November 18, 2015
STYLIST TAMMY NATHAN
Tammy Nathan has managed to find herself at the right place at the right time twice in her styling career. About six years ago she made the leap from working in the fashion industry to starting a property styling business - Styling Properties. It is a Melbourne-based business that has grown every year. “Working in people’s homes every day made me realise that many of my clients loved beautiful style but most of them did not know how to pull a look together,” Tammy says. After two years of development, she launched Nathan + Jac alongside Jac Zarkovic, above left, and Bec Astrinakis, above centre. Together they create limited-edition capsule collections of handpicked furniture and homewares for cohesive looks. Tammy was born in Auckland, New Zealand, but has lived most of her life in Melbourne. After an initial start in the corporate world, she worked in fashion for seven years before switching across to interiors.
Which five words best describe you? Tenacious, ambitious, loyal, creative, committed - but not necessarily in that order.
How did you get your career start and what path have you taken since? My leap into interiors came through property styling. I started styling properties around six years ago after developing great contacts in the real estate industry. It is still a really successful business that grows from strength to strength every year.
What’s the best lesson you’ve learnt along the way? Don’t burn bridges, you never know what the future has in store for you or your business. Treat suppliers with respect and your clients like gold, they are your life blood.
What’s your proudest career achievement? The launch of Nathan + Jac was a dream come true for us. Seeing it come together was surreal.
What’s been your best decision? Keeping Styling Properties as a family business. We had the opportunity to expand and take on another business partner but made the strategic decision to maintain creative control and control our growth.
Who inspires you? So many people. Where do I start? Fashion icons Carine Roitfeld, Karl Lagerfeld, Olivier Rousteing. Interiors: too many to name.
What are you passionate about? Interiors, food, fashion but, again, not necessarily in that order.
Which person, living or dead, would you most like to meet? Barack Obama - I’m a sucker for anyone charismatic.
What dream do you still want to fulfil? I would love to see Nathan + Jac selling successfully internationally.
What are you reading? How I would love to have the time to read. Right now I am happy just to get through my daily emails.
images courtesy of nathan + jac
