Our International Seminar Series is one of Australia’s most prestigious annual line-ups of design speakers.
Keynote speakers in 2024 include British design supernova Abigail Ahern, as well as local design stars David Hicks, Greg Natale, Kate Nixon, Brahman Perera, Natalie Walton, James Treble, Jen Bishop and more.
Don’t miss this opportunity to learn from the best in the business!
S1: 10.30am – 11.15am
DAVID HICKS
In Conversation with Lucy Feagins, Editor of The Design Files
David Hicks is an internationally acclaimed designer whose eponymous practice is renowned for creating exceptional built environments. Established in 2000 in Melbourne, it has become Australia’s premier brand for luxury interiors and building design.
The David Hicks design philosophy considers architecture, interior design, and decoration as a cohesive whole. The practice’s signature is creating sophisticated and intelligent spaces that are both luxurious and functional.
A regular on the pages of international publications, the multi-award-winning designer is celebrated for a body of work that is graceful, sophisticated, and unmistakably luxurious.
Join one of Australia’s most trusted creators of timeless luxury in conversation with Lucy Feagins, Editor of The Design Files, to discover how to build a sought-after luxury interior design practice.
: @davidhicksdesign
: @thedesignfiles
$70
S2: 11.45am – 12.45pm
VICTORIA REDSHAW
Join Victoria Redshaw, Lead Futurist at Scarlet Opus, for prescient insights into the key colours, patterns, materials, shapes, styles and products that will be sought after in 2025.
One of the UK’s leading trend intelligence agencies for the interiors sector, Scarlet Opus’ clients include national and multinational retailers, product designers, interior designers and manufacturers. Victoria has presented Trend Forecasts at the world’s leading interior exhibitions, including Grand Designs Live – London, INDEX – Dubai, SURFACES/TISE – Las Vegas and Decorex and EXCLUSIVELY in London. She is also frequently asked to provide trend insights for leading magazines and newspapers.
Victoria has been a pivotal part of Decor + Design over the years and a firm visitor favourite. Returning in person to Australian shores after a hiatus of five years, don’t miss her uncanny insights into the international influences that are shaping the future of interior design and interior products.
$99
W1: 2pm – 3.30pm
Row Murray, Director, Kenobi
Row Murray founded marketing agency Kenobi over a decade ago after a lengthy career in public relations, followed by a long marketing career with brands like Priceline Pharmacy and 7-Eleven Stores. She is an author, speaker and broadcaster, and works regularly with designers and design suppliers. Row’s career has run the gamut of developing creative, media buying, social media, ad campaigns, business structures, operations, crisis management, staffing and beyond.
And in today’s digitally focused world, it’s time to be fundamental with your marketing. Your service or product, your brand voice and visuals, pricing model, delivery process, and the ability to surprise and delight, are all factors that can be designed for brilliance. With the right marketing fundamentals in place, you’re best able to do what you do best.
Join Row as she guides you on getting back to marketing basics – whether you’re a new business or need a revisit and refresh – that will put you on a firm footing to be creative, agile and responsive as you thrive and drive growth. Using the latest Design Thinking principles, Row will take you through a process to lock in your marketing fundamentals.
$65
S3: 10.30am – 11.15am
BRAHMAN PERERA + AMELDA WILDE
In Conversation with Lisa Green, GreenScenes Media
Join next gen design stars Brahman Perera and Amelda Wilde for a journey in visual storytelling which can transform the energy of a space.
Award-winning interior designer Brahman Perera sees interior design as ‘an engineering of atmosphere’. Cutting his teeth in some of Melbourne’s most renowned design studios, Perera has been winning plaudits since launching his eponymous studio. Over the past couple of years, he has won the IDEA Emerging Design Award, the Belle Fanuli Emerging Design Star Award (2022) and made the prestigious Est 10 and VL50 lists of top interior designers.
Amelda Wilde creates residential interiors with materiality + soul. Amelda’s work is based on the core belief that our interior spaces are our fundamental nucleus; and must therefore evoke core functional and atmospheric qualities. With formal education in Architecture + Construction Management, Amelda is able to design project solutions that balance romantic design narratives with pragmatic and feasible design solutions. She was also the recipient of the Belle Fanuli Emerging Design Star award (2023).
Brahman and Amelda will be in conversation with Lisa Green, an award-winning editor who has spent three decades at the helm of some of Australia’s best-loved magazine brands. She is a senior editor at Medium Rare Content Agency, and founded GreenScenes Media in 2019, to write and consult in the design and sustainability space.
Be nourished by this visual feast with Brahman Perera and Amelda Wilde.
: @brahmanperera
: @ameldawilde
: @greenscenesmedia
$70
S4: 12pm – 1pm
ABIGAIL AHERN
Leading UK-based designer Abigail Ahern is known for being consistently ahead of the design trail.
