Meet Studio Denim's
Founder Amelia Heggie

Founder & Interior Designer

Known for her love of the eccentric with a touch of classical influence, we delve into the mind of Studio Denim’s founder Amelia Heggie to understand why her passion for interior design is far more than just a project or a career.

We discover how Amelia’s ever-evolving quest & relentless passion for her craft led her to collaborate with progressive branding agency, Fable&Co, in developing a compelling visual identity that truly reflected her values, purpose & existence; thoughtful interior design that benefit people’s lives in some way for the better.

Talk to us about your journey into interior design. How did you get to where you are today & what influenced you along the way?

Interior design started for me at a young age, to overcome my homesickness at boarding school – I transformed my bedroom to make it more homely. I was soon gainfully employed to do my friend’s rooms, payment was sweets back in those days.

My budget could only stretch to old sarongs, plants and magazine cut-outs but it ignited my passion for design.

My passion for design started at twelve.

I then went onto study History of art at Edinburgh university, this was short lived as I wanted to pursue my true love, interior design.

University was not for me.

I completed a diploma course in design at KLC and started working for a company called Northacre property, focusing on large residential projects.

I went on to work for a company called Geronimo Inns, helping design London gastro pubs. I spent 5 years here before setting up my own studio.

Talk us through your process. Once you’ve digested the brief, how do you approach each project?

The first stage is conceptual, I always take into account the area, the history of the building, the architecture and most importantly the client brief.

Each client and project is unique

As part of the design process I like to draw inspiration from a theme as a starting point. Whether it be an existing painting or a treasured piece of furniture.

My ethos of creating timeless, hardwearing and feel good interiors never changes.

My ethos and core values never change but you have to adapt to the individual project and client. Other key considerations in the design stage are environment and craftsmanship.

How would you define your style?

A mix of old and new, of contemporary with vintage pieces to bring a story together.

I favour simple and practical design and the beauty comes from the delicate detailing and the use of different materials to add texture and tone to a space.

Interiors with soul.

I want the interiors I design to be places with soul that tell a story. Static interiors can be dull so I try and keep the design fairly organic. Interiors should develop over time and have room to grow.

I try to create the element of surprise, I think it is important to add some humour to a scheme. I recently installed an oversized motif wallpaper to a small space giving an “Alice in Wonderland” look.

What is it about interior design that gets you out of bed in the morning?

I know it sounds corny but I live to work not work to live. I think that combining creative fulfilment with making a living is what works for me. Everything falls into place when you are around things that make you happy.

Creating lifestyles

In this highly digital age we live in there is more of a need for interiors to focus on well being. I want to pay homage to the past, a time when it wasn’t all about smart phones. The new move is “nunchi”, a traditional Korean concept of situational awareness. I definitely want to design spaces that improve your way of life by allowing one to be less self absorbed.

Last but by no means least there is a need to design consciously, and ethically and this certainly gets me out of bed every day.

Talk to us through your new brand identity – the journey & how you found working with Branding Agency Fable&Co?

The journey started with the need for the brand to be reflective of my design ethos and interiors. I wanted something simple but with deep meaning and not perfectly polished.

Fable&Co were the optimal fit as they understood the brief so well and delivered a concept that exceeded my expectations on every level.

The brand identity is in line with my ideals, a need for workplaces and homes to become soothing environments and more human-centric.

The space between the word mark Studio and denim denotes the blank canvas from which to draw inspiration and Studio denim’s confidence of space.

The editorial style that was adopted for the text and imagery really reflects my belief that interiors should not be static and should develop organically.

The combination of textured finishes apparent in the brand works cohesively with my interior language.

Each individual at Fable&Co is hugely creative and collectively they helped achieve my dream.

They have a great skill in working collaboratively which really means that the client benefits. I loved working with Fable&Co and look forward to doing so again.

This Could be the Start of Something Beautiful