorating business for 2 years before I started decorating with Lyn. Gardener and Marks have been together for 7 years.

Prior To Gardener & Marks, I started my store EMPIRE VINTAGE, around 18years ago.

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Homedit:Can describe a bit your first interior design project ?

Amanda Henderson-Marks: We worked on a loungeroom we had custom made sofas and cushions made up. The scheme came from a beautiful old sanderson linen chair we found which anchored the new pieces together.

Homedit:What kind of people ask for your help?

Amanda Henderson-Marks and Lyn Gardener: People that love old and new and individual interiors. Relaxed living rustic and industrial spaces.

Homedit:What is your favourite book/magazine on design? How about your favourite site?

Amanda Henderson-Marks: English House and Garden, Living etc, Belle, Vogue Living and The world of Interiors.

Lyn Gardener: Vogue, Inside/out, elle decoration UK, the world of interiors…book ETC by sibella court

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Homedit:What you recommend for this year ?

Amanda Henderson-Marks: Lamps, lamps and more lamps and lots of twigs and branches from outside in old jugs. More linen all colours on everything and hessian.

Lyn Gardener: as above but also include a touch of vintage, something that means something to you…..something found or collected always adds a personal touch and a personality to your home.

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Homedit:What is the average time allocated to a project?

Amanda Henderson-Marks & Lyn: All depends how desperate the client is we are working on a project at the moment and it has to be completed by 1st week of nov and we got told about it last week. It’s a boutique bar.

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Homedit:What advice do you have for young designers or architects reading this interview?

Amanda Henderson-Marks & Lyn: Be yourself and do work that excites you as life is too short to say yes to everything and regret it later. Trust your intuition with people the people that come across strange or you feel uncomfortable means walk away it’s a massive red light warning.We have had this happen many times and talked ourself into jobs and only come away at the end with too many problems and no inspiration whats so ever.

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Homedit:What is your favorite thing at home that you didn’t design?

Amanda Henderson-Marks: I love my kitchen island bench, the wallpaper I am going to put in my dining room and bathroom.

Lyn Gardener:……my deborah bowness wall papers.

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Homedit:What was the best design advice anyone gave you?

Amanda Henderson-Marks: old but true, follow your heart listen to it. Be happy have fun when you are at work. Trust your taste and design.

Lyn Gardener: always start with a simple palette and background then let all the furniture and collections dress the space.

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Homedit:What are your plans for the future?

Amanda Henderson-Marks: I am going to branch out on my own in 2012 to do other things I have wanted to pursue some domestic work, and work with my husbands clients also (he is a landscape gardener Northcote landscaping)would love to get into buying and visual merchandising a lot more also. Gardener and Marks have a niche client and market designing bars and we are excited about working with our existing commercial clients and meeting new ones.

Lyn Gardener: – to continue the great work Gardener & Marks achieve and to perhaps add to my country accomodation property that I rent out….would love one or two more!

Homedit:What do you think of our site?

Amanda Henderson-Marks & Lyn Gardener: It’s a beautiful inspiring site.