A: What is the best piece of advice you've ever received, and who gave it to you?

I.F.: I get asked this question a lot, where the best piece of advice ever came from for me, and it's always been David Sims, who I probably worked with about 15 years ago, and he just told me to do it myself. And so I have.

A: What does creativity mean to you, and do you think it's something we can ever switch off?

I.F.: Creativity isn't just something that we can stop. We're humans, that's what we do. We create.

A: What draws you to collaborating with other artists and creatives, and how do you see the relationship between art and design?

I.F.: I've always been someone who loves championing other artists and creatives. And I know so many incredibly talented creatives in the fashion, design, beauty world that are doing things beyond just that sort of standard creative remit. So for me, it's really about the talent and about a conversation that kind of asks, well, what is art and what is design and what are the hierarchies, and are there any at all, depending on the context of where you see the piece?
A: How do you approach selecting pieces for Studio I? Is it more about instinct or a conscious creative vision?

I.F.: How I choose things, quite honestly, it's a feeling. And I think as I get older, I rely more on feeling than I do analysing if something feels right or wrong. And I feel like with Studio I, there really is this thread of continuity throughout everything. And that could simply be the vibration of the person who made the piece. It doesn't even have to be anything to do with the piece, but I strongly feel that objects resonate some kind of frequency.

A: What interests you most about understanding other artists and their creative processes?

I.F.: I love to talk to people about their work and kind of what gets under their skin and why they create what they do.

A: How has your understanding of self-love and self-confidence evolved over time?

I.F: I think self-love is different from self-confidence, and I think I had a lot of self-confidence, and always have, but I think as I get older, my relationship to self-love is deepening. And I think part of what self-love is, is truly aligning with things that feel really right for you in a very unapologetic way, and really just truly listening to yourself and your spirit and who you need to become.

A: What has been most rewarding about following the artists you've worked with throughout their creative journeys?

I think what's been great is watching all of those artists independently on their own personal journey. Rick and Claire from Actual Objects I've known for years. I worked with Rick back in 2018 for Dazed Beauty. Bernardo, we had a piece in our last show, and he feels like a very kind of up-and-coming, emerging, inspiring young creative. And they all have a very specific language to their work, which I like too. You know, I don't necessarily know what my taste is, but I appreciate things that feel like they have a real world behind them.