Things I've Learnt

Ruud Belmans, co-founder and Creative Director of WeWantMore, brings attitude to design, his work outright rejecting the ordinary. From the studio's sustainability software MONARK to a new design blueprint for McDonald's, he turns brands and spaces into experiences that provoke.

He joins Mix Interiors Managing Editor Harry McKinley to discuss why a more sustainable future means drastic change, seeing failure as a stepping stone and why design is sometimes the only thing that makes him feel something.

Julian de Metz is founding director of multi-award-winning architecture practice dMFK. A third-generation architect, his design philosophy strongly emphasises human experience, sensitivity to heritage buildings and evolution rather than pure restoration. Believing that building and spaces to speak today, without erasing the past, his ethos is one of ‘reinventing and altering existing buildings fearlessly’.
 
He joins Mix Interiors Managing Editor Harry McKinley to discuss how every problem has a solution (unless you die), the changing face of working culture and what he learnt from the greats.

Born and raised in Budapest, Boronkay initially pursued a career in fashion in Paris, then segueing into interiors in London, working with some of design’s great luminaries – including Tom Dixon, Martin Brudnizki and Tara Bernerd. She ultimately landed the coveted gig of Design Director for Soho House. In 2020, she decided to go it alone, launching her namesake studio – now with projects spanning four continents and eight countries.
She joins Mix Interiors Managing Editor Harry McKinley to discuss how her creative upbringing shaped her journey, how she leapt from modelling to interiors, and why being a designer is like being a movie director.

Benjamin Hubert is a renowned industrial designer and founder of London-based design studio LAYER. Hubert has collaborated with some of the biggest brands around – from Vitra to Braun – on products and tech; physical and digital experiences; strategy and branding. Underpinning it all is a simple sounding, but important idea: that ‘together, we can change the world through design.’
 
He joins Mix Interiors Managing Editor Harry McKinley to discuss his vision for the future, turning disappointment into triumph and why design without purpose is merely decoration.

Sandrine Zhang Ferron is the founder and CEO of Vinterior, the online marketplace for vintage, pre-owned and antique furniture. She doesn’t have a traditional design background, but she did have a big idea. While working in the finance sector she became frustrated while trying to source a classic chair and took a bold leap – enrolling on a coding bootcamp and creating what is now the largest second-hand furniture listing site in the UK, turning frustration into a flourishing business. 
 
She joins Mix Interiors Managing Editor Harry McKinley to discuss taking a leap into the unknown, why success is sometimes just luck and why there’s more to life (and work) than designer bags and shoes.