Young interior designers : Of pretty things and perseverance

Optimism, passion, and perseverance: these are the tools used by young interior designers to succeed in their field.

The interior design industry is ever-evolving, with up-and-coming young designers creating fresh and vibrant ideas and finding new ways to get their names out there through social networking sites like Pinterest, Tumblr, and Instagram.

For Rossy Yabut-Rojales, 28, her store, Heima, has even been called "Pinterest Land," with all their pieces designed to "make people happy."

"It's a feel-good store, everything's photogenic," she said.

Heima already has three outlets and a large following. Behind its success is Rossy who, with business partner and husband Bong, conceptualized Heima's hip design aesthetics when it first opened in 2009 in a small space at Cubao X.

"I was still at my day job, which is interior designing for a big design firm in Manila," Rossy recalled. She added that Bong, who is in IT and not a designer himself, is "more of a design enthusiast." He's also the partnership's marketing guy, while Rossy is the creative director.

Rossy and Bong, both fans of the Icelandic band Sigur Rs, named their store after one of the group's songs, whose title means "home."

Most of Heima's clients are young couples or homeowners, said Rossy.

"Our designs are nothing too serious so they won't be intimidated," she said.

"When we started kasi, people were asking, 'What's the concept behind Heima?' As an interior designer, I was always looking for a store na parang home siya pero fun 'yung dating. Not the typical home stores na parang you'll see," she added.

Read more:
Young interior designers : Of pretty things and perseverance