My Story
How I went from international hospitality to international interior design
Global Inspirations Design is not just a name; it’s my story
Growing up in a creative family in Switzerland, art and design have always been part of my life. My dad, a civil engineer and architect, taught me how to measure up a space and draw it to scale at a very young age. I loved moving around the furniture in my room and experimenting with different styles ranging from Art Nouveau to Pop Art.
At the same time, I felt a strong inner desire to explore the world. I would spin my globe and randomly put my finger on the map with my eyes closed and then imagine what life was like in those far away places. The atlas soon became one of my favourite books. At the age of 12 I told my mom, that I wanted to live (not just visit) in every single country in the world. Somewhat amused, she suggested I better get started soon. And so I did.
How Tom Cruise changed my life (it’s probably not what you think)
As a teenager I spent a year in Minnesota, USA as an exchange student. After this first outlandish experience there was no stopping me, I was more eager than ever to explore the world and broaden my horizon. After completing my A-levels (Matura) in linguistics in Switzerland, I spent a few months in the French speaking Swiss Alps and in Southern France working in hotels and perfecting my (spoken) French.
Just before my 20th birthday, I happened to watch the movie ‘Cocktail’ with Tom Cruise in the lead. This seemingly unimportant event changed the course of my life forever. When only minutes before, I was unsure of my next steps, I suddenly and intuitively knew that Jamaica was my next destination. In fact, it was as crystal clear as those turquoise waters and waterfalls in the movie. I sent my CV to dozens of hotels and three months later I was en route to my first, but certainly not last Caribbean adventure.
“Interior Design is the secret ingredient of feeling at home anywhere in the world.”
Travel, luxury hotels and interior design
After two unforgettable years of working in hotels in different parts of Jamaica, I decided to study at the Swiss School of Tourism and thereafter pursued a very rich and successful career in the global hotel industry. Working for hotel brands such as Rosewood Hotels & Resorts and Hyatt had me moving from the Caribbean to the Middle East and back to Europe. I’ve moved 25 times and always created a sanctuary for myself. Having a place that felt like ‘home’ regardless of where I was, helped me to go out into the world and be my best possible self in this very demanding career.
During those years I also traveled extensively for leisure and for business to more than 50 countries. Over the years I had the opportunity to stay at countless luxury, boutique and design hotels, such as The Carlyle in New York, Las Ventanas Los Cabos, Park Hyatt Milan and One & Only Royal Mirage to name a few. This soon made me realise that I didn’t just want to enjoy beautiful spaces, but instead create them. So I decided to enrol for a Diploma Course in Interior Design with the world-renowned London based KLC School of Design.
My first design project and my first design award
Whilst studying I was given the opportunity to design an entire villa in the British Virgin Islands, where I was living at the time. To my great delight, I ended up winning ‘The Most Stylish Kitchen in the Virgin Islands’ Design Award for the kitchen of said villa. For health reasons I returned to Switzerland and joined Vitra, the well-known furniture company at their headquarters near Basel. There I learned everything about design classics, famous designers and the process of furniture design and manufacturing. In 2014 I then took the leap and launched Global Inspirations Design with the goal of becoming an international interior designer. Fast forward to today, I have designed and transformed many homes and vacation homes for clients across Switzerland, London and in the Caribbean. In my blog I write about my first love – luxury, boutique and design hotels – as well as about all things residential interior design.
This is how I went from working in hotels all over the globe to working in international interior design.
Subscribe to our 'Design Journal' and receive curated interior design and lifestyle tips.
We will process your data as detailed in the Privacy Policy.