Babe Behind the Biz: Melisa White Interiors + an Easter Offer You Don’t Want to Miss!

We interviewed the lovely Melisa of Melisa White Interiors this week, and not only did we get to connect with a beautiful, passionate mama with a gypsy soul and a talent for creating STUNNING interior spaces for children, we also get to share an AMAZING offer with our readers…

Tell us a bit about you:
I’m a Sydney girl married to a Londoner, and a mum to two gorgeous and cheeky little girls – Madeleine 7 and Eloise 4. I’ve lived in London, Singapore and have recently relocated to New York. Although I will always be a Sydney girl, for now my life is about being a bit of a gypsy and experiencing what the world has to offer.

How did you get started with your biz?
I have always been interested in interiors, but somehow fell into the world of marketing. After working in children’s book publishing, interactive media and marketing, and having two children, I decided to pursue my passion and enrol into design school and try something new.  In Singapore there were so many wonderful expat women who after having children decided to take the plunge, switch career paths, and start their own businesses. They were all very successful and gave me the motivation to switch career paths too.

After graduating from design school, I decided to put all of my knowledge together to create beautiful and enchanting spaces for children, from birth through to the teenage years. Melisa White Interiors was born.  I started off designing children’s spaces, but then found myself designing more and more living spaces.  Today I have a good mix of both.

What (or who) are your biggest influences?
I’ve always admired the iconic Iris Apfel. She is a gutsy businesswoman, an Interior Designer, style icon, and woman extraordinaire. At the age of 95 she still flaunts her stuff, doesn’t follow trends or care about what people think.

“What’s my style is not your style, and I don’t see how you can define it. It’s something that expresses who you are in your own way.” ~ As beautifully quoted by the legendary Iris Apfel

Do you experience mum guilt and how do you tackle that?
I think most mums feel a bout of mum guilt every now and then.  Like most mums, time management is the biggest struggle. My youngest is now in pre-school full time, so I get more time during the day to work on client spaces before I run out the door at 2.30pm for school pick up. They have my full attention from 2.30pm until the magical hour of their bedtime. I’m more of a morning person, so if I know that I have a deadline, I’d much prefer to get up before the crack of dawn and tackle my work.

If you could sum up your day in three words what would those words be? Challenging, rewarding, exhausting.

What does your workstation look like?
Well, I’m a bit of a clean freak, so everything is hidden. Even though I have a dedicated workspace, if the kids are home then I tend to work from my dining table.

Give me your best kid distraction strategy:
Having arts and crafts on hand, and lots of it. I have pre-packed bags of crayons, pencils, stickers, bead making kits and colouring books ready at all times.  If the girls are home for school holidays, then I take them out in the morning and exhaust them. Then at home I give them creative projects to work on such as painting, creating objects out of beads etc. This always kills an hour or two and will allow me to get some work done.

What are you most proud of achieving biz wise?
My business took off very quickly. Within the first month I had my first client and it snowballed from then. I have been very lucky and feel very fortunate that my little business has done so well.

What are your big goals for the next 12 months?
I’ve had wonderful clients in both Singapore and in Australia, and now I am going to look at taking on New York. Well, a part of it.

As my husband is here on secondment, I am also going to concentrate more on the Aussie market, as I know that it is highly likely that our next stop will be back to Australia. I’ve always supported Aussie brands in all of my projects, so it will be nice to have even greater access to these.

EXCLUSIVE READER ONLY EASTER OFFER!

For Easter, Melisa is offering her e-design services for just $200. That’s 50% off!!! Bookings must be made by the end of April 2017, so get in touch with Melisa at info@melisawhiteinteriors.com to organise yours.

www.melisawhiteinteriors.com