Hello, my name is Allan Warrick and I have been an interior designer since the ’80s, with a portfolio that includes homes of the famous and big corporate buildings. I want to share my journey to become eco-friendlier in my job as a designer.
When I first started to do odd jobs, the sustainability trend was far from starting and nobody cared what materials were used for making their spaces look fabulous. I made a name for myself quickly, thanks to my creativity and the space solutions I provided for all kinds of customers.
Eventually, I started hearing about global warming, now climate change, and how it affects everything I loved. I gave some thought to the materials I used and the manufacturing processes that made them available for me and my customers.
Slowly but surely, I realized that some changes needed to be made in my way of life and work.
I got together with a dear friend of mine who was also a vegetarian and had always been worried about the planet we call home. She filled me in on some rather original if extravagant, ideas for decorating and building with recycled materials.
By then, my customer portfolio was filled with people that favoured elegance and style.
Although I knew the ideas, she was giving me could never be done with my costumers, they were excellent sparks to light the fuel of more refined ideas of my own. I looked into the best woods to use without varnish and created designs that would look classy and sophisticated like my line of work demanded.
I shifted my whole way of work to fit sustainable materials and building design itself, making sure both quality and looks were not compromised. This gave me a unique opportunity to raise awareness of the unnecessary wasteful habits we all have as human beings.
Once people saw my designs and fell in love with them, I would tell them all about how the materials used were sustainable, recycled, or lacked harmful additives. Thus, I am proud to say most of my customers went eco-friendly with me and we have been together on the journey ever since.
I share this story because I believe it is about time, we all woke up and started being more conscious of our bad habits and how we can modify them without having to be miserable.
