Interior design - student

Peonygrace

Hi

I am a design enthusiast and currently studying for a diploma in Interior Design with the eventual aim of leaving my day job to set up a design firm, all going to plan!

I am starting to build my portfolio now (nearing completion of my first home which will be the first example I can put on my website)

As part of this, I thought I could offer my services here on a 'no fee' basis.

I can do a design consultation for your project for free, including mood boards with samples.

I will work to your budget and brief.
You can decide if you want to proceed with my ideas and suggestions.
I would then go through the next design phase with you and support you in choosing the right colours and materials for your project.
All I ask in return is to be able to use the job as an example in my portfolio, plus a testimonial if you wish.

I am in the Cork City area.
Please PM me if you would be interested in working together.

Thanks.

Sleepy

The best of luck with it. The market it totally flooded with swathes of bored housewives trying to sell themselves as designers so word-of-mouth and an on-line blog of your projects / ideas will be the only advertising worth doing.

I'm in the Dublin area myself and Mrs Sleepy did an interior design module during her time in art college so wouldn't really be in a position to take you up on your offer but just wanted to offer some encouragement for what seems to me to be a very good starting point.

One more piece of advice: don't do too much free work when building your portfolio. People don't value what they don't pay for so once you've got a couple of projects done to use as reference points, start charging. You can increase your charges as you gain experience and a reputation. For your first projects, issue quotes that anchor your pricing in the territory you want to charge further down the road and discount from there. That way your clients understand that what you're doing for them has value above and beyond what they're paying.

An idea of how to phrase early invoices:

Line Item|Detail|€
Initial Design Consultation||1,000
Painting|3 days @ €150|450
less portfolio reference discount|| -300
less testimonial discount|| -200
TOTAL OWED||€950


If you don't plan to provide the decoration services yourself, you'll be massively limiting your market and will need strong relationships with painters/decorators you trust and that recognise the contributions of a designer.

Peonygrace

Thanks for the advice and nice words. Luckily my partner is a Painter decorator so if it works out...we will be ideally placed to offer a full service. Thanks again.

staples7

PM sent.