From Cement Dust to Sacred Spaces:

I was born into architecture. My earliest memories are drenched in the scent of lime and cement, clinging to my father’s clothes as he took me through construction sites in Buenos Aires. He was a builder in the truest sense—designing and constructing with his own hands, shaping apartments one brick at a time with a small team. That intimacy with materials and process was my first education, long before I stepped into a university.

I began my career captivated by form and spectacle. Residential luxury homes, hotels, and restaurants gave me a palette to explore grand aesthetics and visual precision. But somewhere along the line, my work—and my life—took a turn. Exposure to drawing, poetry, and spiritual practices like meditation and ayahuasca introduced a new language, one not of surfaces but of sensations. Architecture began to feel less like a profession and more like a question: how do we inhabit space meaningfully?

Buenos Aires, with its layered identity of European heritage and Latin American roots, became my reference point. The city embodies contrast and coexistence, sophistication and earthiness. That duality started to reflect in my design. I wanted to understand not only how buildings stood, but how they held life, how they could embrace silence, rhythm, ritual.

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The Unseen Power of Telling Your Story

I’ve spent years listening to people, but it wasn’t until recently that I truly understood the transformational power of storytelling. Sitting down with Mona Saade revealed not just the art of preserving memories, but the deeper, personal shifts that unfold when someone begins to speak their truth. Mona doesn’t just write books—she captures lives. Through her work at “Writing Your Life,” she partners with individuals, families, and business founders to shape narratives that are as healing as they are lasting.

Her process is more than factual recounting. It’s about uncovering values, identity, and the heartbeat behind achievements. One story that stayed with me was of a man with dementia. Mona helped him tell his story while he could still remember it, crafting a legacy for his sons and grandchildren. Another was a young mother with terminal cancer, determined to leave something for her children before she lost her ability to speak. In both cases, the result wasn’t just a book—it was a lifeline for those left behind.

Mona’s work is deeply personal and entirely collaborative. Every story is unique and demands a bespoke approach. Family business projects might span years; individual stories may unfold over many months. But in each case, what starts as a conversation grows into something far more powerful. Clients often undergo emotional transformation—feeling seen, lighter, even healed—simply because someone listened deeply.

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From Scottish Textiles to Sydney Interiors: A Designer’s Story

I grew up in rural Perthshire, surrounded by rolling hills, long winters, and a creative spirit inherited from my grandparents. Those endless dark afternoons in Scotland encouraged imagination, which led me to pursue a degree in clothing design and manufacture at the Scottish College of Textiles. I was determined, even as a teenager, to build a career in fashion, and my education gave me incredible skills—everything from bespoke tailoring to painting my own fabric when I couldn’t find what I needed.

Life, of course, had other plans. I met my partner during my studies, and my dream of running off to Paris was replaced by a different kind of ambition—starting something of my own. After a stint working in fashion production, counting buttons in a broom cupboard for a Marks & Spencer supplier, I realized I craved more creativity. That was the beginning of Primrose Hill Interiors.

What started as handmade cushions and throws sold in galleries grew into a full-scale business. Over 15 years, I expanded across the UK through platforms like Not on the High Street and featured in magazines thanks to events like the Country Living Fair. One of my first stockists, a boutique interior design studio, unexpectedly asked me to run their business. I did—managing projects, clients, and curtains. That experience anchored my love for interiors.

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