We recently caught up with our friend and partner Iva from IF Architecture to hear about what inspires her, what she loves and her words of wisdom.
How did you get into design.
Looking
back, Architecture and design has always been a passion of mine. When I
was a child, I would tear out the pages from the 'home' magazine in the
newspaper and spend hours tracing over and refining different floor plans in my
'project books.'
As for the nuts and bolts, after high school I undertook and completed a Bachelor of Arts at Monash University but wasn't really sure what career path to follow. While I was there I was completely inspired by Associate Professor Conrad Hamann and his courses on architectural history. I then enrolled in the Bachelor of Architecture at RMIT.
What was your first paid job
A
graduate architect position at Elenberg Fraser.
Where in Melbourne do you:
Shop
Scanlan
& Theodore on Chapel Street is my favourite store in Melbourne. Apart
from the clothes which I adore for their originality, tactile materials and
beautiful detailing, I love the fit out! It is very sophisticated, super
elegant and I am obsessed with the terrazzo tiles. My other favourites
are, Bassike, Torsa, Acne and Harrolds.
Pieces
of Eight, for jewellery and the most amazing shop-front, Readings on Lygon
St and Magnation on Greville St, could (and do) spend hours in there looking at
books & magazines.
Eat
Twenty
& Six, North Melbourne, it is close to the office and does an awesome
breakfast & lunch.
Dukes,
Windsor, perfect breakfast spot after yoga
Silo,
CBD, organic, sustainable, beautiful nutritious food
Il
Solito posto, CBD, classic italian, service with a smile
Mamasita
CBD, perfect spot for a late night date night
Drink
Pressed
Juices in Armadale, for amazing cold pressed juices
Cafe
Vue, perfect coffee, its across the road from my house so great for the morning
dash on the weekend!
Bar
Ampere, a vodka martini thanks!
City
Wine Shop, CBD, self explanatory!
True
South, craft brewery in Black Rock, with the most gorgeous views to the water
Relax
Apart
from the obvious, like spending time with my beautiful family and
friends. I relax the most by going to Yoga, I practice roughly 4 times a
week at a gorgeous studio in Windsor called Hotbox Yoga.
I
also love to ride my bike to and from the office, really good way to start the
day and a great way to unwind at the end of day and plus you avoid sitting in
peak hour traffic!
1000
steps, Mt Dandenong, as it suggests it involves climbing a 1000 steps, perfect
to get lots of fresh air into your lungs!
Catching
up on my favourite characters... via Mad Men and Game of Thrones.
What has been your greatest
challenge
Given
that I studied architecture, the biggest challenges have related to running a
business! Staff, tax, superannuation, things like that which I had very
little knowledge of prior to starting my own business, I stumbled through for
the first couple of years but now have help in that department which has made a
massive difference.
What are your words of wisdom
I really like this quote from Bruce Lee...
“If you always put limits on everything you do,
physical or anything else, it will spread into your work and into your life.
There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you
must go beyond them.”
So my advice would be... constantly question and/or remind yourself of your passion/passions, if you are unhappy, make the effort to change and if you are happy, be grateful!
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Visit IF Architecture’s new website and keep up to date with
their latest projects.
http://www.ifarchitecture.com.au