Marlena Jankowski
What do you do in your current job?
Currently working as a Junior Interior Designer at Yabu Pushelberg with a focus on luxury Retail and Hospitality Design.
What are you doing right now that you are most excited about?
The first project I had the opportunity to work on after graduating from the MID program was the Four Seasons Hotel in Taipei, designed by our studio in collaboration with Richard Rogers. It’s been an amazing experience seeing it come together from the concept stages to construction, and I’ve learned so much along the way. I’m looking forward to seeing it finally open in the next couple of years!
What is your proudest achievement since graduation?
Since graduating, some of the clients I’ve worked with have included LVMH (Moet and Chandon), Edition Hotels, Four Seasons, and JW Marriott. Having the opportunity to work on such high profile projects with an award-winning team of incredibly talented designers is my proudest achievement.
What do you find to be the most challenging, and the most rewarding aspects of your career?
Over the past 3 years I’ve worked on projects in Canada, France, Brazil, China, Taiwan, Japan, Italy, the UK, the US, and Dubai. Working with consultants and clients overseas comes with its own unique set of challenges including differences in time zones, building code, and language. Even within our own studio, communication between our team of interior designers, decorators, industrial designers, and artists, can be difficult at times, especially when half of our studio is in New York. Despite these challenges, working with an international team with so many diverse perspectives and ultimately seeing the vision come together in the end is the most rewarding part of my career.
What advice would you give to those who are considering a career in interior design?
Dream big and don’t be afraid to take risks! If your heart is telling you to become an interior designer then do it!
What drew you to interior design? What do you love most about it?
Growing up I wanted to become an artist, which my parents encouraged as a hobby but not necessarily as a career, so when I initially started university I decided to study architecture as a compromise. After seeing the work of interior design students in my first year, I fell in love with this beautiful amalgamation of art and design and knew that this is what I wanted to do for a living. I love being able to create an experience with material, form, light, and colour, and see how they all come together to create something truly special.
How did your MID degree at the UM help to prepare you for your career?
The MID program provided me with a solid foundation of technical skills and a framework of thinking about design that I would need to navigate the interior design world after graduating. I never expected to work on international projects of such a high caliber right out of school, and nothing could have truly prepared me for the challenges that come with the realities of business and design, especially overseas. This being said, I think my practicum project helped launch my career by catching the eye of the right people, at the right time. My advice to current and prospective students would be to find a topic that you are truly passionate about, and to treat your practicum project with the same seriousness as a real world project because you never know who might see it. I would also take advantage of the fact that there are no budget constraints or stakeholders to worry about when you are in school. If there’s one thing I learned from my time in the MID program, it’s that the possibilities of design are endless.
What motivated you to pursue a graduate degree at the UM?
The University of Manitoba has one of the only Master of Interior Design programs in the world, and up until recently, was the only one in Canada. I think what motivated me the most to pursue a graduate degree, aside from the encouragement of my professors and family, was having the opportunity to explore subjects I was interested in while being able to contribute to a relatively new field of study. I strongly believe that learning is a lifelong endeavour and although I’ve since completed my studies, I’m still constantly looking for new ways to expand my knowledge of design. I would not be where I am today without the support of the wonderful instructors and professors in the MID program.