UCOL Diploma in Interior Design student Louise Hammond’s complete change of career path appears to have paid off when she won the Rising Star Student Colour Maestro Award at the 2017 Resene Total Colours Awards.
Up against architectural and interior design students from around the country, Louise was placed second in the category with her entry Havelock North Harmony.
The 27 year old’s decision to forego her Bachelor of Business Studies (VPM) and previous work experience in Property Valuation to follow her creative heart, was not taken lightly. “I wasn’t getting the job satisfaction I had hoped for,” she says. “With a lot of encouragement from my fiancé Chris and my family, I decided to retrain in an industry that really interests me.”
“I’ve always been creative, it’s always been there – it has just taken a little while for me to get to this point.”
Louise has made a great personal sacrifice to follow her design dream. In between commuting in the weekends to see Chris at their home in Wellington, she has been ‘flatting’ with her parents in Marton for the year long Interior Design programme.
The annual
Resene Total Colour Awards were established to encourage and celebrate excellent and creative use of colour; to showcase striking colour palettes and combinations, and provide fresh inspiration.
Twenty-six colourful, creative projects were celebrated at the Resene Total Colour Awards this year and Louise was flown to Auckland, courtesy of Resene, for the presentation evening.
“I was amazed to be part of the night,” she says. “It was really encouraging to get that recognition. It has given me great confidence as I move ahead in my new career.”
UCOL Interior Design lecturer Janine Fenelon says Louise is a very committed and driven student. “Louise took advantage of this opportunity to really express herself with colour.”
Janine designs the Interior Design Practice assignments with the Resene Awards in mind. “The students complete an interior and an exterior assignment as part of their programme. The assignments are such that they can be entered directly into competitions, and the students get to compete on a national platform.”
At the conclusion of her studies, Louise is keen to return to Wellington and get a variety of work experience under her belt.
She is yet to decide on a specialist area of Interior Design, but already knows that at last, she is on the right path.
The Resene Total Colour Award judges’ comments about Louise’s design…
“Creating a colour palette for a mixed neighbourhood, each family with its own intricate back story, requires the ability to truly hone into what is important to each homeowner and design a colour palette to suit their lifestyle, their personalities and their home. The colour schemes also need to work in harmony with each other. This project has achieved both and is a careful and in depth exploration of colour, beautifully presented.”