Gemona West advocates partnership in Nigeria’s interior design industry
The interior designs industry in Nigeria must brace up to the need for collaboration in order to drive growth for the sector and create more value for all stakeholders.
The Creative Director of the International award winning design firm Gemona West Interiors, Deise Smith, made the above demand at the BluePrint Conference 2019 which held recently in Lagos. She was one of the panelists at the conference with the theme: “Collaboration within the interior design industry”.
According to the company boss, her organisation is open to the idea of partnering with both vendors and other interior design companies in Nigeria as long as they share in the culture and value of the firm. Interestingly, one of such collaboration took place between Gemona West Interior Designs and Woodstyle Limited, a Lagos based bespoke joinery and cabinetry manufacturer.
“Working with Woodstyle was such a great experience, because it showed how we can actually help each other to achieve great things. It is excellent to collaborate not just with vendors but with other interior designers, because you have more access to ideas and other types of projects,” she said.Speaking further, she sai: “WoodStyles actually invited us to the pitch. We were involved from the beginning. The client knew that Gemona West was the one putting the design together and Woodstyles will be the one to executing. We were involved throughout the project, and the client was extremely happy at the end of the day.”Gemona West has also recently been approached by an architectural firm to collaborate on another project. “They came with the shell and we helped the client to decide the finishing that they want, the layout of the wall all the way to the furniture,” Smith said.
Though relatively new in the industry, Gemona West has become a benchmark for cutting edge and innovative service offerings among its peers. The company provides the highest quality interior design consultation for discerning, quality-conscious clients that seek assistance in their design choices for their primary residences, and businesses.
Last year, Gemona West won the prestigious African Property Awards for the Office Interior Category, Africa. It won the prize through its eTranzact office project.
Though the interior design industry in Nigeria is relatively new to collaboration, Gemona West already established a strong track record of partnering with other companies, including sometimes competitors to execute clients’ jobs.
Photo caption – L-R: Deise Smith, Co-founder & Creative Director, Gemona West Interiors; Jennifer Chukwujekwe, Founder Jenniez School of African Interior Design; and Naomi Smith, Co- founder & Commercial Director during the Blueprint Conference 2019, held in Lagos, at Oriental Hotel, Victoria Island Lagos at the weekend.
RECOMMENDED ARTICLES
Comment
No comments found.