Celia Sawyer

INTERVIEW WITH

CELIA SAWYER

Celia Sawyer is a true inspiration as a woman, entrepreneur, and interior designer. Having the opportunity to inspire the world with her architectural and interior design projects, CovetED Magazine had the wonderful opportunity to get an exclusive interview with the designer, getting a more intimate approach to her own experience and inspirations. She started years ago with a business in Photography, where she was an agent for new up-and-coming photographers which she went into because she was always interested in art and photography as a young girl. Being very good at art at school and doing something that was creative for a business was essential

to her. Once she had saved up enough money, Celia went on to buy a property in London which she ended up refurbishing and adding another floor. “It was my first design project and was very exciting” she added. Once finished, people came to see it and then asked Celia to work on their projects, and from then on she built up a clientele that just kept growing and growing. “They seemed to love what I did! I founded my interiors company after this which has now been going for over 20 years.” Celia proudly said. When asked about the thing she loved the most about her work, Celia affirmed that she loved the fact that she gets to travel so much to places of different cultures and get to meet such interesting people, and feels fulfilled when a client loves her work and what she

created for them. Being a true inspiration not only for young women but for every young people who dare to dream a little higher, Celia added that it isn’t easy being a woman in business and that is generally a man’s world, however, it didn’t put her off. “You just have to use your feminine charms and learn how to deal with men, a bit like being a parent, learning to deal with children!!!” Her work path has been very inspirational, but Celia has not achieved everything she wanted in life, “I have many dreams and once I achieve one, I create another one so that life is never boring.”. She built such an influential name for herself by overcoming some obstacles in her career. From time management issues with the project in the Caribbean with the project manager to the early days and the credit crunch. “In these times you can become desperate and start to think of diversifying and changing your level of clientele, however, I got through it, even though it was a leaner patch, and I am so glad I kept working with the same level of client, it is easy to make the wrong decisions when things get tough, so I am grateful that I stuck with my gut feeling,” Celia explained. Her clients and audience are very important elements not only for Celia’s business but for her personally, not advertising in a commercial form, but generating business from being professional, and giving the client more than they dreamed of, on a budget and on time. Currently working on a beach house and some luxury apartments in the Caribbean, which proved to be a challenge because of the size of the island, and shipping becomes a struggle. Celia has won countless awards, like Woman of the Year in 2013, Top 100 Most Influential British Entrepreneurs, and Top 250 Most Powerful Women Leaders, which she ensured was a persistent and perseverance that allowed her to become so successful.

“It is persistence for sure, you just cannot give up and nothing is easy otherwise everyone else would be doing it if it was, but you need to believe in yourself and listen to wise people around you and of course work very hard.” she said. Celia Sawyer Her clientele and client type os high net worth clients, that look for great quality and efficiency. They do not mind spending money on great items and something very unique. Her audience is found all over the world, allowing Celia to work in very different environments. And by speaking of audience, Celia has achieved somewhat of a TV personality status, working in exciting collaborations with Channel 4, BBC1, Netflix, and many more to come even from the USA, so CovetED will definitely keep an eye out for more interesting collaborations.

“IT IS PERSISTENCE FOR SURE, YOU JUST CANNOT GIVE UP AND NOTHING IS EASY OTHERWISE EVERYONE ELSE WOULD BE DOING IT IF IT WAS, BUT YOU NEED TO BELIEVE IN YOURSELF AND LISTEN TO WISE PEOPLE AROUND YOU AND OF COURSE WORK VERY HARD.”