1. What inspired you to pursue your career?

 

Back in the day when I was in high school my student councillor asked me what I wanted to be and my answer was 'a wedding planner' and this answer came off of the movie that was new at the time 'The Wedding Planner' with J.Lo, so you could say that inspired me! His response was soul destroying to me as he said it wasn't a real job and advised me to study business. I spent weeks trying to find a university offering a wedding planner degree and as you can imagine I didn't get very far. I then realised that I could study Interior Architecture and then later decide which direction I would take it in. As soon as I graduated I moved to Dubai I started work as an Interior Design company and stuck to my path... so wedding planner never happened :)

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2. What is the best part about your job? 

 

I love meeting new clients and hearing their ideas on what they would love their home to look like. I've been fortunate enough that we have more or less always shared similar taste and ideas. By the end of the project we always feel like we've known each other forever and always keep in touch.

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3. What difficulties have you endured to get to where you are today?

 

In 2009 when the recession hit Dubai the interior design world kind of took a step back. Projects were being cancelled or delayed and it was extremely difficult to find work. I had to change career paths at the time and ended up managing radio, tv and music personalities for a couple of years with Marwan DJ Bliss, who taught me and guided me to start my YouTube channel today. I then went on to work with my husband in their family business, K.Lynn Lingerie, which was probably the best work experience I'd had and learnt an unbelievable amount about retail and the wholesale business. Even though both jobs were not Interior related they truly helped me develop my Interior TakeOver brand which I started a year and a half ago.

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4. What are your plans for the future? 

 

The plan is to grow my team, as of now I've been working on my own as I have a difficult time delegating which is something I'm now working on. There are a couple of plans in the pipe line which do require for me to have more members on the Interior TakeOver team so the next step is to properly plan it out and not rush it.

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5. What advice do you have for women across Dubai who are in pursuit of their dreams? 

 

I had wanted to get back to interiors for years but just wanted to do it on my own and the fear I had of making that step delayed that decision for too long. When I finally found the courage to do it, it felt so liberating and realized it wasn't scary at all and truly wish I had done it sooner. So my advice... don't wait to start your dreams as you'll look back and wish you had started them sooner!

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6. If you were stranded on a desert island for a week, what (or who) would you want to take along with you? 

 

To stick to my interior path and without mentioning the obvious of 'my family' I'd probably take Martyn Lawrence Bullard. I had the honor of interviewing him earlier this year and I could have listened to his stories and advice for hours!

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