June 07, 2011
STYLIST SARAH ELLISON
Sarah Ellison has had the best training a stylist can hope for. She started out assisting, to some of the Australian industry's best - Glen Proebstel and Kirsten Bookallil. Since going out on her own she has become the staff stylist for real living magazine, a job that has seen her create many best-selling covers. While Sarah started out studying fashion, it was when she worked part-time as a visual merchandiser for a leading Sydney homewares store that she discovered her calling.
Sarah will be one of the stylists on hand (along with Kirsten Bookallil and Lara Hutton) to share her experiences and knowledge of How to become an interior stylist at the Daily Imprint How to live a creative life series of workshops to be held at Apple, Bondi starting on Thursday 4 July. More details to come.
Which five words best describe you? Emotional, grateful, creative, loving, passionate.
How did you get your career start and what path have you taken since? I always knew I wanted to do something creative with my career and studied fashion design at East Sydney Tafe. Whilst studying I worked at Empire Homewares as a visual merchandiser. Looking back this is really where my career began as this is where my love of interiors and design started and my path to interior styling led from there.
What’s the best lesson you’ve learnt along the way? That if you work hard enough, everything you want will eventually come your way. It just takes longer than you want sometimes!
What’s your proudest career achievement? Being offered the position at real living magazine; it's hard work but I love it!
What’s been your best decision? To give up my pursuits in fashion design and move toward interiors. It's a tough industry and I was always feeling disappointed that it wasn't going anywhere for me. Once I finally let go and changed my path a whole new set of doors opened.
Who inspires you? Originally, my family. My mother is the "original" stylist, always changing the colour of the house, re-doing old furniture, sewing and making cushions. My dad always bought home a great selection of magazines: National Geographic, Rolling Stone, Vanity Fair... it was no accident that I became an interior mag stylist! I'm also inspired by graphic design, fashion and photography. I draw a lot of inspiration from the blog community - so good for instant visual inspiration.
What are you passionate about? Whatever I'm involved in at the time. I find it hard to be interested in something unless I'm passionate about it.
Which person, living or dead, would you most like to meet? Vivienne Westwood.
What dream do you still want to fulfil? This might sound daggy but my dreams are pretty humble. I'm still renting so I'd love to own my own place, preferably by the beach and always be surrounded by my beautiful friends and family, continuing to be creative in whatever form that may take. I'd like to travel a lot more too.
What are you reading? Right now nothing. I'm not in the right head space, I use any spare "reading" time to literally inhale magazines.
images courtesy of sarah ellison, real living magazine, katie quinn davies (mad hatter), maree homer (lamps and rug) and chris warnes (portrait)