In Profile:
Day Studio

Name: Lisa Helmanis
Company Name: Day Studio
Position Within Company: Creative Director & Founder
Website: www.daystudio.co.uk

Tell us a little about your background in design:
Studied Fine Art at Goldsmiths, Post grad in Journalism, was a design and lifestyle editor for 20 years, and devised and launched the Sunday Times Inside Out magazine as Editor. Began designing restaurants in 2010, Trullo in Islington being the first. Since then, we have designed deli’s, restaurants, pop-ups, events, private and commercial interiors for a wide variety of clients.

How would you describe your personal design style?:
My design style is centred around memory: the evoking of beloved memories and places, as well as devising a backdrop to create new ones. This also informs my choice of materials, specifically used to age and patina well, with the belief that good design should have a timeless quality that leaves some space for evolution. Day Studio design is centered aound the people who live, work and enjoy the spaces we create.

In what direction do you feel that design is moving towards in a general sense?:
Circular materials will become more central to the design process. Keeping them in a continuous economic cycle, rather than discarding them as waste, will make the design industry more responsible and sustainably viable. In an aesthetic sense, stimulating the senses to promote well-being and comfort through intelligent materials, such as upholstery fabric that cools the skin or window sheers that absorb sound.

Name five key themes to consider when approaching design in the future.:
Keep it simple, overdesigning a space can take the focus from the user experience.
Use as many natural materials as possible to reduce chemical load in the environment.
Use as much of the existing property as possible to help retain the building’s story.
Avoid trends.
Natural materials age better, so if you want to create a classic, ensure you choose materials that will weather well.

If you could offer one piece of advice when it comes to designing, what would it be?:
Interview your client, and ask them about themselves beyond their design taste. Sometimes the secret to a design that delights a client is just outside their peripheral vision, and needs to be teased out. It also ensures that the design is personal and can and does belong only to that client or brand, which helps create a sense of place and connect with the customer. In the way that only something with a human heart can do.

Which products/services could you not live without when designing?:
I frequently use Corston, J Adams & Co Lighting, Nobilis, Linwood, Crest Leather, Sanderson, Artisans of Chelsea mirror, Coat Paints, Altro, Studio Ore, Buster & Punch, Lusso Stone, Hendel and Hendel, Kave, Collier Webb, The Contract Chair Company, Mapei, ABI Interiors, Paper Collective, Colefax and Fowler, Ercol, Claybrook Studio, Solus Ceramics, Formica, Autex.

What are your aims and goals for the next twelve months?:
We are launching a tile range, and hopefully taking some inspiration and sourcing trips for new projects.

Your most treasured possession?:
My most treasured possession is a painting by my friend, the artist Ben Spiers. I fell in love with it, and he let me buy it in instalments, and it was recently borrowed by the Schlossmuseum in Linz, Austria for a show of exciting contemporary artists.

Your favourite holiday destination?:
I frequently return to Italy, Canada and America. Italy teaches great lessons about form and timelessness. America is so varied and stirs my pioneer spirit and search for the ‘new’, and Canada nourishes my need for nature and space.

Your favourite hotel, restaurant & bar? :
Hotel: Hotel Amour, Paris
Restaurant: Burro, London
Bar: Bemelmans, New York

Your favourite book, film & song? :
Book: The House of Mirth, Edith Wharton
Film: Blythe Spirit
Song: May You Never, John Martyn

Your favourite food and drink? :
Food: Yorkshire Pudding
Drink: Champagne

Your favourite way to spend an afternoon? :
I love restaurants, dining in them as well as designing them. So my favourite afternoon would start with a gallery, a long, late lunch and a slow walk home with good company.

If you weren’t in this sector, what would your alternative profession be? :
I would be a full-time artist, pursuing my love for painting. I am lucky enough to create paintings and hand-drawn tiles for clients, so designing restaurants helps me make some of this possible.

Anything else interesting? :
I hosted travel and food shows, and I am currently writing a TV show about restaurants.

Interior Designer: Day Studio (Lisa Helmanis)

Construction: Carter New Love

Associated: Stileman Lighting

Photography: Helen Cathcart