Continuing our Style Compass series, we are thrilled to welcome Jo Smithers, founder and designer of La Maison, who has curated a beautiful Style Compass collection full of casual, elegant pieces inspired by the ease of French country and Hamptons living.

Jo has spent the past decade creating and sourcing products which have appeared in the pages of Home Beautiful, House and Garden, Country Style and Belle.  We talked to her about fusing the past and present in her furniture designs, apprenticeship and the value of passion and tenacity.



Jo, what was your path to furniture design?
Crazy thoughts cross my mind all the time, but this crazy thought had crossed my mind regularly in my teenage years: leave school at the age of sixteen and take on the world on a wing and a prayer.  Despite the fact that creativity was not particularly nurtured during my school days in the 1980s, I felt that I had to try to live my life as a creative person.

So I left school and found inspirational role models, my mother included, and studied at small design and decorating schools.  I lived in France and travelled in Europe, spending every waking hour in flea markets and antique stores. I was hooked!  I was lucky enough to share this experience with my wonderful boyfriend of the time, who is now my even more wonderful supportive husband of 23 years, working alongside me at La Maison.

On my return I opened a beautiful design store in the 90's in Kenthurst called "Love to Decorate". It was full of my favourite style - beautiful furniture designed in the past but somehow more beautiful in the present.  In the early 2000s I went on to design furniture and launched La Maison ten years ago in 2002.

I formed a partnership with a wonderful French woman who inspired me, gave me direction and most of all believed we could do anything . . so we did!  Our factory in South East Asia now works with 8 different countries and exports over 100 containers per year.  I am constantly travelling in between juggling being a mother, wife, student and planning my new range - it's a busy life.

Do you believe in formal tuition in the field of interiors?
The experience I have gained has come from experts and is not textbook taught; you either have it or you don't.  I like this quote, which I think came from Martha Stewart:

"The concept of an apprentice is an ancient and wise one, and if you can find such a position early in your career and you have the chance to work with a master, take it". 

When I was young, I worked with inspirational people to gain hands-on experience that laid the foundation to my plans and ideas.  Unbeknown to me my passion and "eye" developed more than I realised while I was living abroad.  On my return to Australia I was truly committed to my goals, curious to learn and eager to work hard, and my mentors had developed and nurtured these foundations.

That said, I have had to acquire technical skills in CAD, Photoshop and Illustrator through sheer patience and necessity – technically called "on the job training"!  I am currently consolidating my informal learning and 27 years of experience with a course in Product Design, majoring in Furniture Design. It has been interesting sitting in a classroom with starry-eyed young first year students who could very well be our future generation of designers, as long as they have two things - passion and tenacity.



How would you describe the La Maison style?  What are your influences?
I like to say that the La Maison style is first and foremost your style.  It's all about an effortless mix of old furniture styles which fit perfectly and comfortably with modern life.  It's not about following every trend, my guiding philosophy is "the essence of beautiful living".  I tend to mix classic styles from old England, pieces which reflect the elegant ease of a chateau in Provence, and the clean simple lines of the Hamptons.

I am inspired by my travels and am an avid reader, but I would say that my mother is the biggest influence on my personal style, which I would describe as "mix not match".  My signature style has a simple design philosophy – live passionately, decorate luxuriously, entertain beautifully and always maintain a sense of humour through it all!

What was the thinking behind your Style Compass collection?
The Style Compass collection reflects my "mix not match" style.  I strongly believe that a room should be collected, not decorated, and an interior will be so much richer if it contains a mixture of different styles of furniture from different eras.

That said, any room needs a classic starting point and the Newbury sofa fits the bill.  I added an 18^th Century reproduction console table as an amazing "hero" piece, then pared it down with the Industria four drawer commode which represents style with purpose.  Then of course I added layers - lots of interesting goodies – metal trunks, iron lamps and classic Anduze urns.  The cane chairs complement the rustic urns beautifully.

The Style Compass collection is actually a sneak preview of how the classic La Maison range will fit in with my new Jo Lebrocque range to be launched in February, which will be slightly more eclectic.  Jo Lebrocque is my family name, and I'm creating a range of furniture and lighting which reflects my travels to India, China, Indonesia, Burma and South Africa but remain true to my taste.  I'd describe the Jo Lebrocque range as a slightly more modern aesthetic - my goal is to transcend "trends" and express a confident maturity of taste  – on a global level.

We hope you enjoy our latest Style Compass collection; we'd love to hear what you think.

Victoria