Whether she’s pioneering botanicals or dark, inky colour palettes, Abigail’s trendsetting designs are synonymous with glamour, eclecticism and quintessential British humour. An arbiter of cool Brit girl style, her palette seamlessly fuses masculine and feminine for a gorgeous aesthetic that creates spaces you never want to leave.
Abigail began her career in interior design in the states, with a portfolio that spans lavish residential properties such as the Ritz Carlton Palm Beach.
Returning to London, Abigail founded her own retail business in 2003. The Abigail Ahern flagship store in Islington is one of the UK’s top design boutiques, voted one of the coolest places to shop by Elle Decoration and the Telegraph.
Abigail has a global following thanks to her retail and product designs, best-selling books and influential blog. She has also authored five interior books and is a regular contributor to newspapers and magazines.
Abigail has also almost single-handedly made faux flowers and plants cool again. Her foraged take on faux botanicals uses a wild aesthetic to merge house and garden. Think trailing tendrils, native branches, heirloom blooms and woodland fronds.
Join Abigail for an unmissable seminar on how to fearlessly create extraordinary interiors.
$99
S5: 1.15pm – 2pm
KATE NIXON
Kate Nixon is an Australian designer, retailer and stylist with an award-winning Sydney-based interior design studio and home decor store.
Her reputation is built on passion and persistence, creating warm, inviting interiors which are classic and comfortable, polished and practical – equally at ease with elegant entertaining and everyday family life.
Kate spent over 19 years in publishing working in various editing, writing and styling roles for revered brands such as House & Garden, ACP Books, Gourmet Traveller, Table Magazine, Belle Magazine, Madison, Country Style and more.
Kate’s interior styling skills have also been sought internationally having worked on residential shoots in the Netherlands, France and Germany as well as commercial shoots for Busatti in Italy. In 2023 the KATE NIXON with Quercus & Co collaboration of patterned wallpapers and linen were launched in Australia, the US and Canada.
Join Kate for a beautiful session on styling interiors which are quintessentially Australian and brimming with warmth and beauty.
$70
S6: 2.30pm – 3.15pm
NATALIE WALTON + JUANITA MARLOWE
Natalie Walton is an interior stylist, designer and author known for simplifying the art and science of creating beautiful interiors.
She has gained a worldwide following through her bestselling books and signature program, The Styling Masterclass, helping creatives in more than 40 countries to take their interiors to the next level. She is also a mentor through her group coaching program, Design & Grow.
As the founder of Imprint House, a concept space and design studio based in Byron Bay, Natalie also creates genuine and atmospheric interiors, as well as meaningful products that embrace the principles of simple living. These ideas are distilled in her books This is Home: The Art of Simple Living, Still: The Slow Home, Style: The Art of Creating a Beautiful Home and Home by the Sea, as well as her podcast Imprint with Natalie Walton.
Her work has been featured in publications across the globe, including Elle Decoration, Vogue, and Harper’s Bazaar. She was deputy editor at Real Living magazine for five years.
Natalie also helps passionate creatives make a profitable and sustainable living doing what they love and runs a popular coaching program for designers.
Natalie will be interviewed by Juanita Marlowe, a seasoned Interior Designer with over 25 years global experience across the US and Australia. She holds an Associate of Arts Degree- Interior Design from FIDM, Los Angeles and has worked in prominent leadership roles within the industry working with an A-list roster of clients and projects across luxury, residential and five-star hospitality environments- including leading names from the top AD-100 such as Ken Fulk and Nicole Hollis in San Francisco, SFA Design and Martyn Lawrence Bullard in Los Angeles.
She has partnered with top Architectural firms, Designers and Landscape Architects across the globe and has worked on high-profile projects with major Film and TV studios in Los Angeles including Warner Bros, NBCUniversal and Fox Studios.
Juanita has now embarked on her own new design venture- Somerset St, curating bespoke collections from exceptional artisans from around the world for the interiors market.
Join Natalie and Juanita in conversation as they break down the key steps in creating a successful interior design business with global clients.
$70
W2: 2pm – 3pm
Andrea Lucena-Orr, Colour and Communication Manager, DuluxGroup
The Australian colour palette has its own distinctive tones. Join one of our foremost voices on colour, Andrea Lucena-Orr, for this practical workshop on how to apply colour for both interiors and exteriors, for commercial or residential projects in a quintessentially Australian way.
Colour and Communications Manager for DuluxGroup, Andrea has a strong background in colour and design, and has been working with colour for over twenty-five years. She executes colour training, trends and colour forecasting and presents her findings to trade, retail and media – and her recommendations play an integral part in Dulux marketing strategies.
