Name: Mary Jones
Company: Mary Jones Wallpaper
Position within company: Creative Director & Founder
Website: www.maryjonesdesign.com
Tell us a little about your background in design (education, experience, etc.)
As a student I studied Industrial Ceramics & Design, then worked as in-house designer for ceramic wall and floor tile manufacturer, H&R Johnson, after they saw my work in the RSA design competition. This great opportunity, experience and confidence booster enabled me to design products for international markets. Having had the good fortune to win the BCMF ‘design travelling scholarship’ judged by Roy Midwinter, Lord Queensbury and Colin Melbourne, this presented me with the opportunity to explore Italy, which I did by train, sparking my love for travel and adventure. I am Founder and Creative Director of my own design practice, ‘Mary Jones Design’, a surface pattern studio now in its 35th year designing for home and contract furnishings products worldwide. More recently I’ve expanded to include digitally printed wall – coverings under my own brand, Mary Jones Wallpaper.
How would you describe your personal interior design style?
Simple, happy, quirky, an eclectic mix.
Where does your design inspiration come from?
Anywhere and everywhere: travel, culture, colour, patterns in nature and machines: ‘It’s all there – you just have to see it sense it “. Growing up in the Black Country, the heart of the metal working industry, had a strong impact on me. So too have my extensive travels, absorbing other cultural influences their history and creativity.
In what direction do you feel that design is moving towards in a general sense?
I feel it will become less mass-produced. There is room for the smaller independents to push boundaries with the increasing development in technologies, and those creating more bespoke and one-off designs will have more opportunities.
Name five key themes to consider when approaching design in 2017 and beyond.?
– Lifestyle
– Appropriate
– Comfort
– Practical
– Usability
If you could offer one piece of advice when it comes to product design, what would it be?
Always consider the practical aspect as well as the aesthetic, because the end-user will.
How important are The International Design and Architecture Awards as recognition of talent and achievement?
It’s a good feeling, and important to be recognised and shortlisted. So often designers are taken for granted, and are the nameless equivalent to the ‘ghost writers’ of our industry.
What projects are you currently working on?
New designs and preparing for our next Exhibition Heimtextil .
What are your aims and goals for the next twelve months?
To continue to create and produce new ideas for global markets, and to deliver innovative design.
Final thoughts; tell us a little more about yourself
Your most treasured possession?
Passport!
Your favourite holiday destination?
If I can only choose one it’s Majorca, but I also Love Italy
Your favourite hotel / restaurant / bar?
The Bank House coffee shop in my adopted town of Stafford.
Your favourite book / film / song?
Grand Budapest Hotel.
Your favourite food
Mediterranean
and drink?
Tea.
Your favourite way to spend an afternoon? (in no more than 25 words)
Hanging out in Palma, a small city by the sea with a cosmopolitan vibe, great galleries and beautiful buildings – plus the people are so friendly.
If you weren’t a designer, what would you be?
Sculptor , film maker, builder.
