Jade and cashmere: the two things that draw this British interior designer to Hong Kong

Your first book, Journey By Design, has just come out. Why now? “I’ve been in the business for 14 years and I’ve done a lot of projects, so I had a lot of images, a lot to talk about, a lot to share. Different publishers have approached me over the years to write a book, but you really have to find the right publisher. When Assouline approached me, I thought, ‘OK, it’s time.’”

Can you explain the title? “I grew up in the Middle East and have since lived in the UK, Hong Kong, Singapore, Vietnam and Australia, so I’ve really travelled. I’ve done projects all over the world; I’ll go to places like Iran, Saudi Arabia, Nigeria. Those are tricky destinations but I’m happy to travel there. The book is all about how travel has inspired me, so you’ll see a photo of a paddy field; then you’ll see how I used the curve of that paddy field in a column. Or you’ll see how I’ve used the colours from an amazing temple in Oman in the design of a house in Kuwait.”

You lived in Hong Kong for 16 years and visit regularly. Why do you keep returning? “I’m always seeing things here. I love the jade market. Residents are probably a bit bored of it, but I love it. I’ll make a beautiful cushion, have it piped, then have these little jade tassels added to it. Or I’ll dangle jade tassels down a light fixture.”

“It’s also easy to source beautiful cashmere in Hong Kong and Shenzhen. What I’ll do is I’ll make beautiful cashmere blankets and then have a leather tassel put on them. Or I’ll make cashmere cushions or cashmere travel masks.”