Susan Llewellyn is channelling three decades of interior design expertise into her new venture, the Susan Llewellyn Academy of Interior Design, which launches this month

For more than 30 years Susan Llewellyn has been one of the UK ’s most proactive and dynamic interior designers. She was a founder member of the organization that has now evolved into the BIID and has built her professional reputation on restoration projects in the UK and overseas, including the refurbishment of palaces and museums, as well as working on modern office design projects.

Conscious of the sheer breadth of experience she has accumulated, Llewellyn recently felt it was time to start a new chapter in her career and began to consider what else she could do to pass on her knowledge. Informal chats led to formal conversations and Llewellyn was persuaded that there was a demand for her experience, which could be delivered in various guises — five-day courses for up to 25 people, tours in the UK and abroad and masterclasses.

She has teamed up with two partners, fellow interior designer and experienced tutor Sara Crocker and business brain Angela Hamlin, to create the Susan Llewellyn Academy of Interior Design, which opens its doors this month.

Based on Sydney Street in Chelsea, the academy will offer classes, courses and tours for amateurs and professionals that will provide a unique insight into the profession and its sources of inspiration. Courses will aim to give students a range of skills including drawing plans, trend forecasting and colour matching as well as guidance on how to deal with the many suppliers that come together in a typical interior design project.

The first five-day course starts on Monday 9 May and the first six-day course (where 12 half-days are divided into six bi-weekly modules) starts on Thursday 19 May. A visit to Venice will be the first international tour, the details of which have just been finalized. ‘We will be taking 20 people on a specially tailored long weekend, which will provide exclusive access to experiences not normally available to the public,’ says Llewellyn. ‘As well as a private view of St Mark’s Basilica, we will be visiting the palazzo headquarters of fabric company Rubelli and see glassblowing on the island of Murano.’

The Venice trip will run from 13 to 16 October and will be followed by visits to Milan in April and Istanbul in October next year.

www.thesusanllewellynacademy.co.uk

This article was first published in idfx Magazine.