A member of the international Colour Marketing Group (CMG), Andrea scours the globe in pursuit of her passion for colour forecasting.
This session is essential for interior designers, architects, decorators and design students who want a broader technical understanding of how to use colour in built environments.
This training attributes 3 CPD points for DIA members and 1 CPD point for AIA members.
$65
S7: 3.45pm – 4.30pm
Jen Bishop, Interiors Addict
Farah Halabi, Oh Tu Agency
Jen Bishop is the charismatic founder of hugely popular design site Interiors Addict. The design journalist took her passion for interiors and made it into a highly ranked website with 150K+ visitors a month and a combined social following of almost 200K. She is in demand as a brand ambassador and collaborates regularly with designers.
With nearly 20 years of experience in media and marketing, Farah Halabi is a go-to guru for navigating the ever-evolving landscape of digital marketing. From her beginnings at Group M, where she tackled media buying for major players, to her stint in publishing, connecting with small businesses, Farah’s journey has been defined by passion and results.
She has helped businesses across various sectors – from fashion to hospitality – achieve impressive growth through savvy social media management and strategic ad campaigns.
Her agency, Oh Tu (a playful nod to the vitalising power of oxygen) centres around the notion that digital marketing will bring your brand to life. She prides herself on working collaboratively with her small business clients to build genuine connections with audiences – and develop sophisticated strategies that drive long-term results.
Join Farah and Jen as they cut through the noise to give you the strategies that work. This is an unmissable session for anyone in the design sector who truly wants to drive growth online.
: @interiorsaddict
: @ohtu.agency
$70
S8: 10.30am – 11.15am
Sonia Simpfendorfer, Director | Interior Design
Sally Evans, Director | Graphic Design & Product Development | Nexus Designs
Join Sonia Simpfendorfer and Sally Evans from renowned Australian design studio Nexus Designs, to be inspired in choosing colour palettes that complement Australia’s extraordinary light and landscape.
Founded over five decades ago by Janne Faulkner AM, Nexus Designs book ‘Using Australian Colour’ has been a bible for interior designers. Faulkner was also famous for being one of the first designers to champion Australian contemporary and indigenous artists.
Simpfendorfer and Evans have built on that legacy, creating enduring designs that express authenticity and bring delight. Multi-disciplinary to the core, the studio offers a truly integrated service of interior design, product development, colour and trend analysis, and graphic design, working across residential, commercial, government, education and product manufacturing sectors.
Find out how Nexus Designs works with major clients to craft colour palettes inspired by our unique natural and built environments.
: @nexus_designs
nexusdesigns.com.au
$65
S9: 11.45am – 12.30pm
LORENA GAXIOLA & JAMES TREBLE
Want to create stylish, functional spaces that property developers love? Don’t miss this informative session with expert designers Lorena Gaxiola and James Treble.
Lorena Gaxiola is a renowned Mexican-born interior designer and entrepreneur. With a passion for merging cultural influences with modern aesthetics, Gaxiola has carved out a unique niche in the world of interior design.
Her leading international design practice has extensive market expertise in property. Established in America in 2000, it has been headquartered in Sydney since 2016.
James Treble is an award-winning interior designer, TV presenter and writer with over 25 years’ experience in the building & design industry. In addition to his vast expertise and experience in the construction and renovation of new homes, he is a qualified real estate agent, colour consultant and interior designer.
If you’d like to gear your practice towards property development, this is an unmissable seminar to learn from two established experts in the field.
: @lorenagaxiola
: @designerjamestreble
$65
S10: 1.15pm – 2pm
GREG NATALE
Greg Natale has “it”. Over the past two decades he has become one of Australia’s most celebrated interior designers. As Jonathan Adler says: “his rooms are designed with such sureness that they look as if they were always meant to be.”
Since founding his eponymous studio in 2001, Greg has pioneered a new Australian interior, one that is unafraid of the big notes, unapologetic and – though bold – is also considered, intricately layered and beautifully measured.
The multi-award-winning interior designer has become known for his masterly use of pattern and colour, and his bold application of both in creating tailored, innovative, and sophisticated spaces.
Greg’s business has gone from strength to strength, with designs featured in numerous local and international publications including Architectural Digest, Harper’s Bazaar, The Wall Street Journal, Vanity Fair, Vogue Living and Belle Australia.
Greg has extended his passion for pattern, line and colour into other design disciplines, exploring his love of geometric and organic designs through the creation of ranges of rugs, carpets, wallpaper, tiles, furniture and homewares. He has collaborated with local and global brands such as leading Australian firm Designer Rugs and Italian tile experts Bisazza.
He has also published three books, The Tailored Interior, The Patterned Interior and The Layered Interior.
Don’t miss this masterclass with Greg, as he unpacks his inspirations in creating interiors that have “it”.
$70
