ISCD Graduates on Study + How to Crack into the Interiors Industry

Having studied design and interior styling at ISCD a few years ago, I often get people asking me what it was like and if they should enrol there. Today’s post aims to help you make the decision – and I’ve brought in a few of my fellow ISCD graduates to give you their take on studying too.

I’ve been very open about my journey to becoming a working blogger, interior stylist, presenter and author. In the few short years since I started TLC Interiors, I’ve been fortunate enough to see a lot of my hard work pay off.

It’s not a bragging exercise, of course, but more of a ‘If I can do it, you can too’ situation. There have been hurdles along the way, but I can safely say that it is all 100% worth it. To be running a business with four different pillars and income streams, all as successful as one another, is a dream come true – and I know it can happen for you too!

So if you’ve been tinkering with the idea of studying, and you don’t know if you should do it, or if ISCD or another school is the one for you, below you’ll hear from not only myself, but two of my friends and fellow ISCD graduates, to get a feel for what they’re doing now that the study is over with.

I hope this gives you a bit of insight into studying and life after school, and I invite you to drop a comment at the end of the post and ask any questions of us that you might have.

ISCD Students’ Advice about Studying

Chris’ Story
“Listen to your gut. If it excites you, enrol there!”

Since graduating from ISCD, I have presented decorating segments on The Morning Show, worked with Inside Out and Temple & Webster, styled campaigns for Feast Watson, Lorraine Lea and Jim’s Interiors, plus worked with residential clients on interior design projects. I also run this blog full-time, authored this book and am a presenter and MC with Metricon Homes.

I had a burning desire to be an interior decorator for quite some time. The thought of doing home makeovers for people excited me to no end, and after years of working as a copy writer and sub editor for a daily deals website, I was eager to try something new.

I saw an ad for ISCD in one of the interiors mags back in 2013 and called them up to see if I could come chat with them. I didn’t go to a group open day, but instead met with their student advisor one-on-one. I told her that I’d just started a design blog, wanted to learn more about interior styling, and work as a decorator alongside running the blog full time. That was the dream anyway, and she told me that I’d learn what I needed at ISCD in order to make it happen.

I walked out of ISCD that day and called my partner immediately. I was so inspired and excited by the conversation I’d had, that I was desperate to enrol. A month or so later, I started my Cert IV in design. Once that 8-month course was complete, I went on to do the one-year diploma in interior styling.

“You have to be unashamedly forward and ask people for the help. The rest comes to you from there”.

The question I know you’re wondering is, but should I enrol there? It’s actually impossible for me to answer that, because I believe that every single person is different and has different wants and needs. I was so smitten with ISCD that I didn’t even look into any other design schools. I had found the one first go, locked it in, and went for it.

I think what you need to do is listen to your gut when it comes to exactly where you should study. Go meet with a student advisor, go to an open day, tour the campus. If you get those butterflies that I did, then go with that school. The question of ‘should you study’… that’s easy to answer: yes, yes, 100 times yes. No education is ever wasted, and the very process of going on such a creative journey will open up possibilities for you that you never knew existed.

The one thing I do want to say though, is that the school doesn’t give you a job. No school will. It takes a lot of motivation and persistence to make it in any new industry, but it is possible and you can do it. You just have to go out guns blazing once you graduate and make it happen!

For me, I was fortunate enough to have had the blog behind me when I graduated. People in the industry were already getting to know me and my brand. But I approached Temple & Webster to come in and style with them. I asked Greenhouse Interiors if I could do assistant stylingwith them. I asked Inside Out to put me in the magazine. I approached The Morning Show and pitched them segment ideas. You have to be unashamedly forward and ask people for the help. The rest comes to you from there.

Jessi’s Story
“The hard work comes after you’ve left the classroom”

After studying a Cert IV in design at ISCD, Jessi went on to study a year-long diploma in interior styling, operates her own successful business, Dreamcatcher Designs, and also works full-time in property staging and styling.

Jessi and I went through ISCD’s Cert IV course together and have been friends ever since. Jessi tells me that initially, she wasn’t entirely sure of the career she wanted to get post-study, but that it instead developed along the way.

“I didn’t even have a clear understanding of the variety of work that was even out there in the interiors field when I began my studies,” she says. “I just knew I was interested in interiors and design and thought an education was a good place to start, and the rest would unfold naturally along the way – which it did, thankfully!”.

Jessi echoes my sentiments that where you study isn’t as important as what you do once you leave. She tells me that she undertook a lot of internships toward the end of her interior styling diploma, and then spent a further six months post-study completing even more.

“I worked hard at them and although they were all unpaid financially, my wealth of knowledge and confidence was growing and that to me was invaluable! I did also start my own business, Dreamcatcher Designs, during my second year of study. It happened quite unexpectedly through the interest of friends and family, and just grew organically from there”.

I’ve got a lot of admiration for Jessi because she really has put in the hard yards, and a lot of those yards were unpaid. She’s worked with some fantastic brands and stylists over the past few years, and she reiterates that the hard work really does begin once you leave the classroom.

“Almost everyone who studies graduates at the end of the course but not everyone goes on to be successful in the industry. It requires a lot more than a couple of years of study to secure or build your dream job. Even once you have broken into the industry, you still have to constantly be evolving and growing within your creative field to nurture your success”.

Jessi’s Advice:

“If you are unsure about study, I would suggest trying to secure an internship or work experience in the field you are most interested in to get a taste before investing big time and money into an education. You may be blessed enough to have that internship lead straight to a job or it may at least confirm for you that this is the path you want to follow and that enrolling in a school is the right move for you!”.

Martine’s Story
“I enjoy my work so much now, sometimes I feel guilty”

Martine studied a Cert IV in design at ISCD, followed by a diploma in interior styling, and then a diploma in interior design and decorating. She was not only a finalist in the coveted Inside Out/Designer Rug design awards, but she’s gone on to operate a very bustling interior design business, Love Your Space.

Martine knew that she wanted to work in the interiors industry, but as she went through the first few years of her journey, she realised that she also wanted to have a strong grasp on design and construction.

“I could see opportunities to improve the design of homes and this meant that I needed to gain a better understanding of construction, architecture and building requirements,” she tells me. “I now feel confident and equipped to design interiors spaces, joinery and to coordinate trades”.

I studied with Martine in my second year at ISCD, during the interior styling diploma, and I admired the way she sourced work for herself during study. She was working with clients before anyone else in the class was; a result of her drive, talent and willingness to jump in the deep end and learn on-the-go.

“After each course I would take on a small project, and each of these small projects lead to paid work and bigger opportunities,” Martine explains, of how she broke into the industry. Martine tells me that the first job she took was unpaid, but that by the end of it she had two paid gigs lined up, so it was well worth it.

Martine also explains that it’s the relationships you build along the way that can secure you a lot of your work.

“After the second course, I was contacted by a builder who asked me to help a client with selecting some finishes and with styling.  I built such a great rapport with the the builder we have gone on to do numerous projects together”.

Impressed with the links the teachers at ISCD had to the industry (they all work in it in one form or another), Martine says that so many doors open once you graduate, and that you need to figure out what aspects of the course you were best at, and where it can then take you.

Martine’s Advice:

“After years in a corporate organisation where I was being handsomely rewarded with a good salary and good flexibility – I was nervous to make the change.  I can honestly say its the best thing I have ever done  – I enjoy my work so much now, sometimes I feel guilty!

Start with a short course – this will help you to understand the opportunities for work and study and whether its for you”.

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Jessi’s photo courtesy of Citizens of Style.