Jo grew up in Sydney, Australia and spent her whole childhood dreaming about, reading about and thinking about buildings. In 1999, Jo started a liberal studies degree majoring in geographical sciences. She left after her first year and moved to Brisbane, Queensland to study Architecture. In her final year of her undergraduate degree, she started her first architectural design company with her friend Matthew Anderson (Managing Director of the Steinlia Norway) and before graduating her first degree had 3 completed projects under her belt.
She graduated in 2003 with a Bachelor of Design Studies (the prerequisite at the time to the postgraduate architectural degree in Australia) and moved to England for two years to undertake her practical experience with a London Architect (Peter Thomas De Cruz). In that time she travelled across Europe and managed to get an amazing amount of experience working on small and large domestic projects across London.
After returning to Australia, Jo spent a few months working with architect’s in Sydney, then moved to Perth to continue her Bachelor of Architecture Degree at the University of Western Australia. She moved back to Sydney, missing the buzz of the city and decided to finish her postgraduate studies at The University of NSW in Sydney instead. She graduated with a Bachelor of Architecture in 2007 with first class honours and top of her graduating class. Her talent landed her a job with an award-winning architectural firm Collins and Turner.
In 2008, Jo moved back to the UK and spent a few months travelling and working with architects in Norway. She spent a couple of years working with an international design firm, designing hotels, convention centers, airports, villas and master planning destination cities. As she was always doing at least two things at any one time, alongside triathlons, running and travelling, Jo decided to train to become a yoga instructor and graduated as an Ashtanga yoga instructor with CYS in 2009.
In 2010, Jo set up her own business and started working as a freelance designer. She worked on a variety of projects, helping developers and architects to win contracts with her designs, doing 3D rendering and modelling, technical drawing, small-scale master planning for development sites and working on a multitude of projects from schools to churches and listed buildings.
The director of Attol Architecture And Interiors, Mark Tavener and Jo met one weekend whilst on a surfing and camping trip in Wales. She spent the next 5 years working for him and that is where her passion for interior design grew. Mark happened to also be a director of a family owned high-end joinery business, so whilst working on some of the most lucrative London projects, Jo learned all about fine joinery and luxury interior design.
Jo’s thirst for knowledge took her down a path to study a business and coaching certification program with an American Life and Business Coach Gina De Vee. The year-long coaching and business training certification program gave Jo the skills to run and sustain a lucrative business, learn about branding, sales, marketing, online marketing and e-commerce. Whilst building her architectural and interior design studio, Jo undertook her final role as an architectural designer in a corporate firm adding health care and high-density housing projects to her repertoire.
In 2017, after a having been slowly building her business on the side, she started working in her business full time. She worked with over 60 happy and paying clients in her first year after creating a low-cost, online design service which enabled her to provide interior design and architecture to a whole new market, that previously couldn’t afford a designer.
Late in 2017, Jo started mentoring interior designers, helping them start their own businesses using the same method she used to grow her business from scratch. She launched her first online, mentorship program 90 Days To A Freelance Life in March 2018 and it was a huge success. Later in 2018, Jo and her husband Darius joined forces and created The Interior Designer’s Business School.
Having worked across the world on international projects, Jo has used every program under the sun and has a secret super skill and ability to use and teach any CAD or design related software program in an easy to understand and motivating way. Her obsession for interiors and architecture are only exceeded by her passion and drive to help her students succeed.
