Johanna Griggs is the undeniable darling of Australian TV (and a busy woman, I might add). Not only does she host Better Homes & Gardens, she also heads up one of my fave shows, House Rules, and carries out a slew of radio and other TV work. In this interview, I delve into what inspires her creatively, where she goes to recharge and her addiction to homewares store Temple & Webster!
When are you at your most creative?
“When I’m under pressure. Whenever I have a deadline, I’m very gifted at procrastinating and then right at the last minute getting things done. I think it’s why I love live TV so much. The pressure is there all the time. It’s a thrill when you get it right and a driving force to improve yourself when you don’t”.
Who is the most creative person you know?
“I’m surrounded by so many creative people that I’m a bit spoilt for choice. From the make up artists I’m lucky enough to work with who all see different things in the face they make up and have a range of different tips and tricks to highlight what they see, my cameraman who can see beauty and capture the images even in places where at first glance you think that might be a struggle to achieve, researchers who think up clever story ideas, the editors who polish the stories up to make them look and sound fabulous, the producers who have the vision of how a whole episode of BHG comes together like a jigsaw, to the promo people that come up with the clever ways to promote them, to the BHG Magazine team who fill their pages with stunning pictures and information that ties in perfectly… pretty much everywhere I look at work I’m surrounded by creative people. At home, I think my husband is brilliant as the vision he has when he is renovating or building a place is incredible. I’m constantly in awe of him and love working alongside of him to see how he does things”.
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What’s your most creative destination?
“For me – it’s heading to the bush. We have a farm about an hour and a half out of Sydney and I find when I’m there I’m able to instantly clear my mind and organise my thoughts. I used to achieve that when I was swimming in pool, doing laps as a teenager. I’d be able to organise my whole week, now I find when I’m surrounded by nature I’m at my most peaceful, my most productive as far as ideas, and it’s even inspired me to start painting on the odd occasion”.
What’s your best creation or creative moment to date?
“I’d say in the designing phase of our most recent home that we built from scratch, and pulling all the ideas together, some of which took a while to convince my husband of, but when they all came together we both stood back and went, ‘Wow, that actually turned out better than either of us could have hoped for.’ That and any time I’m creating menus for entertaining. I absolutely love doing that”.
What’s your fave creative read?
“I’m an absolute sucker for cookbooks and architecture books and Mags. I have subscriptions to Delicious, Donna Hay, Better Homes and Gardens, Home Beautiful and never miss buying Houses and any other mags that relate to homes / home design that I can get my hands onto”.
What music makes you feel creative?
“I’d be classified as a lover of easy listing type music!”.
What’s your one creative must-have at home or the office?
“I have to block out as much noise and distraction as I can and just lose myself in the moment, as usually I’ve left it to the last minute and can’t afford to lose any more time”.
What creative item are you lusting over at the moment?
“I’m addicted to Temple and Webster’s website. It’s a killer as there is something I aspire to have every day. That and my new iPad. I actually think I’m in love with it!”.
What inspires you to get Creative?
“The beautiful homes I’m lucky enough to go through almost every week for work, and the chefs I’m lucky enough to work with regularly”.
What’s one creative endeavour you’d like to try or pursue?
“I think I’d like to look more seriously into interior design or paint more often”.
Image Credits for this post: Image one of Johanna courtesy of novafm.com.au. Image of BH&G team courtesy of thebeast.com.au
Great interview…
Thanks for sharing Chris. So excited to hear that Joh is a fan!