Joanna Lyle
Milan based designer of luxury and bespoke
furniture and textiles, Joanna Lyle, completed the
Art & Design Foundation course at Bradford School
of Art in 1982.
“My year at Bradford College was fundamental to my
career in that not only did it give an excellent grounding in
all aspects of art and design, enabling me to understand in
which area I wanted to specialise and obtain a place on my
first choice degree course; but it was also really hard work
and the staff were tough, which was great preparation for
the realities of the workplace!”
After College Joanna went on to gain a BA (Hons) degree in
Three-dimensional Design at Middlesex University, followed
by a Masters degree in Furniture Design & Technology from
Buckingham University.
“I arrived in Milan in May 1988 with 50 kilos of luggage
and a sewing machine, about £100 and extremely limited
knowledge of the Italian language! I basically knew how
to buy a tram ticket and how to ask if there was anybody
who spoke English. Armed with these tools I began the
tour with my portfolio in the hope of being one of the few
foreign graduates fortunate enough to obtain a paid job
in one of the famous and prestigious Milan design studios.
Milan was the Mecca for so many design graduates from
around the world that just to find a place was a challenge
in itself, but with so many thrilled to have the privilege of
working in the studio of one of these mythical design gurus
for absolutely no pay, to find a job that paid even a meagre
wage was considered a major achievement!
I did eventually strike lucky and was offered, not one job,
but two! And so began my experience as a fully fledged
designer in the studio of Perry King and Santiago Miranda,
at the same time as developing my own designs and
pursuing contacts with manufacturing companies. Being
one of the winners of the Alessi competition Memory
Containers in 1990 was the catalyst for going it alone
and working completely on a freelance basis on my own
designs.”
Joanna now runs her own company, producing
and marketing her collection of furniture, lighting and
home accessories. She also offers a design consultancy
for interiors, textiles and product design, and works on
commissions for interior designers and architects.
“Milan is a city for working and life is quite different from
the rest of Italy. Life here isn’t quite the ‘Dolce Vita’
that people imagine, and the dreadful bureaucracy and
inefficiency of public services like the postal service can
drive you crazy. The pollution is really bad, the winters are
long and cold and the summers extremely hot, humid and
mosquito ridden. But it is an incredibly beautiful country
and there are fantastic places to escape to for weekends.
One of the best things about Italy is the possibility to work
with the wealth of small companies and artisans thus
having the possibility to realise design ideas. It is wonderful
to work with people who are enthusiastic and who take a
real pride in using their skills to produce work of the highest
quality. I’ve been fortunate to form lasting relations
with some incredibly talented people who are producing
furniture (mostly upholstered) and soft-furnishings under
my own label, Joanna Lyle Design.”
Photograph supplied by Joanna Lyle