Amanda is a dear friend of ours, and we have not only worked together, (you might remember Hiro her little tan sausage dog from our Paddington Studio), but travelled and explored together. Amanda is both Arran and my go to for creative inspiration, as she scours the world searching for ideas and how to translate them. You likely know her design work from her beautiful Merivale fit outs, or from her two incredible books Rethink and Happy. She’s a phenomenal human and her curiosity is utterly infectious.
We asked Amanda to curate this Weekend Edition, so you can have insight into her marvellous world. We’ll continue to have guests curate the Weekend Edition as we go, would love your feedback on what you love about the Editions as we go.
Image from Happy : Creating Joyous Living Spaces Through Design by Amanda Talbot
“I am an interior designer, design thinker
Our world is radically changing and as a designer and as a human we have to adjust dramatically and quickly. We are facing climate genocide, food and water shortages, economic breakdowns, wars, advancement in technology and an epidemic of loneliness. We need to come up with housing for just under 70 million people who are displaced across the globe and this number is growing, we need to collectively come together and fight this. We need to come up with real solutions.
The future for my studio, Studio Snoop, is to create spaces for people to let them know that their opportunities in life have not passed them and their journey has just begun. I want those who have come from war zones, lived rough on the street, suffered trauma, disability or deep loneliness know they can own their own home that does not impact the environment and be surrounded in a strong community. I’m working up this model and I know it is possible.
My goal is to design environments that will allow a person from any background, trauma or grief to know the minute they walk through the door of one of our spaces they will succeed and know they belong. I believe all housing, institutions need meaningful design practices combined with strong environmental and social design. There is
Studio Snoop’s foundation in design is to design places that gives every person a sense of dignity, a place to be free to express themselves and will help them open up to their passion, dreams and desires feeling secure they have a permanent home and community. I’ve gone back to the books studying social entrepreneurship through Oxford University to have better impact in future housing globally. I want to gain the ability to empower disadvantaged community members to create social change and whilst doing that develop my own skills to ‘be the change I wish to see in the world’. Gandhi. I’m also dedicating time to visit refugee camps across the world and communities who are currently marked to suffer greatly through climate change to get a true understanding what is important to those living in such helpless and dire situations. I don’t think we can help others if we don’t experience and listen deeply what they are living through. How do we help if we don’t truly understand? Another thing I would love to do is design the future school. There are great people changing the education model and I think with this huge shift we need to relook at schools and provide environments to suit.
When we are present, open and curious about each other we can create the most epic environments that are good for us and the planet. When we are conscious of the world, the universe and except all things are one I believe we will collectively share ‘the self-transcendence of human existence’. “The true meaning of life is to be discovered in the world rather than within man or his own psyche, as though it were a closed system” Victor E. Frankl. We need to dig much deeper than focusing just on our individual consciousness. I believe to have a fighting chance we need to have a Collective consciousness for our future.
READ
We recommended this book to Amanda for years, and
The book that I love, Making the Impossible Possible by Bill Strickland.
WATCH/LISTEN
I apologise this is recommending or promoting a computer game but the words from Alan Watts are truly beautiful and I know Jac and Arran love it too
LEARN
Read this wonderful book for education on the human spirit Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl
EXPERIENCE
A humanitarian training course through Red R Australia
EAT
It didn’t give me the answers to the meaning of life but god damn it was of the best meals I had this year. Thanks Jac’s and Arran for taking me there The Buckwheat noodle place in Tokyo which is also in their Tokyo Exploration Manual
A good friend of mine who is creating real impact in the education world, Colin Mansell, from RED Academy wrote to me recently with some guidance “It’s a really rewarding thing once you have found your calling. We each have a part to play”. On that note I leave you with the words from my hero Bill Strickland “An authentic life is not something we pursue, it’s something that must be created out of passion and values that matter to us each and every day. Now is the only solid reality you can count on. Now is when you build a future that matters.” Here is to finding your passion and purpose.
You can find Amanda here on Instagram and here on her site or email her at amanda@studiosnoop.com