Ten with Tom: 2LG Design
Known for their signature use of colour, creative flair and expert design advice, Jordan and Russell have well established their name within the interior design community. With a focus on creating a space that it suited to your personality and championing British designers (both rising and established), 2LG design studio is built on transparent, honest principles that consider people and the planet.
Having long been admirers of Jordan and Russell's eye-catching projects, and recently featured in their new book 'Making Living Lovely' we caught up with the creative couple as part of our #tenwithtom series to learn more about their journey so far and how nature inspires their work…
TR: Tell us a little bit about what you do and how your company started…
2LG: We are designers and authors. We founded 2LG studio as an interior design company in 2014, and as we have grown in our creative journey we have designed not only homes, but also products. We are passionate about encouraging and facilitating bold creative living, whatever makes you feel like your best self. Our early careers began as actors, working in television and theatre and the transition into design came after we met and began falling in love with design together. 2LG is about pride, kindness and openness in the way we live and the spaces we live in.
TR: Your new book making living lovely features the biophilic design trend, how do you feel nature inspires what you do?
2LG: Hugely. We are passionate about gardens and flowers in particular. We love to go on long walks in nature with our mini Dachshund, Buckley, to decompress and refill that creative pool. Sometimes inspiration for a colour scheme or textures can come from a single flower or leaf when you least expect it, so we try to immerse ourselves in nature as often as possible (not often enough at the moment). We feel incredibly grateful that we have a garden as it has been a source of so much calm and happiness over the past few weeks.
TR: Where do you find creative inspiration?
2LG: Fashion has always been a huge source of inspiration, and we find so much inspiration in film, theatre and art. We try to remain childlike in the way we experience the world, soaking up new information and new ideas where we find them. This 'kid in a sweetshop' approach has always meant we can find inspiration all over the place. Living creatively is not something that comes to you, it is a way of life.
TR: What’s your favourite thing about your job?
2LG: Spending time together doing what we love and meeting new people, clients and collaborators, who always surprise us and keep the industry fresh.
TR: Describe a typical working day…
2LG: We tend to begin with a good coffee, a dance around the kitchen/studio with our dog (he loves to dance with us)! At the moment we're also routinely watering the garden in the morning as we discuss the priorities of the day. Often we begin the working day with an email blast to get clear heads, followed by a creative brainstorm (depending on what project is on the table). Then we take time apart to work on different elements, this may be writing or drawing. We've had a lot of Zoom meetings instead of usual site visits over the last few months, so that has been a challenge; keeping the reigns on the detail of a project when you can't be in the room has been interesting. We are looking forward to getting out and seeing our clients again soon.
TR: We love hearing about other people’s interior style, what makes your house a home?
2LG: Making our home has been a journey of expression and finding peace. We wanted to take a slow approach to this renovation and give ourselves the opportunity to grow into it; the house has taken 5 years to design. Giving everything its place and living in a more minimal space has given us head space to keep pushing forward and grow. We call the style of our home, Joyful Minimalism, because it is about clean lines and strong function. We colour in the lines with strong tones, textures and pattern to keep the space exciting and surprising!
Our home is a space that is ready for a work meeting, photoshoot, or a dinner party with friends at any time and in equal measure. It's a home with plenty of storage so that it can easily transform to meet the needs of the different aspects of our life.
TR: We’ve been avidly following the transformation of your London home - what advice would you give someone setting out on their own renovation?
2LG: Make a plan. It will give you a driving force at the beginning and something to keep you on track throughout. We have devoted a whole chapter in our new book 'Making Living Lovely' to this and we lay out our method for creating a strong plan as it is so important. Having a plan can also give you huge creative freedom - if you are confident in where a project is heading you can have fun with the odd moment of crazy within that framework.
TR: What has lockdown taught you and what new ways of living are you excited to maintain as things start to ease?
2LG: We have done all the cliches... sourdough, grow your own vegetables and finishing numerous jigsaws, and we have loved them all too. We are now obsessed with growing from seed, collecting our own seed. Our veg bed has grown out of control and it is something that we will now do every year. On a more existential level it has taught us that we are allowed to slow down and look after ourselves better. So much change has been shaken up by this lockdown. We want to hold onto and fight for some of those changes.
TR: What three things could you not live without?
2LG: Tomato pasta, dachshunds and each other. (and red wine - there are two of us so can we have an extra?)
TR: What do the next six months hold for you?
2LG: We have several interior design projects ongoing and we can't wait to get fully back into them. We are also working on a new product collection. This time has been very challenging because we lost so many projects and streams of income, like everyone, due to restrictions. But we are ready to take on what comes and do our best with it. It's all we can do. We approach everything with a creative mindset and where there is creativity there is always a way forward.
Photography credits: Megan Taylor.
Words: 2LG Studio.
Posted: 17.06.20
Updated: 15.04.21