Episode 13: Unconventional materials in design (Hen’a Yadav)

Hen’a Yadav’s journey in hotel design recently moved her from LA to London. The Principal at Studio Carter’s first gig here was at HIX 2021, when she was asked to design a multi-layered hotel wellness suite concept. Her approach to design “one room with many faces”, as she described it, allowed her to explore new materials and forms, while harnessing wellbeing properties through a soft and muted design scheme.

In episode 13 of DESIGN POD, Yadav joined Hamish Kilburn and co-host Harriet Forde to explain what those materials were, and how the project gave her a deeper sense of understanding when exploring opportunities that have emerged since modern travellers started for wellness and wellbeing being enriched in the whole hospitality experience.

It’s an uncanny chain of events that led Yadav to this exact moment. She was born in Bombay, raised in Katmandu, and studied in Dubai, followed by Basel. With this unusual upbringing and paradoxical perspective on different cultures, she became curious about the various environments she lived in and how they mould us. Thus, her innate drive to study interiors led her to Montreal, to where she came with an ambition to revolutionise and rethink the word ‘lifestyle’.

After graduating, she started her career in Dubai by designing royal palaces. The opulence of that lifestyle led her to seek a role specialising in hospitality. She continued to explore different design communities and cultures by working in Hasselt, followed by Hong Kong and Singapore, quenching her creative curiosity with fabulous mentors and celebrity designers along the way.

After 18 years of this nomadic, creative journey, she has seamlessly accumulated a vast and versatile portfolio with unique set off experiences. This has now all culminated in a fabulous role in London after Los Angeles, and as a principal of a boutique, a lifestyle-driven firm called Studio Carter where she continues to spearhead the London office.

Studio Carter consists of a team of internationally based creatives that provide a personal and articulated perspective on hospitality, creativity and wellbeing. The studio commits itself to have a positive influence through holistic and timeless design. Years of experience, a highly talented team and a strong vision create a position of trust and dependability with our clients. All work starts from an artistic viewpoint, adding authentic creativity to a unique interior design. Studio Carter transfers a story into a tangible and sharable experience whilst constructing a narrative that people will be immersed in.

DESIGN POD, series two, is sponsored by Minotti London. In the next episode, Kilburn and Forde meet Guy Oliver, Co-Founder of Oliver Laws.

Main image credit: DESIGN POD