Why and How I Became an Interior Designer – Chapter 1
Why and how I became an interior designer – Chapter 1
Origin stories are often the most interesting and illuminating.
In this edition of The Interior Dispatch, we shed light on the professional origins and motivations of two CMID creative team members – the studio’s founder and creative director Charlotte Minty, and interior designer Emilia Brown.
Here we look at two designers at either end of the career spectrum – one who is highly experienced and one who is early in her chosen profession.
In surveying their respective paths, the reader might understand more about the nature of the discipline – which is often misunderstood – and how CMID thinks about interior design.
And for the aspiring interior designer, Charlotte and Emilia’s respective origin stories might serve as useful career guidance.
Let us begin with CMID’s founder, with Emilia’s chapter to follow.
Charlotte at the launch of CMID in 2003
“Recognising the human value of interior design is something I have felt strongly throughout my career. This is the beating heart of CMID.”
Charlotte’s web
Charlotte’s professional journey is interlaced with many influences and opportunities. Yet, it is plausible to think that Charlotte’s career was predestined.
Born to an architect father and a highly creative mother, Charlotte’s sister and brother have both forged impressive careers in the architecture industry. Design runs deep in the Minty household, and past Dad-led Sunday drives to architectural and building locations of interest are etched in the family history.
Even so, it was skiing that had the greatest pull for Charlotte early on. Though she gravitated towards the creative subjects during her final years at Queen Margaret’s College in Wellington, the lure of the slopes was too enticing for Charlotte.
“On leaving school, I wanted to ski full-time in the US and New Zealand to see where that took me,” she says.
Her parents, however, mildly suggested that she think about applying to the one program she confessed an interest in. So, Charlotte applied to the new Bachelor of Design program jointly run by Victoria University of Wellington and Wellington Polytechnic. It was a tough program to get into, but Charlotte was accepted, and skis were subsequently put on ice.
At VUW’s new School of Architecture, Charlotte harboured an initial interest in photography and only really set her sights on interior design after the intervention of a respected professor.
“She urged me to focus on interiors because she believed that I saw things best three-dimensionally,” Charlotte tells The Interior Dispatch.
With a degree in interior architecture and design in hand, Charlotte quickly found short-term contract work with two prominent Wellington architecture firms – Athfield Architects and Studio Pacific.
According to Charlotte, interior architecture and interior design were still not really considered mainstream practices back then.
“Architects did not really know how to deploy interior designers – their industry was still learning about our work,” she says.
“I had initially thought I had simply fallen into the family design tradition. Yet as I reflected on my work here and abroad, I understood that interior design was my true calling and I wanted to do it on my own.”
Charlotte soon left for London to seek new professional experiences – the kind she could not readily find in New Zealand. There she quickly met a design hero, and through a series of connections eventually landed a magazine styling job with interior stylist, Atlanta Bartlett followed by another with interior and furniture designer Sasha Waddell, who specialises in Gustavian Swedish style.
“I was exposed to a variety of interior design in London and learned a great deal. But it was tough at times. I was fortunate to be introduced to the right people, and what helped me secure those roles were the academic and professional credentials I developed in Wellington,” she says
“My tip for getting interior design work overseas, often in larger and more diversified markets than New Zealand, is to be specific about which studios you want to want for. I say this because I did not really target roles in London and if I knew better back then, I would have been more specific in my job search. In big markets like London, I suggest doing your research and selecting wisely because you will invariably do better if you do work you really want to do.”
Returning to Wellington in 2001, Charlotte wished for change. And for the next two years, she worked as the Wellington visual merchandise manager at fashion retailer, Country Road. Though the role strengthened Charlotte’s visual design skills, the allure of interior design proved too strong.
“In large part, it's the scope of the work and the prospect of improving the lives of others that appeals most. From employing technical skills to create a master plan for an entire house to styling a room, interior design is an industry that embraces variety, and every day is different,” says Charlotte.
“I had initially thought I had simply fallen into the family design tradition. Yet as I reflected on my work here and abroad, I understood that interior design was my true calling and I wanted to do it on my own.”
Taking the reins
Charlotte started her eponymous studio, CMID, in 2003 and for 17 years operated as a sole trader.
In 2020, with CMID’s client book bulging she invited her husband [full disclosure - also this article’s author] to come on board as managing director. The following year, CMID added two more interior designers and launched an interior product business called Minty and Company.
“My work in London, for example, focussed heavily on acknowledging the history and character of dwellings during the design process. I carried this mindset back to New Zealand with me and incorporated it into CMID’s values.”
Charlotte away from the office
The sum of Charlotte’s career experience has allowed her keen insights about the trade, all of which have helped inform her own design philosophy.
“My work in London, for example, focussed heavily on acknowledging the history and character of dwellings during the design process. I carried this mindset back to New Zealand with me and incorporated it into CMID’s values,” she says.
Charlotte’s teaching of interior architecture and interior design over the years at Victoria University, Massey University, and Weltec also enabled her to delve deeper into the work in a way that supports her practice today.
Indeed, Charlotte admires interior designers who think deeply about their work. One such person is British interior design icon, Ilse Crawford – another professional hero of Charlotte’s.
“Ilse said that interior design was once seen as the ‘frilly end of the design process once the architects had finished and if there was enough money left.’ However, she correctly notes it is now often at the forefront of the process with the interior designer engaged right from the start,” explains Charlotte.
Crawford famously designs spaces aimed at improving the health and dignity of the people who occupy that space. This approach is one that especially resonates with Charlotte.
“The environmental impact of a person’s wellbeing is well documented and CMID is committed to this philosophy,” she says.
“Recognising the human value of interior design is something I have felt strongly throughout my career. This is the beating heart of CMID.”
Words: Craig Greaves