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About Bamboo Elephant
Founded by Gerry Shepherd in 2018, who is a great believer in the words by William Morris:
"Have nothing in your house you do not know to be useful or know to be beautiful"
Hence the name Bamboo Elephant - both independently beautiful and useful in her eyes.
The practice which is based in London, focuses on interior design projects of all sizes and locations. Bamboo Elephant also work on staging properties, facilitating relocations for home owners, property management and design consultancy of different sizes and projects.
Interior Design / Design Consultancy
No job too small or too big. We at Bamboo Elephant understand at times it is hard to have the vision to create a space more your own and being bold to really get what you want. We understand the importance of listening to our clients wants and needs and with their budget in mind to create a space to work for them to be useful and or beautiful.
Staging Properties
Bamboo Elephant has helped estate agents and shot term letting companies in creating a perfect space to maximise bookings and increase happy clients.
Relocations / Property Management
Busy individuals moving into a property in the UK have asked Bamboo Elephant to organise the packing, unpacking and supervising of all finishing touch so the home is ready for when they open the door into their new homes for themselves or for those renting their homes from abroad, Bamboo Elephant help with property management.
Bamboo Elephant is a young company full of energy and enthusiasm. Every project is given a huge attention to detail to maintain high standards, with our clients specifications in mind, to be delivered on time successfully.
Interview with Gerry
Why Interior design?
It's a good question, being born with heart problems (pulmonary atresia) and having needed intervention throughout my life. I saw first hand what a well designed and decorated room can do for recovery. Not just the big things like rest and recuperation but the little things, you don't always think of, like moral to keep going and finding calm when you need it. I found this out when, I was lucky enough to win a Starlight award.
Who are Starlight?
Starlight are a charity specialising in brightening the lives of seriously ill children (www.starlight.org.uk). They asked me what my three wishes were and they would grant me one of the wishes.
The wish they chose, which I am still to this day so pleased they did, was for my bedroom to be decorated by Carol Smillie in an African theme. I was bizarrely obsessed with Africa as it housed my favourite animal in it, the African elephant.
Why Carol Smillie?
Changing rooms was all the rage in those days for those resting watching a lot of day time TV.
What happened next?
Sadly Carol was not available but wrote a lovely note to me and a kind Interior designer friend of the family stepped in and helped turn my bedroom into my sort of African paradise. With beige on white elephant wallpaper covering all the walls top to toe. It was my kind of beautiful, being elephant mad .
I had asked for the room to not be childish but to grow with me without becoming old-fashioned. Not only did it become my safe haven to get better and to grow up in but without realising it till much later, it changed the course of my life to help others bring the best out of their homes. To create the feeling of a sanctuary in each home and property, that I felt my bedroom had shown me was so important.
What was your early career path?
Years passed and experiencing a continued love for all things creative at school. I completed a Retail and Buisness degree thinking this would be a good foundation for whatever I did next, having not 100% decided on my future path. I then continued to do a Masters in Interior Design.
My early career began by working for; OKA, Mission Media, Jigsaw, Cabbages and Rosses, Cafe Royal Hotel, One Fine Stay, Quintessentially, high end interior design firms and then I decided to begin my own company called Bamboo Elephant.
What would you say is your style?
Bright, bold, joyful. Are some words I would use to describe my finished projects and style. I feel it's so important to understand how home owners use their space and the property itself. What fun features does it have, how can these be used or showcased in the best way possible. To listen to the owners wants and needs and where ever possible use what is already in the home as you can but you don't need to spend a fortune to have a home which looks well put together and finished.
I was described recently as "ace at shuffling", as sometimes by just moving three pieces of furniture a space can be transformed.
What is your favourite thing about your job and interior design?
Simply put a great "before" and "after". Not just the difference from the images of a room before Bamboo Elephant begins and after we have finished but a client which loves their spaces and sees their home in a new light.
Why choose Bamboo Elephant?
We are a small company which always puts the client first. We understand your space is so personal to you and we weave this into all we do for your project. We work along side our clients where no piece of information is too small for us to understand its importance for your home. Each home owner tells us about their home and each property shows us too. We listen and look at both to create an end result which not only delivers the clients brief but is more then what they wanted. The importance of getting a room just right for our client is always at the forefront of our work.
